Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Chickadee finish

Happy Tuesday!
This is going to just take a moment to share with you.
I am so busy around here with Kellie's 8th graduation coming up, Friday nite dance, high school sign-ups for next school year and softball practices.
I have had little or no time for stitching.
I did get this stitched up real quick. You might think it looks familar?? Then you most likely seen it on Carol's blog. She was a sweetie to loan me the chart. Carol, I have it ready to mail back to you tomorrow, Thanks a bunch.

"Gardener Chick" by Valerie Pfeiffer

Stitched on Water Lily Joblean w/DMC. My camera wouldn't pick up the green fabric.

Here's an update on "Their Song"

This piece is such a mess. Before I ironed it (R&R seems to wrinkle really bad) I spritzed it with water. The red bled. I soaked it in ice water right away. Then the Havanna bled a yellowish. You really can't tell in a dark room, but boy! in the sunlit, it looks terrible. You can really see it in this photo. I keep looking at it, to see if I should continue, what to do? what to do? I have to tomorrow to decide. It makes my tummy turn.

Do you think I should finish stitching it and then let it all bleed, so it looks the same or trash it?

I really appreciate you thoughts on this one

Thanks for stopping by

46 comments:

Syd said...

I love your Chickadee - such a happy little bird!

I wouldn't do anything about Their Song. I think those things add to the patina of the piece.

Annie said...

You gotta love those Valerie Pfeiffer birdies and you did a great job on yours.

The sampler looks fine to me. I know it makes you heartsick to have the unexpected bleeding, but I think it just gives the piece character.

valerie said...

Love the chickadee!

I'm so OCD that I would probably re-stitch...but that's me. It does add character. It all depends on what makes you feel better in the end. :)

BrendaS said...

Love your little birdie!

I wouldn't do anything with the sampler. I think it adds a one-of-a-kind charm to it.

Mary said...

I love your cute little chick.
I wouldn't do anything with the sampler either, I think it is beautiful.
Mary

Blu said...

Your chickadee looks adorable!

I say finish it and let it bleed. Or do it over. (OK, so I'm not very helpful...LOL)

Margaret said...

Love your chickadee finish! As for the BBD piece, It's hard to tell from the picture how bad the bleeding is. I think you need to decide for yourself -- how much is it going to bother you when you look at it? If it's really going to get you everytime you look at it, perhaps you should start over. Good luck deciding.

Karen said...

Love the Chickadee...too cute! You can't really tell in the pic, but I don't think the bleeding will take away from the design...may give it more of a vintage look! So hard to decide....

Myra said...

Your little Chickadee is very cute. I think I would leave the sampler as is - maybe even tea dye it afterwards to give it a really runny/aged look.

Teresa S. said...

Oh, it is so sad when something like this happens :( My best advice is to put it down for a few days and come back to it later and see how you are feeling then. Sometimes a little distance will help.

Judy S. said...

Love that little birdie, Ranae. I agree with the others that it's hard to tell from a photo how much bleeding there is, but I also agree that maybe tea dying would do the trick....... that's a whole lot of work to redo in any case!

Unknown said...

What a wonderfully cheerful Chickadee!

Love all your stitching progress.

If you tea or coffee stain the piece after stitching, it might cover up the bleeds and, if not, at least make it look distressed so the bleeding fits the overall look.

Look forward to seeing your decision and the finishes of all your WIPs.

Stephanie

Anonymous said...

Gardener Chick is adorable. Love her little rake.

mainely stitching said...

Oh that's a bummer about the bleeding. Sounds like most everyone feels it just adds to the charm of the piece, and I'm all for charm. :)

GoldenAngelsWorks said...

Birdie is tooo cute.

Annette said...

I stitched it last year for a exchange. Love those pattern from Valerie Pfeiffer.

Your Wip looks great..

Good luck in the busy times

Nima said...

wow...lovely chickadee...

i love your mermaid progress too.

Christine said...

The little sparrow in its gardening gear is adorable.
What a shame the colours bled on the BBD. For what its worth I'd finish stitching it, dampen the rest to try and mimic the bleeding all over the piece, then I'd spatter it with coffee grounds to give tiny dark spots that look like foxing marks, and hopefully the combination would make it look like an antique piece.

Jane said...

Such a sweet little Chickadee - he makes me smile!
I would carry on with the Sampler as you've made such good progress with it so far ~ the colour bleeding makes it unique and one-of-a-kind. xxx

Robin said...

Your little Chickadee is too cute. Her birds always have such personality! Nice job.

Julie said...

The little chickadee is adorable

I would leave the sampler as is, it adds that little bit of 'my work and no other like it'

Carol said...

So glad that my little chick has a twin, Ranae! Isn't she just the cutest thing? So glad I could lend you the chart.

As far as the sampler goes, I like Christine's suggestion... Good luck :)

Anonymous said...

I think the yellow bleeds make it look very primitive. I would keep it. It looks great.

K-G Knitter said...

Your chickadee is darling! I would suggest tea dying the BBD piece when you're done. That way the bleeding won't stand out so much (although I can't see it at all in the pic) and it will give it a vintage look.

Katrina said...

Cute Chickadee!

I fall into the OCD category and would trash it and start over but that's me. You should give yourself a few days and see how you feel about it :-).

Lainey said...

Chickadee is just darling! Sorry about your sampler. I am in Katrinas camp on this one though, would do my head in and I would need to start again.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

Adelina said...

I love your little chickadee !!!

Nancy said...

Your Gardener Chick is so pretty! I did see this on Carol's blog, and I had never seen these Chicks before. I think I'm going to have to stitch one or two!

The picture of Their Song is kind of small on my monitor so I can't see the colors. If it really bothers you I would start over, but if makes it look vintage that's kind of neat!

Brigitte said...

I so love the Valerie Pfeiffer birds and this one is a real cutie. After seeing it on Carol's blog I pulled out my own VP charts and chose one to stitch this year. That's what I call enabling, lol.
Hmmm, I think I'd go with Christine and Stephanie and coffee dye the BBD sampler after it's finished. Sounds like a great idea.

Siobhán said...

Cute chickadee!

If it will bother you when the piece is finished, then restart it. Personally, I think it looks fine--I actually can't see the bleeding! You have to figure that we pay money for hand dyed/mottled fabric and hand dyed/mottled fibers... why not let nature save you some money and do it for you?! ;)

Deb said...

I love your little Chickadee!

About the BBD piece - I guess you could possibly tea stain it after you're done and let run what will run. I'm one of the people who is pretty anal and it would probably drive me crazy. Wish I could think of a way you could get the bleeding off the piece.

But now that I think about it, it could give it a nice quality. Dab some water on a couple of other places and tell everyone it's an old piece.

Linda said...

The little bird is very sweet. I think as far as the sampler goes....put ti away for a bit and then come back and take a second look. Sometimes, seeing something for so long makes us very critical. Time has a way of changing things. I amd new to blogging and I love all your cross stitch. I have been stitching for years. I guess I should put some on my blog. Thanks for sharing!

Sally said...

Your chickadee is so cute Ranae!

I can't actually see where it's bled on Their Song but I think you have to do what you feel will make you happy with it. I know that's not much help is it?

Pumpkin said...

What a cute finish!

I see what you mean but it could just add to the antique look :o) If you are going to stitch it over again, I wouldn't go any further. LOL!

Sharon said...

How adorable! I say start over-you are such a quick stitcher.

Lana said...

Chickadee is adorable!!! Great finish! I think your sampler looks great! I would leave it the way it is and finish stitching it. Things like that just add character to a piece!

clob said...

i like your chickadee !

Nicola said...

That's one cute chick Ranae, well done on such a lovely finish.

When it comes to "Their Song", if it were me I'm afraid that I would have to re-stitch it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

stitcherw said...

Chickadee is so cute, what a fun finish. So sorry to hear about Song, I think I'd just keep soaking and rinsing and see where you can get. I'd hesitate to stitch more until you can get a little more comfortable with the fabric, you'd hate to spend more time and still be so dissatisfied that you don't want to keep it. Hopefully you can get it to the point where any left over bleeding of the colors mixes more with the variations in the fabric and isn't noticible. Glad to hear you were able to get a color key for Fredrick.
Sue

Hazel said...

Great little finish. It all depends on how happy you are with it. If I didn't have much left to work on then I'd be tempted to finish it and do a little experiment with it. You never know it might just personalise it that little bit and it may end up being your favourite piece. x

Vinniey said...

Your Chickadee looks so cute! I saw this cutie on Carol's blog too. The sampler looks fine to me, it look like an antique finishing. Look forward to seeing your decision. Your blog is beautiful and I'm following. :)

Wendy said...

I love that little Chickadee, he is so cute!!
Congrats on the finish!!

Dede said...

Love the Chickadee--now I will have to look for my VP babies! LOL

IF the bleeding really bothers you I would finish then coffee or tea stain. To much work already completed to just trash! It will make a great pillow that you won't cringe when someone actually uses it!Will be anxious to see what you decide and how you finish it...

Anonymous said...

Do what is going to make you happiest, what will not drive you nuts. Thats my suggestion. I got bled on that same piece. While trying to get the blood out, I slipped and got water on the piece, it bleed and still haven't decided what to do with it!
Your chickadee is super cute!

TechTeacherPto3 said...

love it!

Meari said...

Congrats on your finish, cute!! Congrats to Kellie for graduating 8th grade.