Finished with the stitching!

The stitching took a few days but it was Superbowl weekend so lots of tv time made it go quickly. Notice the lavender and purple seed beads in the center?

 The next step was to wet the waste canvas to soften the glue, then pull out the threads with a pair of needle nose pliars. Best done with a towel on your lap and a wet paper towel covering the canvas where you're not working--because it dries out QUICKLY.

Finished stitching. Then on to the stitching on the tea cosy.

Tea cosy with waste canvas basted in place

Tea cosy stitching finished

As you can see in the second photo, I dyed the final skein. It was evenly and tightly spun and would make the perfect stitching yarn. It went into a crockery pot I use for microwave dyeing with some water, vinegar and purple and raspberry food coloring. Cover with plastic wrap, punch some holes for steam to escape, microwave for five minutes and allow to cool for several hours. The water in the pot was clear which meant that all the dye was absorbed. The skein has a nice kettle-dyed effect because there is some variation in the twist AND because I allowed some bits to stick up above the water.

The stitching commences...

I decided to start with the hotpad since it was flat and less lumpy than the tea cosy. I chose matching pansy patterns from a book I had in my reference library in the studio--Elizabethan Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammet. Since it's stitched on a square grid and knitted fabric isn't square, I had to cut a piece of waste canvas and baste it to the hotpad. The canvas is 5" square, so that gives an idea of the total size of the hotpad. It's original size was probably about 6" square.

The stitches are worked over the canvas, then you wet the canvas and pull out the threads of the waste canvas. Easier said than done, believe me! The canvas dries quickly which means that the glue hardens. So there I am, sitting in a recliner with the hotpad on a towel and a wet paper towel covering the parts of the canvas I'm not working on with a small pair of needlenose pliers. Once you get half the threads pulled out, the rest goes easily, though.

Finished stitching, waste canvas trimmed away

And just for fun, I added a few lines of lavendar and purple beads to the center of the design. Next up, stitching the tea cosy...