I had always wanted to petit point a Heaven & Earth design, but which one? They're all stunning, HUGE and require a great commitment of time. While perusing their website last November I finally found one that I could not resist, "Catherdral". It is 400 x 640 stitches, or 256,000 stitches in total. If I stitch one of the 10 x 10 squares (100 stitches) per day, then it will only take me 7 years to complete. No problem, right? Right! I figure I can petit point more than 100 stitches a night, so I should get it done in less than 7 years. I started as soon as I had the pattern in hand.
To further complicate matters, I am starting all over. I first petit pointed on a 22 count canvas, using 3 strands of floss. I would have preferred to petit point using 2 strands of floss, but there is no finer count of canvas. Or at least that is what I had thought.
I'll post my progress every once in a while, and over the next month I'll post some general suggestions to consider when stitching these large computer generated charts published by companies such as Heaven & Earth, Mystic Stitch, and Scarlet Quince to name a few.
If you have any questions or wish to share your experiences, please join the conversation by posting a comment.
That is a beautiful chart. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
ReplyDeleteI am really pleased to see your post. I began my very first HAED many {many, MANY) years ago on 22ct Hardanger, using 2 strands of floss and full crosses. I got about as far as you and decided I was getting what looked like a 'blocky' effect on the large areas of one colour. Project got put aside whilst I contemplated restarting using either 1 thread and full crosses OR 3 threads and Petit Point. I never have gotten back to testing those options for coverage, but from your experience I think I am going to take option 3 (or 4?) and purchase a suitable 25ct fabric to use. These designs are so amazing, it will be a pleasure to own a completed one (even in 7 years time...). Best of luck on your journey!!!
ReplyDeleteI usually suggest the 22ct and hardanger as an alternative to the 25ct Lugana. You don't slip under on the 22ct. My preference though is petit point. I'm already working on my next blog post, again in relation to HAED - petit point vs. cross stitch
DeleteAre you using "parking" as you go? That might be an interesting blog topic.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you. I do park my threads; not necessarily to save on thread but to cut down on bulking up the back. I generally follow a symbol until I am uncomfortable counting to the next location for that symbol, park my thread and work the next symbol. However, I don't like to park more than about 3 threads, as it could become confusing. This will also obviously eliminate the ridges.
DeleteI have a HAED WIP and also used parking on it. Mostly to prevent having to stop and start every few threads, which is a pain and time consuming. I was willing to go about an inch, beyond that and I finished off the current thread and restarted as needed. The back is a mess, though!
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