Graph N' Latch Owl Rug Kit

I completed making the M.C.G. Textiles' Graph N' Latch Owl Rug Kit as a gift to my daughter on her birthday.

The finished size is 18.5" x 27".  The kit includes 3.75-mesh canvas, pre-cut acrylic yarn, a color chart and instructions.  I bought the latch hook tool separately.  I was torn on whether to make it a wall hanging or a floor rug.  I can always turn it into a wall hanging later.

As far as the latching of yarn goes, I made one mistake that multiplied because I chose the technique of using the previous row as a reference for what color to use where.  The problem with that method is that if you make a mistake, every row after that has a mistake in it as well.  In my case, I put one too many purple sections in the wing, but chose to leave it that way since it would just give the illusion that the owl is cold and fluffing up his feathers.  I did not make the same mistake in the owl's head, because I started counting rows once I caught the problem with the wing.

Cutting the excess mesh and applying rug binding was where I really struggled.  I've only made one rug like this before, and it was oval shaped.  The owl has many more curves that required notches to be cut out of the mesh in order for the hem to fold over smoothly.  I had to be careful not to cut so close that the yarn could fall off.  However, that left some sharp edges, so I had to try my best at covering the sharp edges with binding.

I basted the mesh hem over to make the binding process easier.  I ran out of iron-on rug binding before I made it all the way around the edge.  All I had on hand was sew-on rug binding.  I quickly discovered that it is very difficult to push a needle through the existing iron-on binding, and I was running out of time because my daughter was coming over to open her birthday presents the next day.  In the morning, I raced out to the crafts store and bought more iron-on binding to make a second row of coverage over the mesh hem.  Ironing the binding on is so much easier than sewing.  I was done in less than five minutes.

It turned out that I didn't have to hurry, because my daughter's birthday celebration had to be postponed because she was ill, but it sure feels good to be done.  Another project can be checked off my list.

Another Needlepoint Block Complete

This is a Dimensions needlepoint project called "Floral Splendor", designed by Barbara Baatz Hillman from the Kooler Design Studio.  It's a pre-printed 18x18 inch canvas that can be made into a pillow or hung in a frame on a wall.  The finished product is 14x14 inches.

As I get older, my eyesight gets worse, so I try to avoid counted stitch projects.  I need the design to be printed on the canvas like this one.  However, due to the intricacies of this gorgeous design, I still managed to miss a few stitches even when using a magnifying glass on top of thick reading glasses.

There were also some hues that were too close to each other in color for me to differentiate between them, so I had to consult the legend repeatedly.  However, pinpointing a tiny spot on the canvas and matching it up perfectly with a tiny spot in the middle of the guide was no easy feat since the guide was blown up into two large pages.  Figuring out whether the middle spot I was working was on the left page or the right page was a struggle.  I decided to go rogue in the last few stitches, picking whatever colors I saw fit.

My other challenges with this project included me repeatedly dropping the needle and having it slip down the side of the couch onto the floor.  I had to crawl around with a flashlight several times to locate it.  I also kept "losing" floss, only to discover that it had stuck to my clothes and fell off somewhere in the house or garage.  Fortunately, there was plenty of extra floss left over by the time the project was done, so I really didn't need to worry.

Because I used the continental stitch mostly throughout, there is a lot of stretching that needs to be done at the moment.  I think I am on my fourth stretch.  If I do a similar project in the future, I will have to remember to use the basketweave stitch as much as possible to prevent distortion of the canvas.  The continental stitch usually results in a parallelogram shape instead of a square, so I have to mist the needlepoint with water, stretch and pin it to a bulletin board repeatedly until I get it as close to a square as I can.

I think I will opt to make a pillow since cording and fabric are much less expensive than large frames.  It should be beautiful when finished.