Twelfth Skyros Man and Chair Finish

 

The twelfth man is finished, along with his two flower motifs. I stitched the smaller sections in darning stitch and the two large bits - his pants and top - in Bokhara. 

 

Here is the final panel washed, ironed

 

 

 

 

 

and pinned in place on the chair cover, ready for stitching in place.

 

It is awkward stitching it on my sewing machine. A long-arm or  industrial machine would be easier, especially around the front of the arms.  

However, I managed. I'm glad I decided to buy a cover for the chair and stitch to that, rather than hand-stitching the linen to the chair itself by hand. While that may have given a tighter fit, being able to take this off to launder or repair gives a level of comfort.

It isn't an easy object to photograph, but here are a couple of shots of the finished chair in situ.

 

 

I still have quite a bit of thread left, somewhat to my surprise. Bokhara stitch should use more thread than running stitch and I thought I might need to buy more, but I have plenty left for a small back cushion, or other projects.

 

 

I'm so pleased with this project. I was enchanted when I saw it as a director's chair in Inspirations 78, and I have finished the adaptation to an armchair before Inspirations 80 has arrived.

 

Thanks to all my family and friends for encouragement along the way.

 

Now to sit and stitch in my chair!
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Earlier posts on this chair can be found at
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/men-of-skyros-preparation.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/men-of-skyros-stitching-begins.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/men-of-skyros-original-darning-man.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/men-of-skyros-bokhara-man.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/men-of-skyros-lattice-man.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/bokhara-coat-man.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/men-of-skyros-panel-one.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/men-of-skyros-chair-panel-one.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/skyros-man-6.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/skyros-man-7.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/skyros-man-8.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/second-skyros-panel-finished.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/skyros-man-9.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/skyros-man-10.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/skyros-chair-eleventh-man.html
http://jillian-alwaysstitching.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/skyros-chair-cushion.html




 

 

 

Skyros Man 9

I traced up my third chair panel of Skyros Men as soon as I finished the second one. By careful manipulation, I managed to get all four men following the slope of the arm of the chair without putting them very far across the grain of the linen.

I then added the edges and mounted it into my oval frame. This time, however, I tried the oval frame in my all-purpose floor stand, rather than in the stand that came with the oval hoop.

I have had some difficulty with the clamps on this general stand but my friend Alan Bevan made some adjustments and adaptations for me. This is the first chance I have had to try it out since he made them, and I am hoping it will give me more flexibility than the stand that came with the oval hoop.

The general stand is rather better suited to roller frames that have straight sides, but I managed to arrange the hoop in the stand using the clamps on the top of the oval where the curve is minimal.



 


So far it has worked well. It allows me to have the work at a more upright angle to my body. The original stand puts the work between 90 degrees and about 75 degrees to your body. This allows me more like 60-45 degrees.




I am working, as before, largely in darning stitch, but using Bokhara on his pantaloons.




I am also working up a scheme for the cushion of the chair - but more on that later!

Here he is finished.

Skyros Man 8

I have the scent of a finish for my second Skyros panel, so made good progress on the eighth Skyros man. Again, he is worked with the grain at a slant and again, I used Bokhara stitch (fast becoming my favourite ever stitch!) on his jacket.





As you see, I am also making progress on the small surrounding motifs.


Here he is, finished, and in context. A few motifs to finish and the panel can be stitched into the chair!

Skyros Man 7

The seventh Skyros Man was the first of the men to be stitched not on the straight grain of the linen, but slightly on a slant. In order to fit the 12 men around the curve of my chair, the two men closest to the front on either side need to be positioned at a slight angle -  across the fabric grain. This is not a problem for the design but makes it slightly awkward to stitch. I decided to work the jacket in Bokhara stitch - which worked well. I also like the way the darning stitch on the trousers came out when worked an angle.






 
 
 


I wasn't sure how the cream silk floss would look in the jacket, but it came up well, especially once the edges were outlined. The jacket has a lovely sheen and texture.




Here he is in context - motifs and one more man to finish this second panel.

Skyros Man No. 5

Yes, I have been progressing my Skyros Men in the daylight hours, with the fifth man now finished. I need to take frequent breaks to rest my eyes, but have done large parts in the intended darning stitch.







I went for Bokhara stitch on his pantaloons - to give myself a break from darning stitch, to get texture and to get sheen.
While the main threads in this project are Gumnut silks, the two golds are DMC perle thread, and I  like the result.

I added an ear when I outlined the face, correcting a slight fatness in the shape of his face!

Now I'm rolling on the second panel.

Men of Skyros Panel One

Since returning from Kangaroo Island, I have been working in daylight hours to finish the first Men of Skyros panel. I had four small motifs to go when I went away.

I began with the two-headed bird, using the recommended darning stitch.

Worked my way through the two rounded flowers

 and finally, the fuchsia-like flower.

Now to put the panel on the chair.

Bokhara Coat Man

The last of the four Men of Skiros in this first block for my chair is wearing a long coat. I have used Bokhara stitch for the coat, to give it texture and also because it is a faster stitch for such a large space. I used Bokhara on his boots as well - seemed more sturdy for boots!

The rest of this man is in darning stitch, as the designer intended.

I got so carried away with the long runs of couching that I forgot to leave space for his belt - so stitched it over the top.



Now I have the four men finished for this centre panel of the chair, I have only four small motifs to do and I can think about stitching the panel on to the chair cover.

I am away for the next ten days holidaying on Kangaroo Island with family. The hoop is too large to take, so the rest will need to wait. I have plenty of stitching to do, but may not have Internet access to post.

Men of Skyros: Original Darning Man

With a bit more confidence and my clip-on magnifiers I have returned to the first Skyros man I began. This time progress has been more to my liking.

With the magnifiers I can see well enough to work the darning  as a running, rather than a stabbing stitch while the work is still in the large floor-standing hoop. This makes it much easier to get a base line to work from. Rows can then simply follow the 3x1 darning pattern of the original row - much faster and more satisfactory.

The new work is denser and more even than the original.

The work isn't fast,but it is not painstakingly slow either, and, more importantly, it is enjoyable!

I have dubbed this figure 'Original Darning Man' in recognition of the darning or running stitch, and his place figure on which I began the project. I have, in fact, experimented with a couple of other stitches, and have Bokhara Man and Lattice Man on the go as well. More on them soon.

I am very grateful for the encouragement and tips from fellow stitchers and bloggers. Lyn's blog on magnifiers is helpful. I wrote about my clip-on magnifier when stitching the Toy Chest Etui and should, in hindsight, have been ready to use it when I started my Skyros men.

I bought my magnifiers in Australia from the Fox Collection.

The magnifiers make a big difference in getting a good base line to begin the running stitch. From there, with the magnifier, I can see to (1) move over by one thread and (2) move down one thread in each stitch. There is much less counting when you can clearly see the thread and stitch length you are following!

So Original Darning Man is finished and I am very satisfied. I am also pleased with some of my stitch variations and will incorporate them - but I am satisfied that I can restore running, or darning, stitch to its place as the main stitch for this project.