The House at Crow Corner

Here's a canvas I purchased last autumn. I saw it at my local needlework shop, REGAL RABBIT, and immediately fell in love with it. (I JUST LOVE HOUSES - of practically any kind or color - and find them impossible to resist. sigh.)

I started stitching on it last year, but you know how, sometimes, when you reach a certain area of a painted canvas and you can't figure out what to do, it stops you in your tracks and you lose your stitching momentum? So you set the canvas aside, start stitching something else, and consequently, forget all about it until you pull it out later and decide to tackle the problem area? (Can you RELATE to that? hmmm??)

Well, that's what happened to me. I was going along, happily stitching the variegated clapboards, and tent stitching all the cute stained-glass windows...when I got to the roof area and just....STOPPED. The roof areas were so small, they couldn't handle large overlapping shingle patterns, or even offset cashmeres....So I put the canvas away and forgot about it.

Until THIS year, when I pulled it out again and determined to finish it by October.

Sooo, I had to figure out what to do with the roof. I settled on tent stitching the background, but first placing little random scotch stitches. It gives enough of a discreet pattern to suggest a patched roof, without overwhelming the little house.
(Actually, it kinda looks like the roof has lots of warts, doesn't it?) But I'm pleased with it. And also pleased that it got me over the hateful HUMP and allowed me to continue stitching on the rest of it.

And check out the two-broom garage! Isn't that a hoot?

And of course, once I had all the stitching done, I had to figure out how to deal with the little colored "dots" that were sprinkled in the sky - were they supposed to be falling leaves, or pieces of candy (my preference)? Anyway, beads were the answer - in muted autumn leaf colors. So I went to a bead store in Santa Rosa and found some great beads! But THEN, to put on the falling beads, I needed totally invisible thread, right? So I rummaged around in my old sewing stuff and pulled out some invisible quilting thread and used that. Perfect!

Well, I'm pleased with everything: the roof, the beads that suddenly look like piles of leaves, the crows and even the smoke swirls coming out of the chimneys (I added that, so it looks like someone is home. I also added a black cat charm.) And, best of all, I got it finished it plenty of time to display for October! Woo Hoo!