P is for Phantom and Paris Stitch

It seems an eon has passed since we last posted.  Sometimes life really does jump up and put us in our place.  Julie left for a holiday that was cut short by putting her back out, while Becky stayed home with the flu.  Neither of us felt much like doing anything before now, but we are ready with our latest now. Julie has managed one more letter, which Becky has researched.  But first - Jo has caught up to us. 

Her sampler is looking so good - I'm excited to see how she finishes up now!  You can usually see Jo's latest photos on the Art (Gallery) of Friendship page on our site, or at her wonderful blog.

Phantom may refer to:

* Ghost, in traditional belief, a physical manifestation of the soul or spirit of a deceased person

* Illusion, a distortion of the senses

The Phantom we most likely think of is Phantom of the Opera.  Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910. Initially, the story sold very poorly upon publication in book form and was even out of print several times during the twentieth century; it is overshadowed by the success of its various film and stage adaptations. The most notable of these were the 1925 film depiction and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical.

The above from Wikipedia

Which actor do you think of portraying Phantom of the Opera? Julie's favorite in this piece is Lon Chaney from the silent version. 

The Phantom is a deformed man believed to be the angel of music. 

When I think of the Phantom of the Opera, it's a mask, a rose and of course that vivid music that you can feel through your body as it rises into a crescendo!

Paris Stitch is a line stitch used only on even-weave fabrics. It is worked in straight rows and has branched stitches from the upper edge. It is a variation of a backstitch.  After the backstitch is made a vertical stitch is made. For a variation the vertical stitch can be made diagonally. If this stitch is pulled tight, it makes a pattern of holes along the row. It can also be stitched row upon row to fill in a shape.  Examples can be found once again in the Complete Stitch Encyclopedia by Jan Eaton, one of our favorite stitch guides, as well as on line at several sites.  This is from a needlework shop we might have the chance to visit next week in Philadelphia! 

Julie has worked the Paris stitch for the teeth in the Phantom, so it is a very small test, indeed.  She placed the vertical stitches going both up and down to delineate the yellowed teeth of our specter! 

Julie and I are dashing away with friends to enjoy the upcoming event at Winterthur as well as several other venues of needlework around Delaware, Philadelphia and New Jersey! We are so looking forward to seeing many of our needlework friends at the event. If you are one of our followers and we haven't met you in person, do come and say hello! We love meeting our friends in the needlework world.  We will have tales to tell of our adventures.  We don't get to that part of the country often, so we like to make it count.  Any time you are traveling, you should contact museums and historical societies in advance.  Very often, you can make arrangements to see some of the needlework they so often have in storage.  It makes for a very fun day!

As usual, click on the picture of the chart above, or under Freebies in our sidebar to go to our free charts and download your copy.