I did finish one of them pretty quickly. It was inspired by two samples from the fabric store--the orange velveteen was just appealing, and the magenta seemed to go with it (the colors are off on my monitor, making the magenta bluish). Two by three inches in size, chain stitch, several couched ribbons, and a scattering of French knots. This may be the first time--in an embroidery, at least--that I consciously added some complementary color, having finally realized that complete lack of contrast was what made pleasingly analogous color schemes kinda boring.
And then there was this one, not so quickly finished because of how I "had" to do the leaves. They're not chain stitches--it seemed like that would be too bulky. I had one needle with three strands of DMC, and I'd make a tiny loop and couch down the tip of it with the single strand of DMC in another needle. So that's why it took so long; I couldn't usually stand to do more than about 10 leaves at a time! and usually less.
A bit over a week ago I added the beads and filled in the trunk, and yesterday I did the hill--I had tried last week, but couldn't figure out what to do (it turns out I needed to use a different green and a plainer stitch). It doesn't lie flat, between tension of stitch and thickness of thread. I'm not sure how (or, honestly if) I will finish off the edges--I wish the fabric paint had been a touch more thorough at the edges; I like the raw edges fine, I'm just not keen on the white showing.
Notes (so I can find them again): 22-count cotton evenweave a bit over 4x4 inches square, painted with Jacquard Textile colors and embroidered with DMC cotton:
*one strand each of 4070, 4050, and 907 for the leaves
*one strand each of 304, 498, and 3831 for the trunk
*one strand each of 335, 602, and 3705 to sew the beads on (I originally was going to have French knot "flowers" along with the bead "fruit" but there really wasn't room for both)
*three strands of 562 for the grass
2 comments:
Hooray for finishing things, and such terribly cute things besides!
I am lost in the labyrinthine hell of giant seemingly-unfinishable projects.
You may have a point about the starting of small things, though I'm reluctant to start anything just now.
Er, well, I live in one of those labyrinthine hells, and I work in another one...I'm trying to cultivate the confidence that yes, it is possible to finish at least some things, given the proper circumstances.
Unfortunately I am almost never reluctant to start something new, sometimes just because I can find it.
Post a Comment