Cheekbones for O'jishi

After finishing O'jishi's brass teeth and outlining all of them (except the upper right incisor so you can see the difference between the black outlines and dark brown outlines) I moved on to his cheekbones.  The interesting thing about this piece is that the two halves of the mask are not symmetrical.  You see this particularly in the cheekbones and eyes which are slightly higher on one side than the other.  Visually this works because most people don't have symmetrical faces either.  My face has one eye slightly higher and larger than the other and my nose isn't perfectly straight.  It's just how we are.

I choose to do roughly oval shapes that are divided evenly in the middle since the two areas are both 16 threads high.  Therefore, it was easy to start roughly in the middle and make sure the top half stitch was over eight threads and that the bottom half was over the same number of threads.  Then I worked from the middle to one side, then the other, making the thread height follow the painted shape.  Then I did small straight stitches under O'jishi's nose over to the other cheekbone. ( I have not touched the ovals under the cheekbones yet.  I thought oval Jessicas would work here but that did not look right so out they came.  I have another idea I'll try tonight on this area.)

I used two plies of Gloriana's overdyed floss Lacquered Gold #045, which is a lovely gold shading to brass silk.  The plies have to be laid to keep from twisting just like the background stitch had to be, but the lovely rust and brown and cream shading on the cheekbones shows through.

 I was a bit worried that the dividing line would be too prominent but it looks good to me.  I can see a twisted stitch on the left cheekbone that I didn't notice when stitching last night but I was very tired after shoveling the ice off half the driveway.   Thank goodness the sun melted it off most of the rest!

Later on the left cheekbone has bumps that will have to be added on top of this stitching but that will wait until the end.  Thankfully I have a color copy of the canvas so I'll know where they belong if the painted areas don't show up under the light coverage stitches.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Lazy Jane and the Purple Shoes

I didn't stitch a lick yesterday, despite being trapped at home by the snow.  I just was too tired from Christmas preparations, shoveling heavy wet snow, taking the dogs for walks, and running up and down the stairs to tend to the fire in the wood stove (we keep it going when there is danger--like heavy snow on the power lines--of losing the heat in cold weather).

You'll have to forgive me, but sometimes I just am not in the mood, despite being in love with the art of needlepoint and stitching almost every day.

I decided I'd distract you with some rarities.  First, the pair of witch slippers above are a charted design from Margaret Bendig.  You don't see many of her designs for sale.  She mostly teaches although occasionally she'll publish something like the line of small seasonal themed kimonos she did for Needlepoint Now magazine in 2008, or her Southwest Sampler (second link) in the same year.
http://www.needlepointnow.com/back_issues/2008/2008.html

http://www.needlepointnow.com/back_issues/2008/2008_01/2008_01.html

I keep hoping she'll get her website up and running, but it isn't yet.
http://www.margaretbendigdesigns.com/

Her Holiday Fun stocking is in the Project Book for ANG.
http://www.needlepoint.org/CPB/2009.php

Have fun looking at Margaret's work while I try to get my rear in gear....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Yikes! It is Snowing!

I am late posting this morning because it has been a hectic week, topped off this morning by a sudden snowfall here in Chilly Hollow. We have almost an inch on the ground already, and up to four inches are predicted before it stops snowing tonight.  So instead of crafting a blog entry first thing this morning, I was moving firewood into the wood closet, starting a fire in the wood stove, putting out sunflower seed for the birds, making sure the snow shovels are at hand in the garage, putting down the rugs at the entrance doors for wet boots, etc.  Before I filled the bird feeder I took a photograph for you.  You can't see the thick snowflakes that were falling but believe me, they are there!  All that snow fell in the last 90 minutes.  It was raining when I got up this morning, so everything is very slushy.  It'll be ice tomorrow morning if I don't constantly shovel the walk and porches and decks.  Although I try to make time for my stitching each day, some chores like winter storm prep, take priority.

Despite all the bustle of getting ready for Christmas here in CH and the first snow of the winter season, I have stitched a little on O'jishi's bottom row of teeth. A photo is worth displaying here so you can see that the almost finished bottom row of teeth will need some cosmetic tweeking to the black and dark brown lines that outline them.  Compare the middle two teeth in the top row with the bottom row and you'll see that the tent stitching between the two bottom middle teeth has been covered in part by my #12 Kreinik metallics.  I'll have to top stitch black in when I finish the teeth.  I did that for the top row, actually.  It isn't obvious, but if you don't do it, it shows.  I'm also thinking that the dark brown outlines of the upper right incisor and the two bottom incisors needs something.  I might need to make that black, or at least outline the area with more dark brown thread.  I'll think about how best to handle that while I finish the teeth.  Since I can't do any of the chores I planned for today, perhaps I'll show more progress on O'jishi tomorrow.  I do want to finish the teeth and jaw this weekend and perhaps start another area.

Everyone be careful out driving around in the snow or dodging holiday shoppers.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Peg Dunayer Goes Biscornu

I've been having fun emailing back and forth privately with Peg Dunayer in Texas this last week.  Peg is a counted thread designer who has a new website up and running.  I've known her for a while and have had the pleasure of seeing her Marissa's Weathervane at ANG Seminar win a first place in the Class Projects/Professionals division.  It's magnificent in person, by the way.  You'll find it almost a third of the way down this page.  Look for Lee McLeron's name.  Click on the tiny photo for a better one.
http://www.needlepoint.org/WhatIs/2007/index.php

Here is Peg's website.  "Needlepoint should be as fun as eating chocolate."  LOL  My kind of designer.
http://www.pegdunayer.com/

Although Peg is more well known for her charted designs that are based on traditional quilt patterns, I am particularly fond of her etui boxes.  The gazebo is a particular favorite, but if you are a long time subscriber to Needlepoint Now, you saw the adobe house in the January/February and May/June 2003 issues.  David's Star adorns Blog this morning since in the Christmas season we Christians tend to forget everyone has different traditions.  Besides, Peg is a Star in the NP world herself!
http://www.needlepointnow.com/back_issues/2003/2003.html

We were both amused when I found this blog entry from a New Zealand stitcher who took the Circling Doves quilt pattern design Peg did for the Cyberstitchers classic quilt pattern book fund raiser and made a biscornu shape from it.  Very creative, Jocelyn!
http://pinsneedles.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/ok-so-im-years-late-making-one-of-these/

If you want to know more about biscornu, here's a nice explanation with photos of how they are assembled.
http://www.prettyimpressivestuff.com/biscornu.htm

Peg says she has designed a new pattern intended to be made up into a biscornu called "Bees-cornu" because it has four bumble bees, stitched in Fuzzy Stuff and Flair. It's not on her website yet but will be soon.  Peg also plans to add kits to the site over the holidays when she hopes to have more time so that folks can buy buttons and threads if they don't have good local sources.  Right now all her designs are chart packs only but that will change.

By the way, if you need something more on your Christmas list, you might want to buy a copy of the charted quilt designs book from ANG's Cyberstitchers chapter.  You'll have the pleasure knowing you are helping support a chapter in cyberspace for those who can't make it to a local (or not-so-local) chapter in real life.
http://www.cyberpointers.org/quilt-book.html

Congratulations on the new site, Peg.  And on your designs circling round the world all the way to New Zealand!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

We Have Fangs

I decided to tackle O'jishi's mouth instead of working more on his eyes once the background was finished.  I've told you about the jawline (which isn't finished, I need to be rested to do the compensation and it's too crazy here with Christmas prep) but I've concentrated on the mouth recently.  This is a three part area (jaw, mouth and tongue, lips separating the two) and since the open mouth needs to be very smooth, I thought tent stitches would be perfect.  So I've been carefully tent stitching with four plies (usually) throughout the area.

I've used seven threads and have blended some of them to get lighter shades in areas.  My first step was to stitch the black outlines around his fangs and teeth.  I used Thread Gather's Sheep's Silk (a silk/wool blend) in Ink Black #SPS 050 for this.  Since this is a crewel type thread, I used a strand right out of the skein instead of plying this thread.

The dark brown areas are done with Gloriana's overdyed brown silk Coffee Bean #166.  The pinkish brown areas are in Needle Necessities' overdyed cotton floss #125 (which is now available from ThreadWorX as Shades of Chocolate #1036).  The darkest red is from Needlepoint Inc.'s Needlepoint Silk #Terra Cotta.  The red shades (from bright tomato through medium other to dark tomato) are all Soie d'Alger silk (also medium to dark- Touterelle 2615,  Feu #616, and Touterelle 2616).  I mixed two plies of the NN #125 with two of the dark Needlepoint Inc. Silk Terra Cotta in some areas to get a medium shade of the darkest red.  Since hand painted canvases vary, anyone who stitches this according to my plan will have to choose where to put and how to blend their own colors and work the largest areas in basketweave.  Having smooth stitches (I see a flaw in the photo I'll have to fix, by the way) is very important here so keep your tension as steady as possible to make all the tent stitches fat little rice grains.

Once the mouth was done, I added a bit of bling by turning the canvas onto its side and adding random tent stitches to the mouth area with Petite Treasure Braid #PB07.  This is a thin metallic in tomato red.  I often use this technique to add sparkle to a Santa's red coat as I think Christmas ornaments need metallics to compete with the lights and other ornaments.  It seemed to suit O'jishi whose mouth should have a little something extra to make it fit with the rest of the design.

Then it was time to give O'jishi some bite!

His teeth are painted in a bright gold, a more tarnished gold, and has silver highlights.  In real life O'jishi masks have brass teeth, so I choose three shades of Kreinik in size 12 braid.  The tarnished gold is Vintage Gold #002V, the bright gold is Cat's Eye #3202 and the silver highlights are in Sugar Cube #4005.  (Note that Sugar Cube is one of the discontinued Naturals colors.)  I worked vertical rows of stem stitch for each tooth, working normally from left to right and changing colors as the painted canvas changed.

I need to finish the bottom row of teeth, fix the snagged stitch on his bottom lip, and finish the jaw line before I move on.  I am not sure when this will be complete, as this is an exceptionally busy week but I'll do my best to stitch every night until this is finished.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow