Juanita, the Mexican Lady, is finished

Many thanks to all of you who followed the Lady and who commented on her progress as I stitched on her through the past few months.

We all owe a big thank you to Linda Carter Holman for the original painting, to Melissa Shirley for putting the painting to needlepoint canvas, and to Jane of Chilly Hollow for allowing us to participate in this adventure on her blog.


I finished the branches the birds sit on, added more greenery around the roses, and stitched the birds. The branches are stitched in a Needle Necessities overdye (I think it was discontinued). Brenda Hart had suggested a whipped chain for the branches. I was watching T.V. as I stitched and had to laugh when I finished and realized I’d come up with a variation of the whipped chain. I liked the accidental variation as it added to the gnarly look of the branches. I will add the variation to my list of stitches.

The birds were stitched in basketweave in an Anchor floss (bright blue, #132). You cannot tell it from the picture but I made three layers of threads for the wings in a ray stitch. I kept stacking one layer over the other: first a metallic ribbon (Kreinik 1/16” # 850), then a deep purple/blue petite frosty ray (#PY370) and topped off with sewing machine metallic thread in two colors, silver and multi-color pastels. I also made two layers of the petite frosty rays for the bottoms of the birds’ tails.

You can see that I changed the calla lilies slightly by using fabric for the center and for the stamens. I may change them again but will leave them for now.

When I started this project I “chatted” with Linda Carter Holman via email about the piece she had entitled “Secrets.” I wondered aloud with her if the calla lilies
meant Resurrection (as seen in Easter) or death (particularly symbolic in the Victorian era). I also opined that the roses might mean life or love.

She responded that: “Calla Lilies do give a certain feeling-- Someone told me that it is the flower of the bride of Christ. I like that description. I Like that idea too --of Death and resurrection. These two ideas may come down to the same meaning. And Roses another flower that comes to -----love. The thorny path.”

So from this conversation I concocted Juanita’s back story. She is obviously a young woman, well dressed in Mexican clothing with the addition of her pearls and diamond jewelry. She is wearing a diamond ring on her left hand, a sign of being engaged. She is taking the calla lilies (death and Resurrection) to the grave of her deceased husband (see how prominent in size they are on the canvas?) and is also carrying roses for her living fiancé. I like the story as it alludes to Juanita’s secrets. There is a wonderful festival called “The Day of the Dead” in Mexico (especially in Oaxaca) where people go to the graves of their relatives and celebrate the dead. People dress up and take gifts to the graves. So, Juanita is celebrating also.

The night I was in Michael’s buying ribbon, floss, and beads for the roses, two Mexican women walked by, examined the canvas, and said they really liked it. I mentioned that I had been criticized for adding jewelry to ethnic clothing but I thought Juanita was dressed up for a festival of some kind. The two ladies agreed with me and said that women in a more southern part of Mexico dress like that. So, I was content that my interpretation was not culturally insensitive.

This entry ends our collaboration on Juanita. I’ve enjoyed the process and Look-I finished a needlepoint! I have an idea for the frame and if Jane would like to show the canvas in the frame, in the future, I will provide a picture.

Thank you for watching me stitch.

Janet in La La Land

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