Since last night I worked mostly on the background behind the wizard and the firebird, I didn't bother taking a photo this morning. I did add a topknot and a tongue to the bird and have started the wizard's hair and beard. Once the wizard is no longer bald I will add the stone to the top of his staff. I don't want to do that until I am no longer stitching in that area or I'll snag each pass of the threads on the stone!
After that I will need to finish the background and do some final touches. Will I give the wizard glasses? Will I adjust the title on the apricot book? Will I attach the silver moon and brass star charms around the globe the wizard holds or stitch them instead? Am I going to add tassels or something else to the end of his sleeves and tip of his cloak hood? Lots of decisions to ponder as I work the background!
You might want to look at Joan Thomasson's original Holiday Spirit Santa to see how she used the moon and star charms and how she handled tassels on this piece. You can see the piece here by clicking first on Catalogue, then on Holiday Spirits. After that, choose the size of the wizard image that you are interested in viewing, depending on the detail you want and how fast your Internet connection is.
http://www.joanthomasson.com/
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
