My Canvas of the Day postings with stitch ideas have been very popular but they take more time than I have to write except occasionally. Blog readers love them, however, so I have recruited a guest writer to help me come up with ideas for a painted canvas occasionally.
Please welcome Bonnie, who is going to do a Canvas of the Month entry periodically with me. The way this will work is that Bonnie and I will take turns choosing a painted canvas, then both of us will write up ideas for stitching it. Each set of ideas will be a separate blog entry so you can see different approaches to the same piece. We hope to do this once a month but with the holidays approaching like a runaway train, don't be surprised if we can't meet that schedule.
The first canvas is Bonnie's choice: Snow Cat from Brenda Stofft. This is an 18 count canvas that is 9 inches high and 6 wide. There is a Snow Bunny canvas that is very similar also in Brenda Stofft's line of canvas although it is narrower, only 4 1/2 inches wide. http://www.brendastofftdesigns.com/PC120048.JPG
Below is what Bonnie says about this canvas. My thoughts on stitching it will be the next blog entry.
Bonnie: "Being a cat person, I love this canvas. The trick is going to be that since the canvas is a lot of the same colors – making each part slightly different that the rest based on texture and stitches. My thoughts on the canvas…
Eyes – All done in a strandable silk like Splendor, using tent stitch and choosing a direction that fits the eye shape best. White dot in center of eye add a strand or two of blending filament for sparkle. Outlined with in a stem stitch to get the perfect shape.
Fur – All done in long and short stitch follwing the direction of the fur with multiple shades of something fuzzy I could brush when done to get fur effect - like Faux fur, Designer Dream, Whisper. Pad the muzzle area first and then put on lots of layers to get depth there. Black outlines on face and paws stem stitches in black floss. Insides of ear – something shiny like neon rays or a silk perle in a satin stitch.
Fur on Coat – All fur trim done in looped tent stitch with something like Burmalana so slightly furry yet a different look than the cat. Need to make sure the coat doesn’t blend with the cat. What I mean by looped tent stitch is a tent stitch where you take something like a laying tool and put it under each stitch so it doesn’t lay flat to the canvas when done, but looks like lots of loops. Make pom-pom bigger loops than rest. Small loops around ears so don’t lose them! Could also do turkey tufting and sculpt the areas.
Blue on coat – Find a cotton overdye that matches some of the blue colors and has some variation but subtle. Use a stitch that doesn’t have an obvious diagonal direction but more of a vertical orientation, but can also be turned on its side for the hat - alternating oblong cross, Hungarian, or pavilion diamonds are some possibilities.
Staff – red and white out of ribbon or neon rays in simple long diagonal stitches. Ribbons done in a couched cord or braid when all done with ends done in same fiber maybe with a lazy daisy or something to give some depth.
Snowman – tent stitch and cross stitch in a floss with some blending filament mixed in for shimmer.
Hat consider looped tent for fur and tassel to ‘match’ coat.
Basket – all done in tent and satin stitches with Smyrna crosses for eyes and mouth. Something with sheen to contrast with cat like silk or maybe some perle cotton for parts. Snow inside with a 032 Kreinik braid or flair to match snow in front. Handle and fly-aways in couched metallic with French knots at red ends.
Sky – darning pattern in a cotton solid or overdye (few strands of floss or maybe a small perle cotton) or my old stand by a t-stitch – very light coverage so fades away in the background.
Snow in front – Nobuko in flair, some sheer fiber, some finer braid that would allow shading to show through or maybe a white/blue oeverdye with something added for a slight sparkle. Want to make sure it looks heavier than ‘middle’ snow, but still allows some shading to happen. Snow in back – Stitch something like the medieval mosaic (horizontal stitches) in same fibers as snowman but lighter coverage – lighten up the blue to a very pale blue tending towards white.
Snowflakes – beads or sequins"
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
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