The photo above shows the old large Ming Variation stitch in the right hand side of the sky and the left side shows the smaller balloon stitch I found which is a smaller scale, less oval version of the stitch that some of us think is too large. It was easy to pull out the left half of the sky as this is a light coverage stitch with only one ply of silk.
Here's a tip about ripping out--use the eye end of the needle to gently pull up a stitch. If I use the business end, the sharp tip catches the silk the wrong way and I end up pulling half the ply out, not the whole thing.
Comparing the two sky stitches, I like the Ming Variation better but it isn't right for this canvas. It is too large. So I ripped it all out and continued filling the sky with balloon stitch.
This photo shows an all balloon stitch sky with some of the palm fronds stitched in. I'm using stem stitch and a variety of threads, but more about that later when I have more palm fronds stitched.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
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