Saturday, July 3, 2010

Ending the Leaf Adventure and Starting Another

Cha Progress to Date
I promised you a photo of all the finished leaves around Cha's large flower and a photo of the whole thing so you can see it all in context.  Above is the Big Picture, with the flowers, leaves and fruit cluster all finished.  The bird is untouched and only a little background finished.  Below is a close up of the leaves around the big flower so you can see the difference between the rounded leaves with the brown veins and the one upright one with the green vein.

Three Backgrounds
When I got to this point, I happened to read Gay Ann Rogers' newest technique posting on her website.  It hit me like a ton of bricks!  (I'm sure it wouldn't have struck me so strongly unless I'd been unconsciously thinking the background wrong already.)  And it started my next adventure on Cha--wide diamonds, the gorgeous background stitch that I love, is just not right for this canvas.
http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Techniques_11.html

The photo above is labeled "three backgrounds" for a reason.  If you look carefully you'll see wide diamonds on the left, a bit of skipped tent stitch along the front edge under the flower, and tent stitches between the flower and the bird and along the left edge.  Skipped tent stitch will minimize the color changes in my JL Walsh silk/wool pink overdye but it has too much texture for this background.  I found I was bothered by the dotted Swiss look, which seems distracting.  I already have wide diamonds screaming LOOK AT ME!  Substituting skipped tent isn't the answer to my background.

Tent stitches are.  I am in the process of ripping out the skip tent test and the wide diamonds and tent stitching the entire background.  I can't use basketweave, by the way.  If I do, I'll get diagonal stripes of color.  Instead I will need to work this line by line, with occasional areas where I'll concentrate pale or darkest medium pink.  The background will look somewhat mottled but I like it as this reminds me of the way old fabric fades.

Tent stitches should work very well given what I plan to do to the bird.  But that is a story for another day.

I recommend you think over Gay Ann Rogers' words carefully and look at your current painted canvas with them in mind.  You may find yourself embarking on a new adventure, just like me!

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

12 comments:

Rosali said...

Gracias por compartir sus artículos y labores.

Peggi said...

Good article by Gay Ann Rogers. Years ago another teacher, Kelly Doyle, gave me a few similar tips:
1. It's OK to use basketweave or tent stitch on a painted canvas - everything doesn't have to be a decorative stitch.
2. When choosing a stitch,first ask yourself "What does it look like?" (wavy,dotted, smooth, etc) and then hunt for a stitch that fits your perception of the painted object.
This seems to work most of the time - it seems Kelly and Gay Ann are on the same page.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

It does sound like both teachers are talking about the same thing in different words. Thanks for the additional insight, Peggi. Different phrasing may make more sense to some of us here at Blog.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Usted es welcom, Rosali!

NCPat said...

I like the diamond pattern but after looking at your photos agree that you do need the tent stitches. So sorry you have to frog!

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Not to worry--this piece will be better after ripping!

MeganH said...

Regarding Scarlet Threads' post on Mary's blog today - if it weren't for you, this would have been my first introduction to modern canvaswork!

I discovered your blog by chance ages ago, and although I don't think I'll ever get into this work (I love historical surface embroidery, goldwork, stumpwork - the closest I get is bargello), I really enjoy reading your posts to find out about this particular art.

There are undoubtedly other bloggers out there that do the same sort of work, but I think you should have got a mention as a example in the post! Especially since you do the work with the stitch guides, and generously share them.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Thank you, e-Rose. There's no bigger compliment than hearing that someone who is not a needlepointer thinks Blog interesting and valuable!

Jane, blushing in CH

deepa said...

Jane,
Iam always baffled by the amount of analysis you do with a design you work on.Tent stitch,diamond,basket..all these are greek to me.Iam yet to work on a canvas,but once I do a basic pattern your terminologies will be better understood. Whatever be the case,I must say,Cha-Cha is one of the most beautiful pieces you've taken up.
Deepa

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Deepa, I am glad you like Cha. Hopefully reading my explanation will make better sense to you once I get some NP canvas off to you!

Jane, sadly tardy here in CH

Anonymous said...

Good! Sorry to applaud frogging, Jane, but that background has been bothering me too. Like you, I love it as a design/stitch, but not on Cha. (Next time, I'll tell you so up-front, but I'm still at the "Jane Knows Best and Me Knows Nuffink" stage with NP!) Meanwhile - is Next Project going to be a canvas of Gay-Ann's Wisdom? [grin]
Glenis

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Glenis, I might not have listened to you if you'd commented on the background's being wrong anyway. One has to come to that point oneself, particularly since one person's Too Much is another's Not Enough.

Tastes vary. We don't all like the same thing, usually. But speak up regardless. I love hearing from Blog readers whether I'm ready to listen to them or not.