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| Parrot Head with Beads and Embroidery |
Yesterday I put the final touches on Cha-Cha from Leigh's Brazil Series. I added a few extra silk ribbons to the end of the pink tail feather, I added a few violet beads to the parrot's head (mostly around the neckline where the Ultrasuede ended), and checked everything for missed or loose stitches.
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| The Bird |
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| The Flowers, Leaves and Fruit |
The River Silks ribbons didn't work the way I thought they would. I had planned something more whimsical for the parrot but it turns out silk ribbons make fantastic, fairly realistic feathers and wings. The extra embellishment I originally planned would detract from the effect.
Attaching the Ultrasuede parrot head, then adding embroidery and beads on top was pretty easy to do--much easier than I expected. I like how it looks. I also like the overdyed pink thread in the background, although the faded and splotchy look is not to everyone's taste.
In fact, this over-the-top style is certainly not going to be something every stitcher will want to mimic. I just have to get out of my stitching rut occasionally and try something new. I've been talking with a friend about light coverage stitches and integrating various sections of a painted canvas into a coherent whole. You'll remember that the flowers and leaves are light coverage stitches. The background is all tent stitches to make it a muted background. Contrasting those two areas with the solid parts of the fruit cluster (particularly the beaded grapes and the long fruit pod) I think helped it all look ok when I added the very solid and flashy parrot with its moving wings. The image I had in my head the whole time I was stitching Cha was this Escher drawing.
http://www.worldofescher.com/gallery/A13L.html
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| Cha-Cha Finished |
The new challenge will be Cha's finishing but that is up to Leigh Designs. Cha is on her way to live with Leigh as a model. Which reminds me, if you are going to the St. Charles trade show in September, my O'jishi will make his debut as a finished piece of art in the Leigh Designs booth.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
16 comments:
Congratulations, Jane! Very nice!
Cha turned out great! Thank for sharing your stitching progress. It was very interesting watching Cha come to life.
Words are not adequate. "It all looks okay" she says. It looks WHAT????? Jane, it's a stunner. I just wish there was a chance of "meeting" it in person!
Well done
Glenis
I am my own worst critic, Glenis. I'm glad you like Cha. Do you think she would make a great tote bag? I must have totes on the brain but somehow I can't see this as a pillow, but of course the ribbon might snag if it were out and about over someone's shoulder....
Thank you for the kind appreciation!
Thanks, Kelly. This was a real departure for me so I found it very interesting to stitch. I'm glad you enjoyed following along.
Cha is so beautiful! You did an excellent job stitching her. I was especially interested in the ultra suede.
This turned out lovely! I think the background texture created by the overdye sets off the bird and fruit beautifully.
Jane
As usual you made the canvas come alive. I enjoyed the journey....Great stitch choices
and the colors are perfect!!
Way to go, Jane!!! I am in awe
Sue VanderNoor
I think Glenis said it exactly right...."It looks Okay". Hmmmm. Methinks that my idea of Okay just changed dramatically! Would that I could aspire to Okay! Okay is splendiferous! Okay is mog-nee-feek! Okay is.....
Jane, this is simply fabulous.
Just like you.
Coni, thanks! Your compliment warms my heart.
SL, the background texture is all due to your having the JL Walsh I wanted and helping me pick colors. It is slightly faded like an old sampler in your honor as my counted canvaswork shop of choice!
Pat and Sue, thanks for your lovely compliments!
People seem to either love or hate the Ultrasuede parrot head. Beth, it was really easy to attach so if you are in the I Love It camp, you should try it. Just use sharp scissors to cut out the Ultrasuede and a sharp needle to attach it to the canvas around the edges.
It's a lovely, lovely piece!
Thanks, e-Rose!
"It works." Oh, indeed it does. What a handsome parrot, and how well it fits into its joyful surroundings. I don't usually enjoy ribbon embroidery, though it's very popular here in South Africa, but I'll make an exception for a feathery tail any time! Thanks so much for sharing, and for talking us through it.
So you're still not going Asian? Hmm .. the year is yet young! Is there a live link anywhere to your Japanese wedding group? I can't raise it, and since my daughter would like me to do her a Japanese picture, it would be really interesting to see what you did with the hair. Call me amnesiac, but I just don't recall. And though we have a very settled Chinese population here in South Africa, who even run the sushi bars(!), Japanese culture for practical purposes doesn't happen, so I can't consult local experts or even peer intently at local Japanese hair!
All the best from South Africa in early spring.
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