The Dragon - Part Five UPDATED (The Last of the Background)

Leigh Designs' European Dragon

After I sprang all those background stitches on Sandy, she did a little test stitching and then wrote back, "Wow, so hard to chose - I think I like the first one you showed that was kind of an eye and I also like interlocking dragon teeth ( I think that what you called it on the white pots) and the stitch on the prickly pear cactus in that order. The eye one looks like it would be fun to stitch. I'm not afraid of compensating stitches, learned how do to that in my formal life as a model stitcher for a x-stitch designer."

Here are the three stitches Sandy liked again, working from her favorite to her least favorite.

"Eye" stitch on base of bird wings-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundance_designs/5042488079/

Sundance's Eye Stitch

UPDATE:  I've found several very similar stitches in Brenda Hart's books, but not exactly like this, so I have diagrammed it on black plastic canvas for Sandy.  In the photo above, each stitch is over 6 threads.  You do four vertical stitches in a row, then "stair step" up three stitches by one thread each stitch.  Once you get to the third stair step stitch, do three more straight stitches in a row just like that third step.  Then you step down three stitches, and then do three more stitches just like the third stair step.  When you reach the end of the row,  turn the canvas upside down and do the next row just the same way.  Turning the canvas makes each row a mirror image of the last.  Once you have finished a few rows, fill in the empty "eye" holes with straight stitches.  Sandy probably will use the same thread for the curved rows as she uses for the eye but one could use a metallic for the eye for a bit more sparkle.  I'll call this stitch the Sundance Eye Wave in honor of the Sundance folks who used it on their stylized bird.  Sandy will have to play around with this to see if she should shorten the vertical stitches to covering 4 threads instead of 6 and how much thread she'll need to cover the canvas.

Spiky stitch that looks like dragon spikes or feathers, background right under the spear the figure holds-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundance_designs/5043108964/

UPDATE:  This appears to be Slanted Gobelin stitch, five stitches stacked vertically facing another five stitches that slant the other way.  Skip a thread and do another / \ pair.  Ruth Dilts diagrams this stitch on page 25 of her Needlepoint 101 book.  In her book the slant covers two boxes (or three threads, depending on how you count) but as used by Sundance it appears to cover three boxes (or five threads).  This is a good stitch to play with to find the perfect amount of thread to cover and the right size for one's canvas.  However, because this stitch skips a thread, it won't cover the background entirely, which might be a problem for Sandy.  Enlarge the photo in the Sundance album and see what you think, Sandy.

The optical cubes stitch on the catcus-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundance_designs/5043106912/

UPDATE: I found this in More Stitches for Effects, page 43.  Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson and call it "Fancy Stitch."  It is diagrammed turned another way but if you turn the page so that the right side is on top, it is the same stitch.

Now we all need to go through our stitch books and find examples of these stitches.  Post in the comments (or email me directly at chilly hollow athotmail dotcom) when you find one so Sandy will know which book you found it in.

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