Ladies of the Night

Luna:  Lady of the Night Unfinished

As a special Halloween celebration, I have some of the wonderful Leigh Designs' Ladies of the Night series, all stitched up and ready to inspire us all with ideas for our own Halloween canvases. First of all, I've linked to the unstitched canvases so you can see them all. Leigh always designs a series of eight canvases, which gives plenty of options to choose from.  I'm working on Luna, even though she's been put away for almost a year when family crises got in the way.  I'll be working on her this fall after Christmas stitching is done.  (Note to self:  Stitch FASTER!)
http://www.leighdesigns.com/Grp513x.html

The first finished canvas is of Esme, who wears a beaded gown (Luna's gown is only beaded at the bottom) and has the most marvelous pillar and candle--that candle wax is inspired!  Esme's got smashing jewelry and gorgeous hair.  I suspect if we could see this in person the red curtains in the background would also be beautiful.  The photo isn't quite clear enough for me.  Leona Cole of The Stitch Niche in Mississippi is the stitcher of this masterpiece.  Think she'd let me borrow this for a while to study?  I'll give it back.  Eventually.  Really I will.
http://www.LeighDesigns.com/Mdl5132.html

Daria is the next finished piece.  (I'm listing them in the order they appear on the Leigh website to make you finding a photo of the unstitched canvas a bit easier.)  This has always been a favorite canvas.  I just love the black cat!  Daria wears a gorgeous patterned gown and has the best manicure of the bunch.  I particularly like the couched metallic spiral on the broken pillar and the velvety look of the cat with the jewel eyes.  Daria's ring is simple and I think that enhances the overall look of this piece since it doesn't detract from the cat's eye or the fabulous beaded girdle she wears.  Take a careful look at the background of this piece.  The zigzag pattern is both quiet and dynamic, a wonderful combination!  Sally London of Rainbow Gallery is the creative mind behind this great canvas.
http://www.LeighDesigns.com/Mdl5134.html

Our final vamp vampire is Beth Hendzilik's Remilia.  I was thrilled to see this photograph as the gauzy curtains on either side of the canvas were not shown in earlier versions I've seen.  The curtain tie backs are inspired, as is the little spider hiding in the curtain folds!  That spider was obviously inspired by the web that you can just see glistening on the right side or Remilia.  She wears the most marvelous Russian shawl, which I am told was inspired by the ones the designer SharonG takes to the trade shows.  Wish I could see that shawl better. Maybe I have to borrow this design, too?  Heck, I'll just need all three, please!
http://www.LeighDesigns.com/Mdl5137.html

I think the background is unstitched here.  The hair is just fabulous and the sleeves are fascinating.  My Luna's sleeves are unstitched so I find these particularly interesting in that they are done with such a light touch they are gray, not black like her sisters' outfits.

Beth works for ThreadworX and created a stitch guide for her version which comes with the thread kit from ThreadworX so you have everything you need.  Add canvas and you'll have a Lady of the Night to haunt our dreams as well.
http://www.threadworx.com/productDetails.php?prd_id=1087

It is great fun to study all three ladies and see how the similar elements of black dress with tattered sleeves, the flowing hair and the backgrounds are handled.  Each stitcher has put her unique stamp on the designs with the elements that are different--the spider web, the cat on the pillar and the candle in its skull holder.  Needlepoint is really art in the hands of these master stitchers.

Happy Halloween!


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com