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| The Cat Topiary Garden Progress Report |
As you can see from the photograph above, I've finished the brick border (using Felicity's Garden silk/wool in a nice rusty orange called Cinnamon 012) and also tent stitched the two cat statues using Trebizond Silver 956 (the dark gray), Trebizond Black 111, and Trebizond 953 (light gray). Since I wanted a smooth and slightly shiny look for the statues, the Trebizond silk perle worked well. The black eyes of each cat are cross stitches, by the way. I thought about doing tent stitches for one cat's eyes and reverse tent for the other's eyes but cross stitches looked best to me.
I left the gold necklaces the cats wear unstitched. I will bead the necklaces but that needs to wait until the end as beads snag threads you are stitching with.
Working both the brick border and the cats was more challenging than I expected. Remember, I am stitching through a layer of tulle laid on top of the canvas. This makes laying stitches for a smooth look or doing perfect basketweave stitches harder than I expected. No matter how careful I was, my stitching wasn't as nice as I'd like. The tulle catches the threads slightly and keeps them from being perfectly smooth. If I had it to do over again, I'd put the tulle layer just on the top over the already stitched background and not stitch through it, but I've also discovered that the right thread doesn't snag on the tulle.
Take the brick border, for example. I used one strand of Impressions (light pinky tan), two plies of Lorikeet (dark brown) and one strand of Felicity's Garden (rusty orange) for the "bricks." Of the three threads, the Felicity's Garden definitely laid best. It's the thickest of the threads, so I think what is happening is that the Felicity's Garden comes through the tulle and then meshes together with previous stitches better than the other two brands.
What I'm trying to say is that if you have to stitch through tulle, some threads work better than others for long stitches. But overall, I'd not recommend using long stitches on top of tulle unless you really must. I didn't have the same problem with my previous stitches but they all used 1-2 plies of floss. Of course it is hard to see just where to put my skip tent cross stitches on the topiaries because the tulle masks the canvas thread locations, but a good light and some careful planning gets me over that hump successfully.
Remember, this piece is not just a present for my mother: it's another mad needlepoint adventure! That's how we learn what works and what doesn't--by trying everything. You'll soon find out that some things work, some don't, but you will increase your stitching knowledge immensely and be better prepared for the next project and the next! I highly advocate experimentation in needlepoint. It is a fun way to learn.
Speaking of next, I'm working on the bird topiary. After that I hope to alternate work on the cat topiary and the white fence and gate. But first, there's a problem with the cat statue on the right side....
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
5 comments:
This is beautiful, everything about it but I do love the colors you picked for the bricks - just perfect. I wish I was that kitty - could take a nap on a day like this (so cold and foggy outside). Love the stitch you picked for the flower pot, very elegant - great job, as usual
Thanks, Palma. Since I know how talented you are, this nice compliment is especially meaningful.
And doesn't a nap sound good? Hugs from sleepy CH, me
Jane, why did you use the tulle? I used it in a class with Caela Tyler-Conn, and I saw Ruth use it in one of her mysteries to change the color of the canvas. I have been toying with the idea of using it on other canvases, but after Caela's canvas (which isn't done yet), I had the same experience you did with the tulle pulling on/distorting the stitches. Just curious what effect you are getting with the tulle, and I must have missed that post.
All bests,
~Judy in Critter Cove, thinking a nap on a warm surface would really be great, and wishing I didn't have exercise class tonight
JudyCCR, to make a long story short, the background of this piece was coming forward too much and dominating the topiary and other bushes. The tulle calmed down the color and put the background where it belongs--in the background. Here are links explaining just what I did in detail. But that pretty much explains why I used tulle. I didn't know about the smoothness being disrupted from tulle but I know now. Next time I'll only covered select areas if this is needed.
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2011/06/its-ruths-fault-we-are-going-shopping.html
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-ruth-brought-tulle-into-my-life.html
I love the pots!
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