Latticework on the Cat Topiary Garden

Latticework Stitched

The last large remaining feature in my cat topiary garden is the latticework gate. It puzzled me for quite a while since I needed a stitch that looked like wood but that wasn't too dense compared to the light coverage stitches used most everywhere on this canvas. I finally just stitched long stitches (either diagonals or verticals, depending on the space) with #8 perle cotton. #5 perle cotton was a little too heavy but #8 is just right. It doesn't quite cover but it looked good to me. It took two nights' stitching to finish the latticework and then took two more nights to add the blue outline around the edges of most of the lattice pieces in the arch and gate.

Shadows Added to Latticework

I almost didn't stitch (stem stitch with two plies of my thread) the blue shadows around the white pieces of wood but I am glad I did.  They add a bit of depth to the design.  The most interesting thing about the blue shadows is the thread I used, which was new to me.  It is overdyed DMC cotton which comes from their Variations line.  You can see all the colors here.  (Note that there are two pages to view.)  I used #4020 which is lighter in person than in the photograph.  It shades from white to a pale sky blue with a few darker sky blue areas in the skein.
https://www.stitchingbitsandbobs.com/cgi-bin/Store/pageread.cgi?DMCColorVariations

I'd never used Variations before.  I've seen it in the craft chain stores, of course, but always turned up my nose at it.  After all, there are a dozen or more overdyed cotton brands available, all of which sport lovelier colors than what is available from DMC Variations.  But when I didn't find the shade of blue I needed for the latticework shadows in my stash, I went looking at the only threads easily available to me--the DMC cotton floss display.  I spotted Variations, realized This Was It, and bought a skein on the spot.  As I remember, it's more expensive than regular DMC cotton floss and the plies also seem coarser than their regular floss.  I suppose that is due to the extra dyeing needed to create the colors.  It's good to know that I can pick up other overdyed cottons in a pinch from DMC.  If you also live far from any shop and have to rely on DMC in an emergency, remember to check out the specialty threads DMC offers.  It's not just regular cotton floss any more.

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