Serendipitous Bob

Associated Talents' Skeletor

Yesterday I posted a photo of the Associated Talents Halloween skull piece that I call Bob.  Bob is stitched with a lot of Petite Silk Lame Braid (the two purples, the two oranges, the silver and gold) and also with some green overdyed Kreinik, black Splendor silk and the white Neon Rays Plus that glows in the dark.  I stitched Bob's eyes as Smyrna Crosses using my Neon Rays Plus, thinking that I would bury a tiny black bead in the slope of each Smyrna for his pupil.

If you aren't familiar with the Smyrna Cross, here's how they are done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXIDhShvm88

The size of the X covered with a + can vary to cover the space needed.

This stitch ends up being higher in the middle, so I discovered my idea of using a bead on the side of the Smyrna Cross wouldn't work.  The bead just wouldn't stay where it was added, no matter how many times I stitched through the hole.  I tried different shapes of beads (round, hex) and different sizes (both 11/0 and the smaller 14/0) but nothing worked.  The day before, I'd found a tiny red sequin on the carpet so I got it out of my tool tray and plopped it on one of Bob's eyes.  To my surprise the 2mm size and the red color were perfect.  Serendipity worked in Bob's favor very well.

I probably should have taken out the Smyrna Crosses and tent stitched his eyes but I sort of like the raucous angle the sequins tilt in.  Makes Bob look a bit like his eyes are sending a red light out into the world.

The moral of the story is to not discount chance and luck when it comes to choosing threads, stitches or attachments for your needlepoint masterpieces.

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