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| Belleza's Background |
An anonymous visitor to Blog left a comment about the purple background behind Belleza, asking what the subtle sparkle was. The sparkle comes from tiny round silver beads that look like BBs, set among the empty spaces between rows of one of Marnie Ritter's Flat Variation stitches. I am a huge fan of Marnie Ritter's unique stitches and am always happy when one of her complex creations is suitable for a canvas I'm stitching. This particular Flat Variation is from her Canvas Patterns Book I.
http://www.mritter.com/products.html
The stitch is on a page with other flat variation stitches. It does not have a name of its own. In the photograph I have finished the background stitching and have started adding the beads.
I wanted a rough texture in the background, as if Belleza was standing against a rough plaster wall that had been painted, so I choose the very beautiful High Cotton "Periwinkle" 310. Because I wanted the shading of the background paint to show, I used just one ply of the five that make up a strand of High Cotton. The addition of the silver beads was serendipity. I was considering using them elsewhere and put a few on the canvas to see how they would look. One rolled onto the background where it was the perfect contrast with the matte texture. They are all attached with one double ply of DMC cotton in a color that matched Periwinkle (DMC #333) as one ply of High Cotton is to thick to go through the size 15 silver beads.
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| One of Marnie Ritter's Flat Variation Stitches, diagram courtesy of Sheena James |
This flat variation stitch is done in diagonal rows, each row interlocking with the previous row. The bead goes in the empty space between rows. The stitch diagram is courtesy of Sheena James, who charted it for me.
Sorry the photo of the background isn't better. High Cotton Periwinkle is an exact match of the background color so the camera doesn't distinguish between painted canvas and thread well. The tiny silver beads raise the canvas off the scanner bed just enough that I can't get a good scan either. However, by looking at the photo and the stitch diagram you should be able to tell what I did for Belleza's background.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
4 comments:
Thank You!
Hi Jane: thanks for the in-depth info about Belleza's background stitch. I will definitely keep this one in mind. The addition of the beads just "makes it"! -- Wendy TC
Jane, what did you do with her face? I love it. I look at the original picture and the colors are strong but you made them subtle and I just love the effect
Palma, her face is covered in brick stitch (over 6?) done with white Flair. I plan to do a lot on top of the Flair when I get the necklace and mirror finished to heighten the color again, but for now she's just wearing "foundation."
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