Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Alligator Has a Face

Jude Designs' Christmas Alligator
The last time you saw my Christmas alligator ornament, his face needed nostrils, his cap needed fur trim, and his face was disappearing into his body.  I fixed the first problem by giving him reddish bullions for each nostril.  After all, he already had bullion toes and repeating the same stitch helps unify a design.  I like French knots for somewhat tidy fur, so I tent stitched the fur trim with my Medici wool, then added French knots on top of the tent stitches which are a good foundation to keep French knots from pulling out.  To bring his face forward from his body, I outlined it with one ply of High Cotton in a dried blood color, which is prominent against the green without being too stark like white would be.  I liked the effect so much that I also outlined his front legs to make them a little more obvious.

You may not be able to tell but I outlined his blue ornament with gold Kreinik to round the bead edges a bit.  I still need to put another stitch through a few beads to straighten them.

I can see from the photo that his green belly needs \ and / stitches in green on top of the background to round off that area a bit.  I also need to add a row of background at the top above his head and tail.  I'll get those things done and then it will be time for the final touch, which you see below.


Scrapbooking Trim by Jolee's
I hope to show you a finished piece next time, plus a glimpse of the alligator's girlfriend.

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

9 comments:

NCPat said...

He is so cute....love the lights around the edges!

BFromM said...

So cute! I can't wait to see what you do with the scrapbooking trim, so that I can run right out and get some to use.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Thanks for the compliments. I need to finish him up so I can concentrate on his girlfriend but stitching time is being squeezed by Christmas prep time!

Anne Bloom said...

I love him and also love to know your thought process! Yes, stitching time is a bit compressed this time of year, isn't it.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Sure is! Nearly non-existant is the better description.

Goldylox99 said...

I learn so much from watching you stitch. I love the blogs you write about your stitching and the thought process that accompanies it. I didn't realize Mr. Gator had a girlfriend. Can't wait to see her, too!

~Goldy in Critter Cove

Suzanne said...

so stinkin' cute!

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

The alligator says thanks. He also says you obviously "get" him. LOL

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Thanks, Goldy. Yes, the alligator has a girlfriend. She's not what you might expect....