Unboxing

"Unboxing" is a tradition among gamers.  You buy a brand new game machine or pick up a collectors' edition of a game (Yes, video game collectors' editions exist.  They come with expensive extras like art books or night vision goggles, etc.), then you take photos of it as you open and unpack the box.  The first step in my unboxing of what arrived in the mail yesterday is shown above: the dogs have to inspect it!

Then I opened one end of the box and slide out the contents.  Can you guess what's inside?

When the contents are laid out flat, does that give you a hint?

Yes, it's Brenda Stoffit's Rabbit Geisha!  Summer Truswell made her into a tote bag with a detachable shoulder strap.  You can see more of Summer's finishing on her website (check the "museum") and can now purchase her formerly out-of-print finishing book in several formats.
http://www.summerlouise.com/

This isn't a great picture of the inside but there is a zippered pocket on one side of the lining and several open pockets sized for things like cell phones, pens or laying tools, etc.  You can also see that the tote has a zipper closure so nothing inside will fall out.  The lining is a durable cotton knit (?) while the outside is navy corduroy.

Interfacing keeps the bag stiff enough to stand on its own.  The Rabbit Geisha is a big canvas (13 inches tall and 8 wide), so the tote bag is almost two feet tall and 14 inches wide. This makes her a great project or travel bag.  I think there is room for a yoga mat and towel, too.

If you have read Blog for a while, you'll remember that this canvas was vandalized by someone who took the package out of our mailbox, opened the box and set fire to the contents, then tossed everything on the ground.  You can see some of the damage in the photo of the finished piece above.  I think Summer did a good job of hiding the worst of the damage with trim.  We now use a P.O. Box after the mailbox itself was stolen last winter.

The tote bag is meant as a birthday present for my mother, so shhhh!  Don't tell!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Presenting Brenda Stofft's Rabbit Geisha

Yes, the Rabbit Geisha is done!  I finished couching the squiggles that decorate her over tunic last night.  They are some of the pretty navy Snow couched down with one ply of the navy Splendor silk I've been using on this project.

My scanner bed isn't large enough to take a good close up of everything at once.  Sorry.  If the sun comes out this week I'll take a photograph of the whole thing with my digital camera for you, but I thought close ups of half of the Rabbit Geisha were better than nothing.  So here are the two halves, with overlap but at least you can see how she turned out.

She will stay on her stretcher bars for 2-3 months as I need to wait until the finisher's Christmas rush is over before she travels to be made into a tote bag applique.  I hope to have something fabulous to show you in early 2010.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Next Steps

Sorry, I didn't get the squiggles couched last night.  Too busy with other things!  I did get the instructions for my next project, the Gay Ann Rogers Cameo Ornament, have read through them twice, made a list of what I don't have here, and have cut and put my congress cloth on stretcher bars.  Hopefully I can get to the next largest town to pick up the one thing I don't have--#12 cotton perle---shortly.

I will finish the Rabbit Geisha tonight!  (Famous last words.)  And for those who asked, she will be appliqued on the front of a tote bag sometime after Christmas as I didn't finish this piece in time to meet the finishing deadline.  No problem, as this is a present for me.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

The Geisha's Tassels

Last night I finished the navy tassels. They are worked in a mix of gold 002 Kreinik (straight lines around the knots), Splendor navy #S872 and metallic navy Snow #17.  The long lengths are just straight or slanted stitches to fill the area and the tassels are stem stitch of both the Splendor silk and the Snow metallic.  You don't see the Snow well in the photo but in person it is a subtle and elegant touch.

The only thing I have to complete now are the squiggles on the trim of the tunic at the neckline under the shawl collar and at the hem.  Which is a good thing as the instructions for the cameo ornament I'm stitching for a Christmas present arrived yesterday.  I'll gather my stitching supplies for that tonight after I finish the Rabbit Geisha.  She will be put away for a while until after Christmas as my finisher is too busy to work on her right now.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

The Geisha's Fan

I meant to leave the fan the Rabbit Geisha carries until very last but I just couldn't resist!

The photo to the left shows the first steps in stitching the fan.  The middle rib is stem stitch using a strand of Silk Lame Braid (color #SL60) which is a mix of ecru and gold.  The bottom of the handle is some of my Kreinik gold 002, size #16 ribbon, stitched in herringbone stitch to show off the ribbed pattern.  The couched ecru stitches are long lengths using Rainbow Gallery's Subtlety (color Y904) which is a silk perle in size 12.  This is the same thread I used on the kimono over tunic.  I laid my stitches in the ecru ditches and couched the stitches down with shorter stitches in the same thread.  It makes a pattern on the two halves of the fan that looks different due to the different orientation of the painted lines.  If you look carefully at the bottom of the fan you will see that I've started outlining the edge of the fan in gold using Kreinik's 002 gold in size #8.

The second photo shows the finished fan.  After the gold edging was finished, I attached rows of Mill Hill's Antique Glass beads (color 05060) on top of the gold painted lines.  These beads are larger than the seed beads used for the sleeves and are a peach/ecru color.  After the beads were in place, I laid long lines of the Bijoux thin metallic down the ribs on top of my Subtlety silk perle.  This is the same bronze metallic thread that makes the boxes on the kimono tunic.  Adding a bit of color brings out the fan shape.
Finally, I laid a long line of the same beads used for the sleeve trim down on top of the Silk Lame Braid central rib.  This brings the fan to life since the ecru colors used to this point made the fan blend into the ecru kimono.

In person the fan sparkles, especially in artificial light.  This plus the gold edging, the blue line of beads and the dark bronze rib lines made it stand out from the similar colors of the kimono.

By the way, the line of blue beads is slightly crooked because I pushed down slightly on the canvas to make a good clear scan and this disturbed the beads.  I moved them back into position and put another two couching stitches in place to keep them in the right place.  If they'd been attached separately instead of a long thread of beads that was couched, they wouldn't move so much but I wanted a continuous line that I couldn't get if each bead went on separately.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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Green Ribbons, Pink Ribbons

The Rabbit Geisha's green ribbons are finished and the pink ribbons are underway.  I ended up not padding any more of the green ribbons than what you saw in the photo day before yesterday as it seemed that highly padded ribbons only belong in front of the kimono when they have a lot to compete with for our attention.  The pink ribbons are not padded at all.

I also decided to do something a little different with the pink ribbons than with the green--I used only one pink overdyed thread instead of three different shades of green in three threads.

I happened to have a skein of Needle Necessities' overdyed cotton floss "Cotton Candy" #157 which has all three shades of rose pink that were painted on the canvas I am working.  I cut 18 inch lengths, removed four plies (this is a six ply thread), and knotted the end most similar in shade to my starting point on the canvas.  Then I stitched letting the color changes happen regardless of what was painted.  Every time I needed a new length of thread, I started with the "right" color, i.e., the color that was painted, but after that the colors fell as the thread was dyed.

I was much more careful to match the correct shade of green on the green ribbons but it is hard to copy what is painted when you are using long stitches.  Tent stitches allow you to match the paint almost exactly but long stitches don't.

This doesn't really matter, though.  If you look at the photo above and compare it to the original unpainted canvas, it is hard to tell that I didn't match the original exactly.

I have a nice little cache of NN threads but if you don't, you can substitute ThreadworX overdyed floss for this discontinued thread. Needle in a Haystack has reference photos of all the NN overdyed floss colors here.
http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/NN_Floss.html

You can see that ThreadworX's "Sweet Innocence" #1099 is a very close match by looking at the photos Needle in a Haystack has posted here.
http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/TW_Floss.html

I have to stitch the gold edging of one last pink ribbon area before I can stitch the ribbon itself.  After that, I will finish the navy tassels and finally get to the part I've been looking forward to since I started this design--the feathery fan the Rabbit Geisha carries.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Missed You Yesterday

Yesterday I didn't have time to post the message I had planned. Some days are like that. But you didn't miss much. I had just intended to mention that I've run out of the #12 braid (Kreinik's gold 002) I was using to tent stitch the gold edge on the pink ribbon that the Rabbit Geisha wears.  I can't buy anything except #16 braid locally so I rummaged in my stash and found a nice full spool of #4 braid in the same color.  I will triple the amount and have the same thickness for my tent stitches.

However, I have discovered this isn't as straightforward as you would think.  When I tripled the #4 braid in my needle, the three strands twisted and knotted themselves and the tent stitch looked messy.  So I am stitching with a single strand of #4 braid and stitching three tent stitches per hole.  It takes a while and is annoying but it works and saves me from having to put this piece aside until I can obtain more #12 braid.  After all, I am rushing to get this done ASAP so that I can start on the project I plan to stitch for my mother for Christmas.

By the way, the photos are scenes from Chilly Hollow this week.  We had lovely weather all week (although today is blustery and raining like March weather) and I took some photos of the leaf color facing the Blue Ridge Mountains and of the two yearlings that are eating grass right outside the front door.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Ribbons, Padded and Not

I've started on the green ribbons tied around the Rabbit Geisha's waist.  In the photo above, you see the unstitched ribbons which are in three shades of spring green.

The next picture shows how I have started to pad the ribbons around her waist and down the front of her kimono and how I am not padding the green ribbons on the right side that flow out behind the Rabbit Geisha.

I decided that I wanted dimension in the first set of ribbons but none in the ribbons that are flowing toward the background.  I'm using four plies of Mandarin floss (#M817) for the darkest green and the lightest part of the overdyed Needle Necessities overdyed cotton floss (#199) for the lightest green.

I'm using gray Very Velvet (#V215) for the padding.  This color is one I bought for a specific project that needed just a little touch of velvety gray.  I have a lot of it left and have found (courtesy of someone who mentioned it was a great padding material on their blog, was that you, Pat?).  I would caution you not to use gray or other dark colors to pad under white or light colors such as pale yellow, but for my greens, it will work nicely.

Note how I have slanted the Very Velvet to lie opposite the direction of my green stitches.  Also note how I am trying to change the slants to indicate the different ways the ribbon lies.

If you can't see the gray Very Velvet well on the green, I put a length on top of one of the pink ribbons also so you could see it better.  Remember to keep the Very Velvet untwisted as you lay down your foundation.  It can turn on you if you aren't paying attention.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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Beads Equal French Knots (And Vice Versa)

This morning's math lesson is how French Knots=Beads. Or vice versa.  The geisha in the original painting has nine little buttons (or possibly beaded decoration) along the edge of her kimono above her obi and at the hem of her over tunic.  In the original canvas these are red but I already knew I wanted to change the color to something else.  My Western sensibilities wanted repeats of the main colors.  So I pulled out my blue and gold beads and put a few of each shade on the canvas.  The best match (the same blue beads I used for the sleeves) were turned into a much lighter blue by the tan and gold background of the kimono.  Gold beads just disappeared as there is too much gold on the kimono already and the beads visually became more of the gold pattern.  They did not stand out.

You want Stand Out?  I'll give you STAND OUT!

Sorry, got carried away a bit there.  I have quite a few pink and green beads and those are the accent colors on this canvas, so I tried to match the pink and green ribbon colors and came up with size 11/0 pink beads by Gick in rose pink #4-136.   I don't know if you can see them well in the picture but in person they give a small shot of color to the decorative trim on the kimono over coat.  My green beads were not such a good color match to the ribbons but I'm happy with the accent the beads give.

I was a bit afraid that I would not have the right beads in my stash, so I also pulled out metallic threads in the right shades of pink and green.  If you need to do something that looks like buttons on a canvas, French knots and beads will give the same effect.  If you can't get the shade of metallic you want for French knots, substitute beads in the right color.  And vice versa.

I love metallic "buttons" on NP canvases.  You can obtain many sizes and colors in metallic threads to give you just the right sized button in a French knot.

If you hate making French knots, substitute beads.  If you have access to a good bead shop, or even a crafts emporium that sells a lot of items for making jewelry, you can pick up a nice selection of beads.  Many NP shops also carry beads.  I particularly like the hexagon-shaped beads from Sundance and the Magnifica line of beads from Mill Hill but you can substitute beads, or a mix of beads and French knots, on any canvas where you need a button.

By the way, ordinarily I would put the beads on after the squiggles that make up the trim, but I wanted the beads in place so I can properly position the squiggles that help make up the trim.  Therefore,  I added the beads now.

Sorry this is late showing up this morning, but the Internet connection was down briefly.  We have a fabulous wireless provider that gives us a solid and reasonably fast connection, but even they have problems occasionally.  At least it wasn't an owl sitting on the dish that caused a problem this time!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Rabbit Geisha on Background (with Tassels)

I'm happy to announce that I've finished the background!  All those split pavilions are done.  Now I can turn to the fun details to finish this Brenda Stofft canvas.

I've started the blue tassels.  You'll remember that they were painted to be dark green but I've switched to the navy I used on the sleeves and shawl collar.  I rummaged around my stash yesterday and picked out more shades of pink and green for the two ribbons, have selected some bead colors that might work, and I have a pretty good idea about what I will do for the fan the geisha holds.  So even though I feel as though I've not made much progress, I have. 

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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Managing Transitions

While stitching the endless background on the Rabbit Geisha, I've been thinking about managing transitions. Sounds like a management phrase, doesn't it?  "Managing transitions...."

What I mean by this is how to make the background meet the central figure in such a way as it all looks good.  The first hint that this is important on this canvas came when the background stitch between the Rabbit Geisha's ears looked odd.  Above is how I managed this area by turning the odd space between the ears into all tent stitches in the background thread.  If you look carefully at the left side of her neck, you will see a few tent stitches there, too.
You'll also see a few unstitched areas on the right beside her nose.  I'm still thinking over what to do there.  I'll probably stitch longer horizontal stitches right over the shorter ones.

There are other transitional areas on this canvas.  In the photo above, there is a small space between two pink ribbons just under the sleeve, a larger space between the ribbons and the side of her robe, and another space between the pink ribbons a bit further toward the bottom of the canvas.  In these areas I was able to compensate my split pavilion stitches and they looked good.  I am not sure why compensation here looks fine and between the rabbit ears doesn't, but it may be because the space between the ears is angled, not a straight vertical area.

It is more difficult to pick out, but there are transitional spaces all along the bottom of the hem where the navy tent stitches meet the background stitches.  There is actually a channel left blank between the split pavilion stitches in the background and the navy tent stitch outline of the hem but you can't see it well.  In these cases you have to experiment to see whether to leave an unstitched area.  Look at the pavilion stitch between the two tassels.  In that one area I put a stitch in the blank space.  See how crowded it looks and how it bleeds over into the navy tent stitch?  I will pull this out before I go any further but I wanted you to see the difference between leaving an empty space and filling it.

So what do you do in these areas to make the place where the background meets other stitches look good? There are always ways around the problem and the Rabbit Geisha shows several:  compensate, leave a blank space, use tent stitches instead.  I recommend you just try out a variety of strategies and rip out the ones that don't work.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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Planning Tassels and Ribbons

I've completed more of the split pavilion background of the Rabbit Geisha and started the tassels and the ribbons, although they are not that far along yet.  I decided to make the dark green tassels dark navy instead of green, using the same navy Caron Snow metallic and Splendor silk that were used on the obi and the inner sleeve trim.  I also have started tent stitching the gold edging on the pink ribbon using #12 Kreinik braid in 002 gold.  I ran out of the #12 braid so I thought I'd double up my #4 braid in 002 and see if that will substitute for the #12.  I was uncertain whether stitching the gold edging on the pink ribbon first was a good idea, so I'll probably try the inside of the pink ribbon on both the ribbons that have the edging stitched and those that don't to see which way seems to work best.  It can be difficult to stitch into holes that already have metallic thread in them and it can also be difficult to stitch with metallic thread into holes with another type of thread already there, so we'll see what seems to work here.

I want to get more background done if possible tonight so I may not have a report on the pink ribbon and the navy tassel for another day.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
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Beaded Sleeves

The photo above shows what I ended up doing with my sleeve trim.  As you know, the beads that matched the background color exactly didn't look very good on the sleeves.  So I pulled out any blue beads and blue metallics I could find in my stash and played around with them.  Most of the metallics I put away immediately as they were not the right shade of blue.  I had several choices of blue in the beads, but blue-gray seed beads I had picked up from the local bead store (they are not labeled since the bead store sells unlabeled colors of beads in various sizes so I can't tell you the brand or exact size but they appear to be size 14/0) looked like they might work.

I also had a medium blue skein of Accentuate that looked ok with the background color, so I first tried laying long lines across the sleeves with this thread.  The Accentuate when laid on the canvas was too bight a blue, so back into the stash it went and I tried attaching a few of my seed beads with one ply of my background DMC cotton floss.  It was a perfect match!

Well, the blue colors are different but the grayish blue of the slightly iridescent beads looks very nice with the rest of the canvas.  I spent last night adding beads to the sleeves.  In the photo above the left sleeve is finished and the right sleeve around 2/3 done.  I'll finish this sleeve today and try to get more rows of the background done.  I need to hurry and get as much finished on this piece as possible as I have the Gay Ann Rogers counted thread piece instructions coming shortly.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
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Sleeve Thoughts and Test Stitching

Last night I did a lot of test stitching on the sleeves, trying out various thread colors to see which looked good with my beads that match the background color perfectly.  See the swatches done in skipped tent stitches on the left?  The top dark blue is a dark blue silk perle from Rainbow Gallery, the second down is a dark blue Silk Lame Braid, and the last is DMC cotton floss in a darker shade of blue than the background.  Each was stitched, then had the dark blue beads attached on top.  The beads go where there are no stitches so that you don't have to do each stitch as a bead.  I also slant the beads like a reverse tent stitch \ so that they seem to lay / like the skipped tent stitches.  Don't ask me to explain why beads done backwards look forwards but they do!

I finally decided that no color I tested looked better than the background color so I used the same DMC cotton floss (#794) for my sleeves as the background split pavilions.  Squint at the very bottom tip of the right sleeve and you'll see beads set on top of the skipped stitches.  It's very subtle and really doesn't look like what I wanted.  So I pulled out the beads, thinking that maybe another shade of blue would be better.

I still like the idea, though, and I went ahead last night and tent stitched every other thread intersection with my DMC #794 on the left sleeve.  This is how it looks.  In person I like the texture and look of this without beads!  I know it doesn't look as good in photographs.

I will rummage around my bead stash today and see if a slightly different color bead will do better.  I still like the idea of a beaded sleeve but using the exact color match does nothing for the canvas.

Yesterday's comments talked about using a thin metallic or perhaps rows of beads or perles.  We already have sparkly thread in the dark blue areas where the sleeve lining shows and a lot of sparkle in the gold lines on the sleeves.  Maybe that's why I like the skipped tent stitches so well--they are a contrast to all the metallic already on the sleeves....

Anyone have better ideas than my current left sleeve look?  I'll try another color of bead and a thin metallic thread like Accentuate and report back tomorrow.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
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Golden Sleeves

The Rabbit Geisha's sleeves were a puzzle to me when I first looked at them.  Are those fan shapes on the sleeves?  Can I do long stitches covered by couched gold lines?  What will make the sleeves harmonious with the rest of her outfit but not blend into the background?

I finally decided that the gold lines on the sleeves need to be tent stitched.  Couching and long laid stitches just seem to be too heavy a look for the sleeves when the body of the clothing is light coverage stitches.  In the photo you see that I've managed to get all the gold lines tent stitched (using Kreinik's braid #12 in Gold 02) on the sleeves and have also stitched the gold line around the hem of the tunic and the outlines around the sleeves.  It took me several nights to get it all done but now I am ready to tackle the problem of what to put inside the blue sleeve areas.  For the answer, you'll have to wait.  I want to do another few rows of background near both sleeves so it is easy to tell how what I choose for the inside of those gold lines will look with the background as the two areas are very close in color.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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Tips for Better Backgrounds

I really should have titled this tips for better horizontal stitches but that doesn't sound as good, doesn't it?  Just remember that the tips below aren't just for background stitches, ok?

The photo on the left shows the split pavilion background stitches on each side of the Rabbit Geisha canvas and the basting thread I used to make sure that the two sides line up properly.

The best way to do a background stitch is to work from the middle out to each side so that you know the sides match up, but most painted canvases have things painted in the middle that make this impossible.  So I worked the background on the right side, then did a full row on the left and used basting to make sure that the two sides lined up.  You can also just drag your needle across a ditch to see if things match but I have trouble doing that so I baste a thread.

You'll notice that I turned the canvas on its side for the picture.  This is because when I am doing a fancy stitch made up of long straight horizontal stitches, I like to work these stitches vertically.  Turning the canvas on its side allows me to stitch vertically, which I think makes for smoother stitches.

I also use a laying tool for long straight stitches, whether they are horizontal or vertical.  Long lengths of thread will twist as you stitch them and a laying tool will deal with this tendency.  You'll end up with a smoother look to your background.

Here's a close up of the image above.  In it you can see the three rows of tent stitch that surround the perimeter.  See how I am working my current row one thread outside the blue paint of the background?  Always extend the background if necessary to make your stitch look good.  I could have compensated the background and shortened the split pavilion but it looks better if you don't.

My needle is stuck in the canvas so you can see that I like to work the stitches from the bottom of the row toward the top.  (Or from closer to me to further from me, however you want to think of it.)  Susan Portra says this ensures a smoother stitch.  She also advocates taking a pin stitch occasionally underneath a light coverage stitch to keep the threads snug.

I've noticed that if I tie a knot in the end of a new length of thread and start stitching, the first stitch will often be loose.  I have been careful to run my knotted length of thread under a few stitches on the back before stitching to keep the first stitch taut.

Once I finish the row I'm working in the close up photo, I will turn my canvas the other way so that I can do the other half of the split pavilion with my needle coming up in an empty hole and going down in a full hole.  This is often called the clean/dirty hole rule.  The general principal is to bring the needle up in a hole that hasn't been stitched into if possible and when you have a hole with a thread in it already, go down into that hole with your thread.  If you go down into a hole that has thread in it already (a "dirty" hole) you have less chance of disturbing the thread already in the hole.  Make sense?  Anyone who has stitched a metallic thread into a hole already stitched with silk who disturbed the silk threads will know why this is an important rule to follow whenever possible.

I hope these tips help you with your stitching.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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Background Match and Color Change

Last night I confirmed that the right and left sides of the Rabbit Geisha's background match up.  Whew!  I also have started on the tassels and the hem of the kimono, changing the color from dark green to dark blue.  I think the color change will work since the original color is dark and so is the new color.  I would be hesitant to change light blue to dark green, however.  Anyway, I've made progress that isn't background. Yeah!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

The Missing Triangles in the Background

Several folks asked about the four missing triangles scattered across the background of spilt pavilion stitches on the Rabbit Geisha canvas.  Those were left empty to be filled in later, either with beads or another thread.  Above you see the top half of the canvas which is stitched except for the last row.  I've been working this at night, working my way to the left side so that I know exactly where to stop. As you can see, the pattern needs me to go outside the blue painted area by one thread so I don't have to compensate.  Now that I know where to stop I can work the three rows of tent stitch outside the left side.  I left that edge undone until I could work my way across the entire background and now where to stop.

You may have to enlarge the photograph to see the triangles which I stitched with a strand of Rainbow Gallery's Silk Lame Braid #SL13 Sky Blue.  In person they really sparkle although because the four areas are scattered, they don't overwhelm the Rabbit Geisha.

Silk Lame Braid is a mix of silk, rayon and polyester that looks like plies of silk twisted with plies of metallic. It is a very pretty thread meant for 18 count NP canvas, although they say it will look good on 16 count also.  (There is a Silk Lame Braid #13 meant for 13-14 count canvases.  The colors below are available in both sizes as far as I know.)  It looks very nice in long stitches that showcase the silk/metallic mix  and is perfect for scattering spilt pavilion halves across the canvas.  Here are the colors available in Silk Lame Braid.
http://www.rainbowgallery.com/detail.cfm?ID=1149

http://www.rainbowgallery.com/detail.cfm?ID=1190

http://www.rainbowgallery.com/detail.cfm?ID=1214

You'll notice I didn't do a Canvas of the Day stitch ideas entry today.  I've discovered I don't have time to do a regular blog entry and a Canvas of the Day entry, so I'll save the Canvas of the Day stitch ideas for days when I don't have things to show you otherwise.  There are only so many hours in the day, sadly!

 Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Canvas of the Day for Halloween and More

Today's Canvas of the Day is a small Melissa Shirley piece, one of her vintage holiday postcards.  These are always fun and pack a lot of detail into a small space.
http://store.apneedlearts.com/catonpumpkin.html

The border is easy.  Alternate black mosaic stitches stitched with Petite Very Velvet (or you may need regular Very Velvet to cover, I can't say without testing) with orange cotton floss in the same stitch slanted the other way.  Stitch the background in a soft gray thread without much shine (Impressions or Vineyards Silks would be nice) except skip the white dots.  They should be beads or perhaps tiny metallic cross stitches.  You can even make them silver or gray instead of white if you prefer.

The easiest way to do the pumpkin is in tent stitches in three shades of orange.  Go with silk and don't stitch the black areas of the eyes, nose or mouth at all.  Left empty, then emphasize the empty hole inside a carved pumpkin.  If you are feeling fancy, try stitching the pumpkin in vertical columns of slanted (on the side) or horizontal (in the middle) padded satin stitch.  This will make the shading harder but if you can pull it off, it'll be spectacular.  Tent stitch the inner part of the eye hole, and do little triangles for the teeth in slanted stitches.

Tent stitch the cat in a matte black thread using the same brand (Vineyards Silk or Impressions) of silk/wool blend as the gray background.  The witch's hat should be silk to contrast with the cat's fur.  The orange squares on the hat scream for a metallic stitch (long stitches to make the rectangle sides) with a black bead in the center.  The bow tie should be split stitches, shaded and in the same oranges as the pumpkin except for one lighter pumpkin color.

Use a glow in the dark orange for the eyes mixed with the black silk of the hat and top stitch the whiskers, nose and mouth.  Note the mouth should be the darkest orange you have mixed with a touch of red floss, silk if you have it.

In Rabbit Geisha news, I'm still working on the background.  As for those who are asking about the missing triangles scattered among the split pavilions, wait and see!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Bunny Ears, Before and After

Yesterday I showed you a large photo of the Rabbit Geisha and talked about the problem I was having stitching the area between her two ears.  Jeanne put it best in the Comments when she said, "Even though the count may be correct, compensating a large-scale stitch in areas like this just looks distracting. Tent stitch seems like a good choice!"  I hadn't realized that the scale was off viewing the split pavilion between the ears, but Jeanne is right.  

Compare this shot to yesterday's without enlarging and you may not see much difference but close up there is quite a change.  To the left is the Before shot of the geisha's ears when I stitched split pavilion there.

And on the right is the After shot with basketweave between her ears.  When you are several feet from the canvas, the basketweave disappears and all you really see is the smoothness that blends into the surrounding split pavilion.  Yesterday before I pulled out that area and restitched it, the choppy nature of split pavilion in this small area make it stand out and look like a mistake.


Scale is really important in stitching painted canvases.  You have to pick the right-sized stitch for your area and sometimes that means switching to another stitch if you have a tiny area to compensate. 


I've seen several elaborate floral canvases with decorative backgrounds where the fancy background stitch ends just before the flower petals' fancy stitch begin, and the margin between background and flower is done in tent stitches, normally in the background color (but not always as sometimes the flower petal color looks better in tent).  


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow