The Big Picture

Above is a photo of the wizard that I didn't crop to give you a sense of the empty space above his shoulder on the right I think I should fill with something. The top of the white area is about where the arched background shape will end. I'm considering a firebird or a stained glass window since each fits the design and I have examples that the designer Joan Thomasson has done to look at.

Margaret, you'll notice that earth no longer has the grid lines. After you noticed they looked a bit thick, I removed them. I'm looking for another black thread to use instead now.


This is a close up of the purple robe area. I'm doing layers of stitches here, starting with diagonal lines of the two shades of plum Impressions, followed by some silver metallic and now (at the top of the area) rows of doubled purple Accentuate. I plan at least one more layer, a lighter purple Accentuate that isn't doubled. In person it looks very nice but I doubt you can see the metallic shine that I can in person.

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Kudos to Scrim Discovery Needlepoint

This is my shop of the week-Scrim Discovery Needlepoint!

http://www.scrimdiscovery.com/

To find out why, you'll need to visit John Young's blog--

http://www.tikaro.com/2008/08/beach-report-matts-mc5-needlep.html

By the way, the poster above is from the State Library of Iowa. Down with all sterotypes of needlepointers! Or any needle artist. We come in many shapes, sizes, sexes and colors but we are all kin when it comes to our enjoyment of our stitching.

http://gslis.simmons.edu/blogs/panopticon/2008/08/hes_really_into_needlepoint.html

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

What Does a Wizard Need?

I mentioned yesterday that I thought my wizard lacked something. I was referring to the area just over his shoulder on the right. I crop the photos you see to make the photos as small as possible so that folks, no matter how slow their Internet connection or old their computer, can load photos relatively quickly. So you don't see the big empty space there. I haven't started putting stone wall stitches on that side of the canvas yet, but the more I stitch this design, the more I think I'd like to add a detail in the setting to help the wizard look balanced. After all, diagonally to the left there is the wizard's staff, his books and the basket. I think I want something in the upper right to make the design look less like a wall with a painting removed.

So I went browsing among Joan Thomasson's other pieces, looking for details that would look good in the wizard piece. How about a stained glass window? Click on "Courses" on the left, and then look at the arched windows in the background of the Maruska piece. They look fun to stitch, too. You'd have to stitch the leaves, then the vines, then the window on top. However, our wizard is shown in winter. (Remember his wool socks? Plus I'm using Impressions, a silk-wool blend, which will give his robes a heavier look than summer wear has.) I think leaves would have to be omitted. Would that really detract from the windows to not have those leaves?

http://www.stitchinstuff.com/

I kept looking. Actually, I was thinking of this piece when I started looking. I had the pleasure of seeing it in person on display at the ANG Seminar in 2001. It is really gorgeous!

http://www.needleart.org/Exemplary01/Happily.php

What you can't really see --and I can't find a better photo-- is the beautiful bird in the golden cage. This is a firebird and the quest item that the young prince went off to find. He happened to find a bride also and you see the wedding party on the left and center. I think adding a bird to the scene might be wonderful. But I have quite a bit of work to do to decide how to sketch it in. And I think the cage might be a bit too much since there is already so much metallic in the piece.

I obviously have a lot of decisions to make about this piece. But occasionally you will find that you want to tinker with a design to make it feel more "right" to you. I think this is going to be one of those occasions for me!

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Warning! Warning! Danger, Will Robinson!

Read the eBay warning from Eterna Silk if you buy from eBay a lot.

http://www.eternasilk.com/

There's also a gift certificate at their online shop....

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

New and Improved

Princess and Me has redone their website. You probably know about their cute little ornament canvases, each of which comes with a stitch guide, but even if you've seen them many times before, they are always worth a look.

http://www.princessandme.com/

Squiggee's blog has a nice long article about her custom religious canvases that are in the September 2008 Needlepointers magazine. If you saw the article and want more information and some nice photos, you'll want to check this out.
http://squiggeedesigns.blogspot.com/2008/08/tale-of-tapestry.html

One hundred forty three million tent stitches??!

Jane, fainting at the thought in CH

{Please note that Blogspot doesn't allow ambersands in posts so I spelled out the Princess and Me name}

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow