Wizard's Beard

This photo shows the beard and hair underway, and also gives you an idea of what I've added to the firebird to give him more personality (or at least a louder voice).

I'm stitching the hair and beard with a mix of threads and a mixture of split and stem stitch. As you can see, I try to indicate the movement of the flowing beard or the direction the hair grows with stem stitch, then fill in with split stitches that go between (or on top of) the stem stitched outlines. The threads I am using alternate between two plies of my light grey Splendor and a length of silver Sulky Metallic (#142); and one ply of the light grey Splendor, the Sulky Metallic and one ply of white Anchor cotton floss. I will do the flowing ends of the beard in a mix including 2 plies of grey and the mustache, which I want to come forward, with a mix that has a ply of white, one of grey and the metallic. I am always using three threads and one of them is always the metallic, but sometimes I use 2 pies of grey and sometimes I use 1 ply of grey and 1 of white. This provides highlights where I want them.

Because I used light grey for the background, dark grey for the floor, and a lot of silver trim on the wizard's clothes, I thought his beard would look odd if it were white so I went for a grey head of hair and beard on this piece. White can be a tricky color since it ranges from snow white to ivory to cream. I think it important to choose the right hair and beard color for any Santa piece, especially since Santa figures often have fur trim that is white. I don't want a Santa (or wizard) whose beard looks odd compared to the rest of the piece.

Tonight I hope to finish the hair and beard and do a bit more with the background. As a treat for myself, I'm also going to work on the jewel at the top of the staff. Study yesterday's blog entry to see how Joan treated her staff jewel. I'm going to steal some of her ideas.

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

Plans without Photos

Since last night I worked mostly on the background behind the wizard and the firebird, I didn't bother taking a photo this morning. I did add a topknot and a tongue to the bird and have started the wizard's hair and beard. Once the wizard is no longer bald I will add the stone to the top of his staff. I don't want to do that until I am no longer stitching in that area or I'll snag each pass of the threads on the stone!

After that I will need to finish the background and do some final touches. Will I give the wizard glasses? Will I adjust the title on the apricot book? Will I attach the silver moon and brass star charms around the globe the wizard holds or stitch them instead? Am I going to add tassels or something else to the end of his sleeves and tip of his cloak hood? Lots of decisions to ponder as I work the background!

You might want to look at Joan Thomasson's original Holiday Spirit Santa to see how she used the moon and star charms and how she handled tassels on this piece. You can see the piece here by clicking first on Catalogue, then on Holiday Spirits. After that, choose the size of the wizard image that you are interested in viewing, depending on the detail you want and how fast your Internet connection is.

http://www.joanthomasson.com/

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

The Wizard's Ring

Last night I worked a lot of background behind the wizard. I'm trying to get it stitched all around his bird companion so that I can finish the firebird at least. I did take a break and give the wizard a ring on the hand holding the globe. It just hit me while I was stitching miles of background that would be a nice touch.

I used a single black bead from Mill Hill's Magnifica line. Magnifica beads are highly faceted, so they sparkle more than the regular Mill Hill Petites. The facets mean they have flat sides, too, which means the bead sits flat against the wizard's finger. I stitched right through the bead's center twice with a length of DMC metallic thread that comes on a sewing spool. I think it is just called DMC Metallic but my label's come off the spool so all I can be sure of is that this is Or clair, which means light gold. The label says this is Art. 282. This thread is thin and stiff, thicker than blending filament by a bit. It is very shiny and two threads of it going through the bead middle looks like the band of a gold ring with a black stone. Remember those black onyx rings that men used to wear in the 1950s-1960s? Most of them have something cut into the black stone so I took one ply from a skein of DMC's metallic floss that is pewter colored. (#5287). I laid it right across the bead perpendicular to the two gold threads that went through the bead's middle to give the black a little shading like there was something on the stone. I like how it turned out myself. It adds a little something to the wizard's personality using just two threads and a bead. Easy enough to do, particularly when you have a nice stash of threads and beads to choose just the right colors from.

I love you, Stash!

Can't see the ring well? Try the photo on the main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Seminar Fun

Both ANG and EGA Seminar photos are available on the Internet if you'd like to have some vicarious fun.

The well known counted thread teacher Gay Ann Rogers posted many photos from the EGA Seminar on her website. Just click on EGA Photos to start looking. Don't miss clicking on various photos on the home page, however. Gay Ann likes to hide surprises under these photos, including hints of the charts she will sell in her annual online sale of extra charts which is coming up soon.

http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Home_Page.html

ANG has lots of photos of events at the ANG Seminar. These photos aren't that great (usually they are dark or the backs of folks) but some of them are especially interesting.

http://www.needlepoint.org/Seminar-08/photos.php

Click on A Star for Seminar (Sept. 7) to see one of the pieces auctioned off to raise money for ANG programs.

Click on Selected Winners (also Sept. 7) to see some of the big winners from the exhibit. I suspect--but I don't know for sure--that the geometric design in the center is Jim Wurth's "The Cross of St. Joan" which one the new Jean Hilton award for best use of Hilton-type stitches.

I can't see the other two pieces well enough to identify them sadly.

By the way, the blue ribbon for painted canvas without a stitch guide (professional) *and* the first Nina Goerres ribbon for Christmas projects went to Vicky DeAngelis who stitched Kelly Clark's Twelve Months of Santas. I think these are Vicky's pieces which served as the models for the stitch guides.

http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/events/kellyclark/index.html

Just String has mentioned several classes she took at EGA, plus posted illustrated information about Marion Scoular's lecture. Look for any blog entry with Louisville 2008 in the title.

http://juststring.blogspot.com/

EGA itself has posted a few photos from their 2008 Seminar on their blog. Click on the titles above the article to move to earlier or later postings.

http://www.egausa.org/scripts/blog/?p=25

Everyone comes home from these things exhausted but doesn't it look like fun?

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

Bored with Wizards?

Then let's head over to St. Petersburg, Florida and visit Silk Road Needle Arts.

http://www.silk-road-needle.com/index.htm

Click on every link you see and this rather plain website blossoms into glorious photographs of stitched and unstitched canvases. The dragon above is from JP Needlepoint and you'll see him and all his friends if you click on Designs and then find the Stitched Models link at the top of the new page.

Have fun exploring. Don't miss the Tip Gallery!

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