Golden Rabbit Without Makeup, With Beads

In between sessions of backetweave marathoning, I removed the black thread outlining the Golden Rabbit's eye and replaced it with a dark brown bullion in the same DMC cotton floss as her face. I decided the black was too harsh. The bullion is made of three plies of the floss and it is couched in the middle to bend it to arch over her eye. What do you think?

I also added three bullions to her paw to give it dimension. These are in the same thread and same number of plies as the eye bullion, but I started with the longest bullion on the right and did around 20 wraps, the middle bullion only had 15 wraps and the short bullion on the left only 12. I tried to do "fingers" to give depth to the area, inspired by Joan Thomasson and Amy Bunger.

I first saw this technique on Joan Thomasson's Nativity figures. Here are her Three Kings. The hands clearly have bullion fingers.
http://needlepointnow.com/back_issues/2003/2003_11/2003_11_cover.html

Amy Bunger does the same thing in her stitching class on the Kelly Clark Nativity. Look at Joseph's hands.
http://www.amybunger.com/albums/album_image/6366238/4533002.htm

One needs to practice bullions and they are easier to do with a one stranded thread, but I think the bullions I added look good. What do you think? Will you consider doing this on one of your next pieces?

The other thing I've done is scatter beads above the halo. This is a test to see how many and which color looks best, or even if I should do this at all. Starting at the rabbit's nose and arcing upward, you see two of the pale copper Toho beads, then a single gold Mill Hill Petite bead, then a cluster of three gold Mill Hill beads, and finally a single pale copper Toho bead. I think a mix of both types might work but I've run out of time to test that. What do you think?

The reason I've run out of time is that I have to take the laptop in for repair today and I don't know when it will be ready. Apple won't even tell me if they have the repair parts in stock (that's "propriatary" information? !?!??!!). Anyway, I won't be blogging for 2-3 days until the computer comes back but I'll work on the basketweave and once that is done, I'll decide about whether beads above the halo look good or not.

Y'all behave while I'm gone!

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Scarlet Thread Threads

I picked up a few threads to use with my new canvas yesterday since shopping without buying threads for me is like taking a shower without using soap. Us threadaholics must have the threads!

Clockwise starting from the top left you'll see another skein of the lovely Gloriana Silk I am using for the Golden Rabbit. I love the Old Lacquer color and since I've used most of the skein I originally bought, I replaced it with another.

The next thread in the plastic cover is a spool of Gilt Sylke Twist in a similar gold color called Isabella. This is the new filiment silk wrapped in gold metallic that Access Commodities distributes in the U.S. I can't wait to stitch with this. Although it looks rather muted in the spool, I think this will be the perfect thread for the yellow labs in my Cape Cod Dogs canvas. On the back of the package is says to use a #24 chenille needle (or a #24 tapestry needle in a pinch) for this thread and that once you thread up, a twist of the thread tail will keep it from coming out of the eye. I'll let you know how this stitches up. I almost bought more of this as Scarlet Thread is the only shop in the area carrying it but at almost $20 a spool, I am too cheap to spend the money.

The last thread on the top row is a card of On the Surface's New Metallics. This is a thin wire-like thread in 2 plies (again, only Scarlet Thread carries this in our area) that is easy to work with and which does great metallic effects. I bought the color Matte Gold, a golden brown, thinking that one dog might be darker than the other. It also is a close match to the wooden bar color, so perhaps I'll use it there. I have a card of the pearl white and a card of a dark gray that I've used for angel wings and a wire metal chair. It's a great choice for special touches. On the Surface threads can be found in quilt shops. A friend send me a nice spool of the white from her favorite quilting shop in the NorthWest, so check at your local quilter's hangout to see if they carry it in larger sizes than this little card.

Continuing clockwise, we come to the lovely deep red #414 Rubasse spool of Bijoux, which is also from Access Commodities. Bijoux is thinner than even one ply of New Metallics. I thought it would be perfect doubled or trippled in my needle to stitch the red lettering of the border of Cape Cod Dogs. Other shops in my area carry Bijoux, but few have such a large range of colors as Scarlet Thread.

My final purchase is the pretty blue silk of Belle Soie, a 12 ply silk from Crescent Colours, which started out as an overdyed cotton floss dyer. They have moved into silks. The counted thread place that moved to WVA introduced me to this thread. I'm not wild about all the colors but when I like one, I really like it. I have a gorgeous pale lavender, a beautiful carrot color and a lovely pink in my stash already. Now that the counted thread place has moved away, I can't get this thread anywhere in the area except at Scarlet Thread.

I am really going to miss this place.

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Cape Cod Dogs UPDATED

Cape Cod Dogs
They Don't Chase Cars
They Like to Pick Up
Girls in Bars

LOL! My husband lived in and around Boston for many years and loved it. I bought this canvas to stitch for him (he's also a dog lover) yesterday in what was probably my last trip to The Scarlet Thread, which is closing this summer. Sara Leigh the owner had it put aside for me, wicked girl! I am not sure who the distributor is (my best guess is Needlepoint of Back Bay as it has the initials NOBB on it) but the artist is Elizabeth Mumford. She licenses some of her paintings for NP. You can see prints on her website link below. Since I can't find any mention of which canvases are on NP, I can't tell you if any of these other charmers are available to stitch but Cape Cod Dogs is numbered EM-20 so I bet there are more. Just don't know which ones.

UPDATE:  Needlepoint of Back Bay has updated their website with several Elizabeth Mumford designs listed as available.
http://www.needlepointofbackbay.com/product_pages/Elizabeth-Mumford.htm

 Note that the NP version of Cape Cod Dogs doesn't have the big ship in the background window, probably the ferry over to Nantucket or perhaps Martha's Vineyard. My canvas is on 18 count mono and the design is around 8 inches square. There's not much room for the ship, although I might try to add it myself. It's a nice touch.
http://www.elizabethmumford.com/portfolio_open.shtml

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Everyone Has Finished Stuff But Me

If you don't follow other blogs regularly, you might not realize some projects we watched being stitched are back from the finisher. They are all spectacular! Remember the kids in their costumes marching off to trick and treat? This is by Tapestry Tent (distributed by Susan Roberts) and it is wonderful as a pillow!
http://bristlythistle.blogspot.com/2009/04/halloween-march-needlepoint-back-from.html

All four of Madonna's Sundance Southwestern pieces are back from the framer. Aren't they wonderful as a set?
http://frontrangestitches.blogspot.com/2009/05/these-just-in_14.html

Anne Stradal's version of her dad's black and white sketch is framed. Look how well she handles shading, light and shadow in just black and white threads!
http://thecapestitcher.blogspot.com/2009/05/framed.html

Terry Dryden has finished her class model for Mediterranean Squares with a three stitch border that is the perfect finishing touch.
http://www.terrydryden.com/-blog/2009/5/19/mediterranean-squares-finished.html

I need to get busy and finish the last Pet Guardian Angel so I can put them all together and show off my own finished pieces!
Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Beads and Eye Liner

Last night I managed to add the little gold Mill Hill Petite beads to the centers of the flower stitches on the trim on the Golden Rabbit's skirts. I discovered the pale copper beads just disappeared but the gold ones are a bit more visible against the ivory and golden trim stitches. I hope you can see them in the photo. I didn't have trouble getting them to stay in place but they are smaller than the pale copper Toho beads. Those might have misbehaved, as beads do. Odette had trouble with beads when she tried the same thing. Guess the size is what is important here. Smaller beads are less wiggly. Sort of. I still had one bead jump out of the box and escape into my recliner somewhere! Do NOT trust beads. They are escape artists!

i also added a bit of black thread to highlight her eye. Then it was back to the Basketweave Marathon. Lots to do there still! Once I get more background done I'll take beads down around the halo and you can help me decide whether I need beads there or not.

Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow