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
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

News from Various Places

I've been collecting news for about a week and have enough to post about several fun things now.  So -- here goes!

First, The Needlepointer has posted a listing of all their monthly clubs for 2010.  The newest club is the Chinese fortune cookies, which are small canvases stitched with fun threads and stitches.  Click on the link below, then choose a link to the club that appeals to you for details and photographs.
http://www.theneedlepointer.com/monthly_clubs.php

Needlenook of La Jolla has updated their home page with several new products and a new class.  You won't want to miss seeing the photographs of the two classes Cassie Prescott of Sundance Designs is going to teach at NN of LJ next month.  Have you been intrigued by the Lee Cox scissor fobs and magnets that were mentioned in the latest Needle Pointers magazine and frustrated because the Lee Cox website isn't up and running yet?  Head to the front door of NN of LJ for photos of her products.  Heck, look at all the goodies there!
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/

Finally, Needle Works of Austin, Texas has posted their newsletter. It's full of projects, classes and new canvases for you to enjoy.
http://www.theneedleworks.com/newsletter/2009%20newsletters/2009falll_m.pdf

I will award myself five enabling points but really, all the points should go to these great online shops.  By the way, the canvas photo of the purse is from Cooper Oaks.  It's on 13 count canvas.
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/storedir/proddetail.php?prod=cc713

I'd stitch the faux tortoiseshell handle in something soft like Vineyards silk (tent stitches) and also tent stitch the lettering using metallics for maximum shine (I prefer Coronet Braid when it comes to metallic bling).  Then you can have fun with a decorative laid stitch for the purse background.  Try using subtle neutral shades couching down something metallic, also in a neutral shade.  See the links below for various possibilities for that purse background stitch.

I'd rotate this stitch so that the long stitches covered by XS run horizontally but this would look great in two shades of tan with a metallic gold couched line and a second tan metallic for the dashes.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2004/aug.php

If that stitch is too busy, try this less directional one.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2004/june.php

If you want to be creative, test stitch these couched pavilion variations until you find a mix of stitches and threads you like.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2004/mar.php

Finally, if you want more rounded shapes in the background, this would be lovely.
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2007/feb.php

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

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
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow