Flipped

My Original Stitching

Remember Friday I posed a question about what the diagonal line of stitches on the cracked tombstone would look like if I switched the direction?  Robin King has answered my question through the magic of Photoshop.

Robin Adds a Flipped Area to See Directional Change

Robin explained how she managed the flip:

"Here's how I did it:
• In Photoshop, I made a new Layer.
• Using the Clone Stamp Tool, I sampled your Stitching.
• Then I Flipped Horizontal to get the reverse direction.
I often use Photoshop for previewing a stitch."

Thank you very much, Robin! Looks like I made the right decision after all. Here's the current state of the cracked tombstone. I was too tired to finish the bottom area last night but I hope to do that this morning and then stitch the grass tonight.

Progress to Date

If you have Photoshop on your computer, you might want to use Robin's instructions the next time you are wondering what something will look like.

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

PFOS Does MS

The new owners of Pocket Full of Stitches is using their blog to highlight the canvases they have in stock.  This is a much quicker and cheapaer way to go than paying to have their canvases on their website.  Yesterday they listed all the small Melissa Shirley canvases in stock at their shop and remind you there are stitch guides written for many of these designs.
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2010/10/melissa-shirley.html

Email them for prices.  By the way, I've updated the CH Stitch Guides blog entry about PFOS with a link to the finished models of their Fab Firs club, and have also announced there that my Leigh Cha stitch guide is now ready for sale.  Read all about it at the link below!
http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com/

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

My Tombstones

The cemetery is starting to come to life.  (Did I just say that?!) I've completed the stone cross except for two missed stitches I found this morning as soon as I picked up the piece in the sunlight. I'll fix that later today.   I have the lettering done on the cracked tombstone and am almost half finished covering it in stitches.  As I've said before, once the tombstones are finished, I will work on the grass.

I chose a variation of cashmere stitch for the cracked tombstone.  This area slants / toward Luna's feet (actually, almost everything in this composition points to her).  So I wanted a diagonal stitch that slanted the same way and one that had some texture but not too much.  I want it more prominent than the cross but not so much that it detracts from Luna herself or the crow sitting on top of the cross.  Some test stitching lead me to diagonal cashmere.

I've just had a thought.  What would it look like if the diagonal cashmere slanted the other way?  Would that counteract the intent of the designer or make the tombstone even less prominent?  Any thoughts?  I'm not changing it, mind.  I just wondered....

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

Today's Calmer

Last night I worked a bit on the tombstones next to Luna.  I'm basketweaving the cross, being careful to match the subtle shading as much as possible. I've figured out the lettering on the cracked tombstone and will be working on its background once the cross is done.  That will be a while.  It takes a lot of time to basketweave an area smoothly, particularly when you are constantly changing colors.

Once the cross and cracked monument are finished, I will work the grass around their base.  But first I need to find a fourth color in my stash for the shadows on the cross.

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

ANG Seminar Reports UPDATED AGAIN

I've been eagerly waiting for folks to get back from ANG's Seminar in Columbus, OH to hear all about it but the pickings are slim so far.  Fortunately, Melita reported in on her experience.
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/ang-seminar-2010-trip-report/


Melita won a first place and the Princess Grace Award (given for an all basketweave piece) for one of her original designs.
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/beautiful-ohio/

She also showed another original piece that was almost as highly rated by the judges.  Both are described on her blog.  Congratulations!
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/madam-carina/

UPDATE:  Melita has added the third piece she showed to her blog.  It's great fun to read how this design evolved.
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/points-of-tranquility-sky-earth-and-sea/

Jan is also back from Seminar and has two photos of the events in her write up.  Sounds like a great time, doesn't it?
http://stitchlady.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/back-from-seminar/

I hope more information appears as folks get home, unpack, and are finally over whatever bugs they picked up after not enough sleep, too much excitement and the rigors of air travel.

UPDATE: Kelly has posted about her seminar experiences, including classes and the goodies she bought.
http://sweetneedleofmine.blogspot.com/2010/10/small-packing-tragedy-strikes.html

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