First of all, on the left you can see the current status of the peacock feather piece. I put in two lengths of green-mix couched threads along the left hand side, also adding a little bit of satin stitch where they meet the 'stalk' so as to fill in the gap a little and create the right shape.
The next move is to add in a more brown row and then to do the fronds that begin to splay out somewhat.
It's not easy doing a peacock feather as so many of the colour changes are along the fronds, (or whatever I should call them - I'm no ornithologist), so it's not really possible to get them exact - unless one were to specially dye threads for the design.
Next is the turn of our lovely, cute, chubby little bunny. As you can see, I made quite a lot of progress on him yesterday (you get a lot more done by not watching TV at the same time....) and hope to finish the shading completely during the next session I spend on him. Then it's on to the ghiordes know tail and I think I'll make a tutorial out of that, so I'd better do it in good light!=)
Last, but by no means least, is the sampler. Yesterday afternoon I started and completed the extra trims on the rose cross stitch area that I showed last time. There are two shades of beading, two fly stitch leaves, two spider's web roses and a few lazy daisy stitch petals.
Here's the full length of the piece as it stands right now.
As I'd got about as far down on the piece as I could go, I've moved it up in the frame now. I'm not sure how well that will work out as I don't think it's far enough up, but it can't go any further thanks to the beading on the top section. I may well have to re-transfer it back to the 17" side bars, which fit in the whole design. We'll see how it feels as before I didn't find it comfy working in such a very long frame.
I've decided I don't like the colour of the lettering. It doesn't look as bad here, but in real life the purple is too red and doesn't match well. It looks fine on the lilac background, which is an alternative on the pattern, but I think that, on green, the lettering should be either dark green, brown or even grey. I'll wait until I've worked the rest of the surface elements before making a final decision on colour, but it's not staying as it is. I just don't like it at all!
Something else I'm not sure of now is what colour to work the girl's dress in. She's to appear in the space on the left of the square and the pattern states a blue dress, but I don't really think it goes well with the rest of the colour scheme (nor do some of the lupins, which are also supposed to be blue, but that I will be changing to be pinks and purples as on the cream based version of the design) and am considering changing it to light yellows instead.
So, over the next week I hope to complete the left hand side of the feather, the body, tail and perhaps also the wired ear of the rabbit and press well on with the rest of the pictorial part of the sampler.
I've also selected my next WIPW big project as, according to the challenge guidelines, the project should be at least 20 hours long and so, for starting new ones, I want to make sure that WIPW is my weekly larger project update. So, after the sampler come a pair of rather nice cross stitched ladies - one medieval, one Tudor - with all sorts of fancy elements including rayon threads, beading or various sorts, petit point faces and hands and so on. So, not your ordinary cross stitch, but with something a little special. NOT that there's anything wrong with cross stitch! I remembered feeling quite disgusted when someone spoke disparagingly of 'cross stitching bears'. All forms of embroidery are worthwhile and valid and it doesn't matter who designed it or whether it's worked for fun or for serious business, commission, study or exhibition. The only time I would find something questionable would be if the subject matter was distasteful in some way. So there! Cross stitch is great!=) I love all forms of stitchery and am happy to indulge in any that take my fancy at any given time. No snobbery allowed here!!!LOL :)
Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2013
