Stitching Update...

 

Petit-point Variations...

Well, Dear Readers, Time has been Flying along and progress has been made on some of my various stitching projects since I last posted about them, but it has not been the sort of progress I had hoped for! The last I showed you the Chinese Dragon Carpet, I had just transferred it to a larger frame the better to be able to stitch the border areas. I am still not sure about my planned changes for the middle section, so I am starting to work on the borders now that I can access them. You can see above that I have been adding the gold to one side. But you might not be able to see the delicate pattern it makes!

Here is a closer view showing the Chinese version of a "key" pattern.

It snakes back and forth on itself making an 

interlocking positive and negative shape.

In order to see this pattern, there has to be enough contrast

 between the two colors for the shapes to be distinct.

This kit has you use the two gold thread colors 

that are so close in hue as to be

 almost indistinguishable from each other!

I wasn't sure this would work,

 and this size hole count is so small 

you really can't unstitch anything.

 So I did a couple of test patterns first.

I figured that if I was going to spend so much time

 carefully stitching this intricate pattern.... 

I was going to want it to be noticeable!

You can see the two test samples above.

The top one uses the colors recommended in the kit.

Even close up and looking to see a pattern,

 I can't tell what it is. It just looks slightly messy.

The lower test is done with the darker gold from the kit

 and a lighter one from my thread stash... 

the closest I could come to the gold color range but a good bit lighter.

Still, I can barely see that there is a pattern, let alone what it is.

I am on the verge of deciding to use the same white

 that the rest of the background will be.

But before I do that, I will go shopping 

and see if I can find a lighter gold.

Meanwhile I am stitching the darker gold

 in the border pattern... it is a slow process!

And the last time I showed you my stitching projects, Dear Readers, 

I had just finished the William Morris carpet.

Here you can see it in Sally May's and Chip's Dining room!

(With the flash so you can see it at all.)

As some of you will know, Sally May's and Chip's house

 is the slowest to get the improvements... 

Chip is so busy and so much needs to be done!

But Sally May's Mother-in-law saw the carpet

 in a used furniture shop and "snagged it" for Sally May. 

Blanche knows Sally May's fondness for pink... 

and well, the carpet does have some pink in it!

And heck, it fits in the room!

As for the rest of the petit-point projects, 

I had also just started to work on another of Janet Granger's kits,

 the last in the Medieval Tapestry series... "The Cluny Lord".

(By the way, I have just found out she has closed her shop and retired.)

This is what the Lord is supposed to look like.

And those of you who have been following this blog for a while

 might remember the other versions in this series I stitched a few years ago,

 making a few changes to the original kit designs along the way.

 The chief changes were making the clothes look

 more "ancient", Medieval rather than Tudor in design.

As with the previous Medieval Tepestry kit,

 I wanted to add a few more details to the design

 so I started the stitching off to one side of the cloth, 

leaving room to add figures of my own design,

 making the overall Tapestry larger. 

Why waste good cloth, Right?

But I had not gone very far before I admitted 

I was going to have to re-design the costume 

a bit more thoroughly than I had supposed. 

The Tudor style just would Not do! 

He needs a more Medieval hat.... 

the belt is too high....

 the cloth pleats are not distinct enough.... 

and so on!

So.... I have to work out a new chart 

for this like I did for the last one.... 

You can read about it in earlier posts!

But if you know me at all, Dear Readers,

 you will know there is always stitching to be done... 

and I had a brand new project just waiting for me to get started....

These are tiny little kits that Mary Corbet of "Needle 'n Thread" blog

 designed to be small jewelry pins or scissor fobs.

 They are stitched on 48 count silk and each one 

finished is only 1 and 1/4 inch across!

I bought the kits last summer and have eagerly started stitching...

I am amazed at just how much more difficult this size is to stitch!

I started with the flowers... 

but wanted to see how the cat would look...

The threads are silk... Soie de Paris and Soie de Gobelins 

and the colors are luscious.

The beasts are inspired by the "Mille Fuille" tapestries

 of the Late Middle Ages.

I use a magnifier and need very good lighting

 to be able to see where exactly I am putting my needle!

I can't quite imagine stitching anything on a higher count cloth!

Here I have begun to work the background.

 First you outline all the flowers and beast with the darker red.

Eventually I will fill all the remaining ground with the bright red.

 

 If you look carefully you will see there are lots of gaps still to be filled.

Of course, I have to change things.... 

I am going to make them into pillows for the Doll houses!

All I have to do is add stuff to the corners...

Here I am adding a small wren and some flowers to the Cat pillow.

I am actually needing to make the charts

 so I can be sure what color I am putting where... 

it is really easy to miss a stitch at this scale!

 

So you can see Dear Readers,

 I am making Progress with my stitching projects...

Just making Variations everywhere!