A Question of Color....

 

 Blue... Gold.... Green...

As You might be aware, Dear Readers, I have been wrestling a lot recently with Color choices for my many various stitching projects. This is in great part due to my tendency to change the designs that were the original kit specifications, but also due to the change of thread type being used due to the changed scale of the project. The threads specified for the Wyvern (and the future Lion) cushion, are all intended for DMC cotton pearl thread and the projects were scaled for RL products. When I noticed that the number of stitches for the Wyvern design was exactly the same as that for the Milles Fleures Kits I had been stitching, I assumed I could just use the same Milles Fleures kit silk threads for the Wyvern. And I could for the most part, but there were not enough colors in the Milles Fleures selection to match all the colors in the Wyvern design. So I set about ordering the missing thread colors... but this is very challenging when you don't have a chart to compare the colors across different manufacturers. And the availability of the silk threads here in the USA is hindered by the fact that they are imported so not all stores carry all or any of them. And trusting to the pictures of on-line ordering is also risky... they even don't recommend using the colors shown as a guide! You need to know the number of the color you want... which I have no clue about! So I have been ordering anyway... a kind of thread roulette... I assume I will eventually use the silk even if not right away on this project. For the Wyvern, I got lucky and could use two of the darker blues I ordered for the sky. You can see I have finished stitching that part in the above photo. I am still waiting for a blue-green thread, a purple thread, and could not use the only orange-ish color I ordered as it was too dark for the highlights on the Wyvern's scales. So meanwhile, I have started stitching the frame for the Lion cushion...

 

This is another of Candace Bahouth's designs.... 

one of a series of astrological-inspired motifs. 

And one of the things I love about these designs is that

 she actually designed them with glittery

 metallic gold thread for the stars and the Wyvern's fire! 

I didn't have to change that at all!

 

And yet again, I don't have enough colors of gold

 to complete the design as is....

 so I have ordered some more.

 We will see if they will work!

But the real color challenge I wanted to talk about was

 the still undecided background color for the

 Chinese Dragon Carpet golden border motif!

And I am not entirely to blame for this challenge, even though I did drastically change the kit design by adding the dragons as a central motif. The design had specified two colors of gold for the border that were so close to each other in hue that you could not tell there was a pattern at all! When I added the central motif I used the picture on the kit, showing a lovely gold band, as inspiration for the gold octagon surrounding the dragons. Only to discover once I started stitching that gold band that it was supposed to be a beautiful golden Greek key pattern,not a solid gold band. And in order to decide what color would work best for the background of that key pattern, I started stitching small "samples" along the side of the silk mesh.

I had shown sample of the options I tried so far... a paler gold background.... (bottom) the kit threads as specified (next above) the cream background (third from bottom) the dark blue (fourth up) and the navy blue (top option). And by then I had realized I really needed to include the dark blue outlines for this band in order to get the real effect. I had not intended to try the pale sky blue that is the background of sky with the dragons in the center.....(a piece of the design added by me) because I was pretty sure it would not work at all. But when a Dear Reader suggested I could try it, I thought that this would be a great example to use to show how some colors just do not play nicely with each other! Rather than just try to describe why... they are too similar to each other in intensity (or tone, both being mid-range) and too dissimilar in hue (they just cancel each other out!)..... I should show why by stitching a sample.... 

 

Can you even see the stitched sample above the navy blue one.....?

 It was extremely difficult to get it to show up in photos!

 

 

Here you can see I am adding the blue edges to all the samples...

 

Here is a closer view of the samples.... 

trying to get them in enough light... 

but I swear, the gold and the sky blue just swallow each other up! 

 

Here it is even closer... 

and you can see that the design and the background are too similar in intensity,

 neither one dominates, so they just cancel each other.

 And viewed from a distance, they combine to make a slightly green hue....!

So you can see my dilemma, Dear Readers,

 in needing to choose an alternate color than the kit specifies, 

without changing the original design color balance.... 

I am still undecided. So I am stitching the parts I do know first! 

 

Maybe by the time I am done with the outer borders, Dear Readers,

 I will have answered the question of which Color to use...

 

 

And More Stitching....

 

No End In Sight....!

I Have been stitching a Lot, Dear Readers, as I find it a soothing activity in these Troubled Times. In the above picture you can see the cushions I have been stitching, and the Unicorn cushion has had the dark red outlining completed. It really makes the image clear, and reveals the places where the design just might have a few problems... like around the beast's tail and the fence... but no matter, those cannot be corrected at this stage of the work! And you can also see the incomplete Wyvern cushion, waiting for new colors of silk threads to arrive... some are on back-order and have a long travel to get here. As you might imagine, it did not take me long to add the red background to the Unicorn cushion. But having made so many in this series, I was neglecting to take progress photos.

Here you can see the Unicorn cushion is nearly complete... only one corner still needing the bright red! Of course, I finished it and neglected to get a good finished photo... because I'm stitching a lot! And the next cushion design (those two spaces need to be cushions...!) was probably going to be another of Candace Bahouth's designs... but I hadn't decided which... and did I have the right threads? Still to be determined. Which left me with a couple of my other not-yet-finished stitching projects, either the Chinese Dragon carpet or the Medieval Cluny Merchant Tapestry.... neither of which had been worked on in months.

You might recall that I was trying to decide which color thread to use in the "golden" border of the Chinese Dragon Carpet in order for the lovely Greek Key pattern to show. The thread included in the kit was so similar in hue that the design was not apparent. I had done several test samples, without being able to decide which would suit the overall design the best... you can see them here along the edge...

And then I realized that in order to really see what they would look like, I had to include the dark blue outlines too. On the one with the navy blue ground it just tones the contrast down a bit, while on the one with the darker blue ground, it visually widens the band and makes the dark blue more powerful. This looks great in isolation... but would create a very strong dark rather than gold feeling to the border! Hmmmm.... still not clear! But the one thing that is clear... is that if I keep stitching the gold... I make progress!

 (Sorry the picture is dark... we are having a lot of dark rainy days again...)

 

Look at all that progress!

 It felt like I would never be done with that pattern... 

but the gold is done! 

And there is plenty of stitching to be done before

 I have to know the color for the background of this border.

But do you even remember the Cluny Merchant tapestry, Dear Readers?

(I will be calling him a Lord, not a Merchant...!) 

 

This is one of Janet Granger's kits for Medieval style Tapestry.

(She has retired and closed her shop)

But I was never happy with the costume for this fellow. 

It was way too Tudor Era and not Medieval enough for me. 

I had already stitched two of her tapestries, the Medieval Ladies,

 and had radically altered one of them. 

It was time to tackle this fellow's costume problems! 

 

Here you can see the original chart 

and what I had stitched already that I was not going to change. 

(After I had un-stitched what I could!) 

The position of the hand and the drape of the sleeve

 needed to be a little different.

 And his under-tunic would not be visible at the neck. 

The collar would be wide and closed.

 

The era I am using is more 1430 than 1500... 

The belt is very low on the waist and the tunic very pleated

 and the sleeves and hat are emphasized and outlandish...

 

I needed to actually chart the new design....

 

Gradually adding the details... coloring in the squares....

And beginning to stitch the changes... the new hand position....

 

 Adding the fur to the collar....

 

 And beginning the hat.... and needing to alter the colors somewhat!

The original greens provided for the kit were too similar in the darker tones...

 

 

 I swapped the mid range one for a more olive green... 

and the lighter one for a more apple green.

 

And started the sleeves...

 

 Adding more fur on the sleeves....

 

And adding the belt and purse and starting the tunic pleats....

 

And here you can see him placed next to the

 Medieval Ladies Tapestry I stitched a few years ago. 

I have been "assuming" from the start that these tapestries are all 

fragments of a much larger original tapestry.

 The Lord's section is taller than the Ladies one,

 but it will not matter because they will not be in the same room... 

you will never see them side by side. 

And in the Medieval era they did not change the size

 of the figures for proportional reasons, 

but more for the importance of the figure itself.

 

 

Here I have finished the fur at the hem of his tunic

 and am working slowly on the pleats.

There is still a long way to go,

 and eventually I will get his horse charted too... 

but first I have to decide the colors for him...

 

Meanwhile, some of the threads I ordered for the Wyvern arrived...

Here I am adding the dark blue to the sky.

The charts for this are not easy to read... 

some of the printed colors are very similar in hue and hard to tell apart.

 Also the colors on the chart are not all close to the real stitched colors. 

When in doubt, I have been relying on the photo of the finished project in the book...

 and that one shows the sky as dark.

 

Here you can see I have begun to add the mid-range blue to the sky...

and I also stitched much of the bright coral color of the body.

The "fire" he is breathing is gold metallic thread. 

It was very challenging to stitch but it makes a great impact!

Oh, and you can see the completed Unicorn too!

 

So you can see, Dear Readers, 

I have been stitching a Lot...

And there is Still no end in Sight!
 

Rhodies Are Red....

 

Bursting In Bloom... 

It is Almost the end of May, Dear Readers, and that means the Lilacs in this part of the World have long since given up their blossoms and ceded the day to the exuberant Rhododendrons! And I know that while a few of you might be hoping that someday you will see them both blooming side by side, I have never yet seen that happen in my RL garden, and can't assume it would happen here, even for a second. This year we have been experiencing a cool, very wet Spring with little sunshine. This is not a bad thing because last fall and winter we had a terrible drought, and now the rain has restored us to normal! But it does make it difficult to get lovely sunny pictures of the blooming Rhododendron shrub. This morning was no exception and I was despairing of getting anything to show you... and then the sun Almost broke through the clouds! I ran for my camera and snapped a dozen pictures... not quite sunny... but light enough to see the blossoms in detail! And I had to make sure you were also seeing the Summer Lilac in all its plain old green!

 And, of course, I had to take lots of pictures and can't decide which are the best!

 

I do love the way the shrubs wrap the porch....

 

And I know they crowd the path to the brook...

 

Just look at all those blossoms!!!

 

And the shrub wraps all the way around the side of the house...

and conceals the entrance to the Tree House in the roots....

And yes, Mr. Gnome has been enjoying the blossoms of spring!

(His house is hidden in the Garden somewhere... he hasn't told me where...)

 

It turns the porch into a lovely little arbor....

 

But the weather has been much too dreary for sitting out in the garden! 

I believe Will and Gabrielle have even needed to light the fire!

 

But I don't mind, Dear Readers,

 it is beautiful to behold, 

this Brilliant Red rhododendron, 

even on a dreary day!

 

Stitching And Stitching...

 

And Still More Stitching....

It Turns out, Dear Readers, that stitching is almost the only thing I got done in my Mini Worlds over the past few weeks. I realize now that it is so comforting to have something small to pick up and apply creative energy to between phone calls and doctor appointments. It was way back in April that I had shown you the beginnings of the Hound and his Mate on the fifth cushion in the series. It did not take me long to get all the blossoms stitched around them. I have really enjoyed the wonderful variety of blossom arrangements and different types and colors that are the "Mille Fleures" of these kits. Every one of the backgrounds is different, even though some of the flower types are repeated. Once the blossoms were all stitched it was time to outline them all in the darker red. This takes quite a bit of very careful stitching.

 

 

And once that is finished the bright red background is added.

 I am always surprised at how much difference the bright red makes!

 

 

It really tightens up the pattern and "cheers up" the appearance!

 And while I was still adding the background color,

 I was starting to plan the next stitching options...

Because all that remaining silk mesh was going to need some stitching to fill it!

 

And I had some good options to work with! You can see the beginning of another square cushion design in the upper corner. This is taken from a book I bought many years ago of medieval tapestry stitching projects by Candace Bahouth. Her designs are for RL size projects, but a few would translate really well into mini cushions at this scale of thread count!

 

 

 

This design is for a small bag or purse in RL size.... and it happens to be 60 stitches to a side, exactly the same as the squared cushions! How easy is that? And even though the chart calls for more colors than the Mille Fleures kits came with... I have ordered a few extra colors, hopefully to fill the gaps in the color range. So I started in with the stitching....

 

 

But several of the threads I had ordered were on back order...

 and might take weeks to arrive... so I didn't get very far with the Wyvern. 

But I had started another cushion outline as you can see in the hoop..... 

along the same pattern as all the other cushions 

because I was going to design one of my own! 

And this one would be a replica of a RL cushion I have had for years...

A version of the Unicorn In Captivity

 taken from a Medieval Tapestry in the Cloisters Museum in New York.

 Although the original tapestry has a green verdure background

 rather than the red of the Cluny Tapestries.

 

I had to do the complicated part of trying to get the graph paper chart drawing to fit the printed backgrounds to see how the figure would need to be placed among the blossoms.

But it also needed the complex fencing.... I decided I needed to chart the entire thing myself.

 

 

And part way through the process I realized I had to work within the circle formed by the original kit outline... which I used to help me keep the count of the stitches correct.... so you see here the fence fitted into the circle as best I could.

 

And I started in with the stitching!

 

 

Because I wasn't confident of my design details, Dear Readers,

 I decided to stitch all three of the "basic" unicorn colors simultaneously...

 the lightest one in this case is the body color and the darkest is the dark shadows and the middle is for lighter shadowing in the coat and mane. I needed to be able to see how they looked as I went along in case I wanted to make changes... but it looked pretty good as the chart was drawn.

 So I just kept on going!

 

 

Here the Unicorn is outlined. 

I needed to do this right away so the background elements

 would stay separated from him visually.

 

 

And because I wanted some of the flowers to be

 in front of the fence in the foreground... they had to be stitched first.

 

 

 And bit by bit the fencing is added and the flowers too.

 

 

And I needed to expand the flowers into the corners too...

 

 

Here you can see most of the fencing has been outlined too.

 

 

And the outlining has been completed. 

Now all that is needed is the bright red background color,

 but that will have to wait for another day.

As you can see, Dear Readers,

I have been finding Comfort in stitching

 and stitching, and Still More stitching!