More Stitching...

 

The Astrological Cushions Continued... 

I Left you several weeks ago, Dear Readers, with the not quite completed Wyvern Cushion and the beginnings of the final cushion framework. You can see above that the Wyvern is very close to completed, and even would fool most viewers into thinking it was all done. But I am still waiting for the purple thread I ordered... there are only about 25 stitches to fill with that color.... (mostly along the beasts neck) but I am not giving up yet! The green ground has all been completed. As for the choice of which of the four cushion designs to choose for the final cushion, it was an easy one for me. The Goat and the Bull were both too similar to the Leo I had just completed. I wanted a challenge and chose The Pisces cushion! I was really looking forward to testing my skills and my patience with that elaborate gold thread background. And besides, my birth sign is Pisces. The usual difficulties with matching thread colors from the original chart gave me some challenges too.

 Here you can see the chart with the accompanying list of threads. These are all for DMC threads, not the silk I am using. And there are no comparison charts to rely on. So I am doing my best as I did with The Leo cushion, and making some inevitable compromises. The biggest difference is once again with the gold threads.... the ones in the border squares, not the metallic threads in the pattern. The two golden yellow threads I have are the very light gold and the mid range gold that you can see in the border on the Leo Cushion. But I think the pale yellow is too pale. When I compare the picture of the finished embroidery in the book, the darker yellow is really almost a rusty color, not a gold. It is similar to the ocher color we did not have for the Leo cushion. Because it was so difficult to decide, I left the yellow border squares for last and started right in with the Fish!

 I started with the dark Navy Blue....

 

Followed by the Medium Navy Blue... and then the Bright Blue...

 

And then finally the Pale Powder Blue....

They did not take too long to finish.

And then for the metallic Gold Thread....

 

 

It was a bit challenging to follow the pattern... 

a very random swirly pattern inspired by

 the gilded backgrounds of Medieval Miniature paintings.

 

The most challenging part was trying to see the stitches you already had sewn...

 because the light glints off the thread... 

sometimes it looks like no stitch is there when one is already sewn!

 

And here the gold thread is nearly all stitched...

I know it is difficult to identify the patterns,

 partly because the thread shines through the cloth!

 

 

And here the metallic thread is all done,

 and I am starting to add the darkest of the red background threads. 

This is where the stitching gets really tricky!

If you look closely at the chart above, 

you can see that there are four colors

 of background "reddish" thread in the mix.

 Isolating the particular red you are stitching

 and finding all of those little random stitches

 in the already stitched pattern of gold threads

 was quite absorbing!

 Yes, I said I wanted a challenge!

 

Here the darkest red has all been stitched....

 or so I thought...

 I did find missing stitches as I sewed the next colors!

 

 

Here the dark red and the bright cherry red have been stitched.

 Sometimes it was really difficult to tell

 the middle two reds apart in the chart.... 

and because it was so challenging, 

I stitched the lightest color next... the coral color.

Here you can see it has all been stitched....

 

 

And finally, stitching the mid-range lighter red...

 really a very burnt orange color.

This is where I fill all the empty holes... 

unless I realize they were supposed to have a different color...

 in which case I go back in and add the missing color!

 

 

Until all those missing stitches are found!

And now I can go back to the the border 

and try to make the colors either match the chart

 or the stitched one from the book...

 

Which you can see here.... 

the darker of the two border "gold" threads

 looks almost like the orange... 

it really is the "missing" color,

 and I have to compromise!

 

I started with the darker yellow of my threads..... 

which is for the lighter yellow squares in the chart...

 

And then the medium range orange.

 I thought the two yellows would be too different

 from the rest of the design

 and would look too discordant.

 

As for the Wyvern and the missing purple threads, Dear Readers,

 I am happy to report that the purple threads arrived at last!

 Here you can see the Wyvern before the purple has been added....

 (just look carefully under his throat and along the side of his neck)...

 

And  Ta Da...!

 Here the purple threads have been stitched! 

There is also a small section below his breast 

and two dots above his tail 

if you want to try and spot them all!

 I can personally see the difference they make in the shadowing... 

so I am glad I persevered!

 

I don't know whether this is a better shot... 

but I thought I'd include it anyway!

 

Now, all I have to do, Dear Readers, 

is make all these little "designs" into tiny cushions!

 And you can rest assured....

 I have plenty more stitching still to do!

 

Going With The Flow....

 

Getting Carried Away...

I Left you in my last Post, Dear Readers, with The Folly Garden Rocks pretty much the way they had been for more than a year while I worked on the Rhododendron Shrubs. But Every time I would walk past it, I would move a few rocks around, or add a few "new" sample rocks or just glare at it. Clearly, I had a long way to go and was not sure of the next steps. But as it came time to "launch" the Evergreen Rhododendron Shrub, I thought I could surely improve on the painting I had done on last year's new rocks. And the first step was to apply a few coats of polyurethane varnish to "seal" them and give them a more durable surface. Luckily there were a few nights with cool enough temperatures to open all the windows and let the breezes clear the air! (It has been hot so far this summer!)

 

 

This required clearing off all the "pet rocks" (aka Real rocks!)

 and applying varnish to the already "finished" rocks. 

And as soon as the varnish had cured, a second coat was added for durability. 

 

 

And because one of the things about the rocks that had been bothering me

 was that the acrylic paints were glossy when they dried...

 which made the rocks look wet all the time... 

So I bought flat paint samples in a bunch of "rock colors" 

and repainted all the rocks....

 

 

I am still just randomly adding layers of "stippled" colors,

 using a fairly dry brush to add speckled amounts of different colors in layers.

 This is not yet the finished product...

 but starts to build the tonal colors of the different rocks.

And I kept looking at that "other side of the brook"... 

and realized that I might as well construct those rocks now 

while I was painting the other rocks,

 or there might never be coherence in the end...

And did I mention how much foam board can be wasted, Dear Readers,

 as you try this rock here and that rock there

 and try to get a sense of how it all should go together

 and still look "natural" when finished?

 

 

 

Not to mention how many hours drift away as you carve one rock

 to maybe define a section of the brook edge 

(which needs to straddle the wooden landscape framework) 

or days float by as the rocks maybe fit 

but after all are not quite right when more are added.....

 

 

I started at the corner where the Tree House opens

 right above the brook... at the uphill side of the property.

 And I needed to be sure there was clearance for the opening doors!

 

 

At first I was just determined to get the outer wall covered... 

or converted to a rock border....

 but I soon realized it looked too artificial... 

too much like a canal and not enough like a wild brook.

 

 

 

And part of the plan has always been that there is a small dam in the brook, 

creating an "upper pool" in front of the Tree House and a "lower pool" at the other corner

 where the brook overflows into the meadow beyond the property.

 And just to complicate things, The Tree House itself is constructed on it's own base

 which lifts in and out of The Folly Landscape.

 If you look carefully in the above picture, you can see where the two bases separate.

 A small bit of the Tree House base needs to be a rock at the edge of the brook...

  but That will be added later. For now, the bottom of the "upper pool" 

needs to be elevated above the level of the "lower pool".....

 

 

Here you can see that section of the "upper pool" inserted,

carefully carved to curve along the edge of The Tree House Base

 so it can still be lifted out.

 

 

And because the "upper pool" will need to have a certain depth of water, 

there needed to be a larger "rock" in front of the Tree House opening door...

 a sort of doorstep if you will.

 

 

And then I needed to test the sort of "dam"

 that kept the Tree House "upper pool"

 separate from the more public "lower pool"..... 

and got a long way into a dead end idea....

 

 

Still adding rocks to the brook side....

 

 

But not happy with the overall feel of the brook.

 It looks more like a canal than a brook!

And the next morning, Dear Readers,

 I realized I had dreamed all night about the wild, tumbling rocks

 that overflow off the edge of the "landscape".....

 and decided there was nothing to do but

 extend The Folly landscape base!

 

 

Mind you, I was only adding a 5/8th inch "buttress" 

to support these wandering rocks

 that were so necessary to the dream! 

You can see it screwed and glued on in the above picture.

 

 

And while I was changing the structure,

 I remembered it was necessary to lower the wall in the "lower pool"

 where the brook needed to exit the landscape... 

 

 

Here you can see I have started to saw into the wall... 

it will need to be chiseled out.... 

and I am testing the "extra supporting landscape" beyond the wall....

 

 

And the following morning I had realized that the dam was all wrong... 

(I dreamed of the rocks again...)

 and knew that there needed to be a "big boulder"

 which over the years had been nudged partway into the brook

 by the huge roots of the Huge Old Willow Tree which houses The Tree House!

 (These roots have always been planned to be part of the landscape...)

 so I pulled out the offending dam and created a really large rock

 (by foam panel standards) and positioned it carefully to obstruct half of the brook.

 

 

You can sort of see the huge rock halfway into the brook....

 

 

 

And I had also realized that the rock on the other side of the brook

 would need to be larger and probably knocked aside

 by the weight of the Big Boulder.... 

 

 

together they would form the "dam"

 where the water gets held back in the upper pool.... 

and the tipped rock would need to be "stabilized"

 by the ground below it..... 

 

 

Which would require more "support" 

in the form of an "extension" to the extension already in place....

 which you can see above.

 I am always aware of how vulnerable

 the edges of the property are when being moved...

 people will grab "the base" and expect it to be solid and sturdy.... 

so I make sure it is!

 

 

This is the view of the Tree House "upper pool" looking down from above.... 

you can see the "tight spot" between the two boulders

 which creates the "dam".

 And the pool itself is a more natural curved shape....

 

 

 

But the new "extension" to the base is going to need integrating....

 and the rest of the brook needs its rocks.... 

and another day or three had drifted downstream... 

Which made me Dream that night of "bedrock"..... 

and of establishing the "solid ground"

 that supported all these jumbled rocks.... 

and to ponder the flow of water and ice

 and the very Geology of the region...!

 

 

 

And in the morning I added a huge slab of "solid ground" 

to cover most of the "extensions"....

 

 

And then I had to carefully "notch" the original corner boulder into it...

 

 

And then make the tipped boulder"settle" onto the "bedrock" 

in a way that might be natural.. or at least believable!

 

 

And then pile on more rocks to cover that base wall.... 

but I can already assure you, 

they are not right as they are 

and will need.... something done....!

 

So you can see, Dear Readers,

 I have been going with the flow 

and getting carried far far away....

But didn't someone say Life is but a Dream?

 

Playing With Rocks...

 

The Folly Garden Landscape....

It Was already well over a year ago, Dear Readers, that I began the "improvements" to The Folly Garden Landscape in the corner where the Rhododendron bush sits, and I am not referring to the Shrubs themselves! Above you can see a picture of how this corner of the Garden looked for many years as I worked on other projects. A piece of green cloth had been draped over the bare ground on the embankment to resemble grass or moss, I suppose, but nothing else had been done to this corner at all. You might recall that this Garden was the wilder garden on the side of The Folly where the little brook runs past near to the house, and The Tree House grows up very close beside the house itself. The embankment around the house foundation is pretty steep and I had always intended that it be a bit of a "Rock Garden"... primarily because the foundation of the house had originally been protected from the brook by large boulders along the house side of the property. The idea was that it was wild and unmanicured and  just a bit neglected. There is a narrow path along the embankment that leads to a small sitting spot that overlooks the picturesque brook... (which will get constructed eventually!)... and a Garden that in it's youth (a hundred years ago!) was vaguely Japanese in inspiration. The ancient hollow Willow Tree which houses The Tree House (still not finished!) and the Rhododendron Shrub in the corner by the porch are almost all that remain of the original plantings (some peonies will appear someday...) according to my imaginings of this space.

 

Here you can see the same corner with the green cloth removed and the bare embankments and nary a Rock in sight! "Rock Garden! Hmmph!" Mr. Gnome has been known to mutter reproachfully as I pass by! Yes, there is one "sample" boulder being tested there by the steps... but really, it lacked all appearance of Rockiness!

 

So I began to try my hand at making a few more "boulders" to hold the little Brook away from the foundations. You have no idea how much "foam board" can be wasted in this process as you try to make a Rock-like surface of the correct size and shape! The material is 2 inches thick, so you only have a medium sized rock as far as depth goes... And if you have ever tried to build a stone wall you will know how much even a small rock weighs and how difficult it can be to make the surfaces agree with each other! 

 

And each time you add one... it seems to become like a "cornerstone"

 and can't be moved again but everything else must work around it...

 

 

One massive "boulder" at a time... 

building the streambank at the edge of the garden.

 

 

And adding a couple more "boulders" to the foundation embankment too... 

and here they have been painted with a coat of primer. 

 

 

And then the first coats of paint,

 trying out different shades of gray for the base coats. 

In this part of the world we have some very gray rocks...

 slates and granite mostly, so that is what I am trying to imitate.

 

 

I am not at all sure of the ultimate color balance of these rocks... 

so I am just being random for now. 

And I want them to make logical sense physically... 

to look appropriate in the end.

 

 

It is really difficult to tell in this picture

 that I have added some color texturing to some of the rocks.

 

The path to the garden bench needed to be solid enough

 for the little people to walk along it...

 so I brought Joanna over to test the footing. 

She said it needed a little more width!

 

And of course, it was a start....

 but it was nowhere near enough rocks! 

So I started to add more.....

 

I don't know about you, Dear Readers, 

but I always find myself picking up stray "pretty" rocks

 and bringing them home with me!

 I don't go looking for them, but they jump out at me...!

 So I wanted to include a few "Real" rocks in this project.

 They needed to be small so as to not add a lot of weight...

 

Can you see one of my REAL Rocks there......

 between the two pink foam ones on the path? 

 

Can you see it better now? 

I know, the lighting is not great.....

 but it is a Real rock inset into the foam base!

 

Here I am painting the foam rocks,

 so I have removed the Real Rock from it's spot

 so it won't get painted by accident!

 

Here I have begun the painting of the rocks... just the first coats... 

and you can see the gap for the Real Rock.

 

And here you can see the Real one temporarily in place.

 It will help me with the realism when I eventually

 get to the finish coats of paint on these rocks.

And once again.... there needed to be more rocks.... 

 

In particular, the front corner of the "garden wall"

 needed to be huge boulders, not just little bricks!

 The stream would carry away bricks in no time... 

it needed to be "steered aside" by huge immovable boulders!

 

 Here is a closer view.

 I carved them to fit over the existing wooden base wall.

 

And here they are getting the primer and first coats of paint.

And we have to test how the bench will sit among all these new old rocks!

 

And Joanna wanted to test the new path.... 

"much better" she says!

 

And because they are nowhere near done, Dear Readers,

 and this was all last year's work

 and I have probably "rocked" you to sleep by now... 

I will leave it here.

 But you can rest assured, 

I am still Playing with Rocks!