Stitching....

 

 The Background....

I don't know about you, Dear Readers, but I have been aware for quite a while of the immense amount of time it is likely to take to complete The Chinese Dragon Carpet. It is eight by ten inches for the finished size, stitched on 40 count silk mesh. There are 1600 stitches in every square inch! The detail it allows is wonderful, but the sheer volume of stitches is a bit alarming to contemplate. And as I take my time with dithering about certain design elements that I need to re-design because I have made so many changes to the original chart... it only becomes more daunting. With that said, I know how much can be accomplished when one does a little bit every day (the lilac blossoms, for example) and so I decided my best course of action was to just start stitching on that endless white background. It would probably help me to make the other design decisions to have the white background "in the picture" so to speak. So I got started. You can see in the above picture, I am basically working from the central medallion toward the border. I am using the basket-weave stitch for the most part because it has less liklihood of distorting the material and is less wasteful of thread while providing good coverage. It is the recommended stitch and I find it easy to manage. It is worked along a diagonal path, I think of it as going up and down the "stairs" of the thread grid.... you can turn back whenever you encounter an obstacle... (already stitched motif) or just because you think the area you want to cover should be in smaller "chunks". I try to stitch at least one "thread's" worth each time I stitch, although I am not being strict. If I only stitch three stitches, that is sometimes enough!

 

The goal is to stay focused on the tiny area I am working in

 and just not worry about the whole thing!

 

It really doesn't matter how long it takes... 

I don't have a "deadline"....

 

Of course, there are days when I can't get to it... 

and that is okay too! The object is not to sweat,

 but to enjoy the process however long it takes. 

 

And along the way, I made a discovery! 

I had thought I needed bright light to stitch this mesh size... 

but when working with white on white...

 it is actually easier on the eyes to stitch in slightly low light! 

In the above picture you can see how difficult it is to see the mesh threads

 and what has been already stitched, while the previous picture,

 taken in low light, shows the mesh and the stitched area clearly!

 

 

This discovery expanded the available stitching hours to make use of... 

evenings and rainy days are sometimes more ideal than sunny mornings!

 

And remembering to take some pictures of the progress made

 is sometimes a fun and encouraging task.

 

This picture above was taken the same day as the previous picture.... 

yeah, progress is slow... but it is progress!

And in case you were wondering about the Medieval Tapestry stitching, 

Dear Readers, never fear, I have been stitching it too!

 

I have been grabbing it at odd moments 

and adding a row or two of the background... 

and forgetting to take pictures. 

It is looking as wonderful as I had hoped it would!

And of course, it is much faster to stitch, 

being only 20 count cloth. 

 

I had decided at the last minute to add a few more

 flowers to the lower half of the tapestry. 

Mostly just more of those tiny white ones you can't see

 until the background is in place.

 

It only makes sense to me that the flowers 

should be thickest at their feet!

 

 

I will resist the temptation to show daily progress....

 such a boring thing....

 

This amounts to a months worth 

of stitching a little bit at a time!

 

And the Tapestry is nearly finished and ready to be hemmed!

 

While the Dragon Carpet has a ways to go. 

But making a start, Dear Readers,

 is sometimes half the battle! 

Don't waste time fretting about the time it will take!

 Just stitch the background and it will get done!