Gentle Readers and Dear Friends it was a total N.B. (numb butt) Weekend. There were no Estate Sales in the City, no travelling about to garage sales or consignments shops - nor to any thrift-o-ramas - we ran out to breakfast and did some grocery shopping, but other than that we stayed home!! It was very nice!
The only stitching I did was on ATS - since it was on top of the heap it got my attention. I wanted to thank you for all the kind comments and emails about this old war horse - I am stitching it on 36 LL Vintage Sand using the recommended floss colours. Here is a snap of the progress I made...
There are a couple of things going on here that you might want to chime in on.... I made a colour mistake in the second "quakery" motif to the right of the large angel. On the colour key the symbols for both "Burnt Orange" and "Nutmeg" are very similar... I have a list of things to watch out for and this tops the list and ding bat that I am I mistakenly stitched it in burnt orange and not nutmeg - I may just leave it... but then again I might not. The other thing is in the cloud... it is stitched it two very similar shades of grey/steel... and to give it a less "striped" look - I am trying on the left I to smooth out the colour but not crossing every stitch as I go along and instead laying down rows of stitching then going back over the whole row. On the right I stitched as I normally would with over dyed floss - I stitched every stitch for a few rows and it is really stripedy (is that a word?) Not sure which I like better, but I am leaning towards a more smooth gradation of colour.
As I was stitching the two snakes I kept thinking how "those snakes look like they have the pox!!!"
I also had a question about the linen... here is an over all shot...
This shows the piece and how much there is to go. It also shows how totally crazy I am and how I stitch off center. I am continually afraid I will start something too far over to the right that more times than not I start a bit too far to the left - oh well, who cares - it really doesn't matter a bit.
I was also asked do I use a hoop or q-snaps or in-hand?? I stitch using an 8 inch q-snap and just move that sucker around and the extra linen just sits rolled up in my lap - not very high tech by any stretch of the imagination, but it works for me. Sorry about the wrinkles but I am not going to iron this monster for every snapper.
I spent the whole of yesterday watching some super films on TCM - both the 1937 and 1954 versions of a Star is Born played - great films!! and then finished off the evening with the Oscars - no surprises there - most everyone I thought would take home one did and it was a pretty nice show overall!!
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That's about it for today sports fans - thanks for stopping by do come again!!
Take care,
edgar
This is such an amazing piece! My eye goes for the cloud on the left, although I don't dislike the look on the right either.
ReplyDeleteAre the two Quaker motif's supposed to be the same color? I like them different, they are still in the same color family and look good together. I also prefer the less stripey cloud, sometimes with overdyes it's nice to see the color changes, but on these the more subtle one looks better.
ReplyDeleteI didn't notice the difference in colors until you mentioned it. At the end of the day it really is what you can live with, but I like it the way it is.
ReplyDeleteI have a piece that I stitched using variegated floss and it looks very stripedy. I don't care for that look. I like the way you did your cloud.
Hi Edgar, Sometimes just staying in and stitching is a good weekend too. That is what I did for the most part too. Love your ATS so far. When I stitch using overdyed threads I usually do the half stitch for the whole row and then come back for the other half stitches. I think it blends better too. The Oscars was a fun show, it is always great seeing all the stars dressed to the nines! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteGreat start Edgar! I'll be looking forward to watching your progress on this one!
ReplyDeleteYou've gotten a lot done! I would totally leave the stars as is. Nobody will know the difference once it's finished. Why frog if the "mistake" doesn't detract from the overall appearance? I say leave it!
ReplyDeleteI can't remember how I did the cloud except that I cut off a lot of the floss that was a lot darker than the majority so it would look more uniform. On some of the other motifs, the dresses, I went up and down because I didn't want her dress to have horizontal stripes (I didn't want her to look fat) but I did want it to look striped. It's fun to work through, I think.
You are off to a great start on the ATS! If I don't need to frog, I just leave it and after awhile I know whether or not it's going to bug me. Some of my favorite week-ends are the N.B. kind! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI like that -- nb weekend. lol! I love those kinds of weekends myself. :D Your ATS looks great! Yeah, my clouds look a bit stripey but not too terrible. I went across a row and then back again. Horizontal for one color and vertical for the other. Gave it a bit of interest.
ReplyDeleteI like the look of the cloud on the left but the one on the right isn't horrible or anything. Do what's best for you. If it bothers you like crazy, change it ... if no, leave it be. I had to look long & hard to find any noticeable difference between the burnt orange & nutmeg motifs but again the important thing is whether or not it's shouting at you every time you look at the piece. You want peace when you look at your piece : ) Blessings, Shirlee
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would leave the colors as is - they look good to me and I always believe that no piece should be perfect (mine never are!!). The snakes' pox - that
ReplyDeletemakes them show up. Looking good, Edgar!
(Are you saving up for the framing??!).....
I think I would just leave the colors as is. As for the "stripeyness" (how's that for a made up word?!), what I do is stitch in a spiral. To start, I stitch all the outer most stitches to get an outline of sorts then I work my way to the inside. It usually works pretty good for most shapes. It's a thought.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't rip out a thing. Working with these threads its hard to get a certain effect. I think that once you've moved past all of this it won't matter at all. I think my cloud on ATS was stripey in some parts and not in others all because of the way the floss was dyed.
ReplyDeleteI just watched Hugo, I loved it!AriadnefromGreece!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good stitchy weekend. My 2 cents worth: Stick with the burnt orange unless it really bothers you, because who will know unless you tell them and I like the smoother cloud on the left too. There aren't many streaky clouds up in the sky.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very lovely piece you are working on. :)
ReplyDeleteJen
I say go with your first instinct. If you prefer the less striped look, then stick with that :) As for Nutmeg or Burnt Orange, if you're fine with the mistake, then leave it. Me, I'll most likely frog because I'm a perfectionist which can be a rather bad thing at times >.< Didn't realize what a huge monster ATS is (even after seeing WiP pics from other stitchers' blogs) until I saw your snap of the entire fabric.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Veronica.
Lovely start Edgar. I can see the difference in the clouds, but the stars are very similar. If you can live with it, leave it. Wow, that's a giant piece of fabric!
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful to me, but the computer does have a habit of making colours untrue.
ReplyDeleteCor blimey!! large fabric or what!!!
Hey Edgar - doing my weekly catchup on your doings and goings...love the new glasses. My new ones also have a design (kind of floral/vine like) on the temple. I thought it may bug me, but I actually like it and get tons of compliments. Your ATS looks great - I tend to cross as I go - but have at times not for the more blended look, it sure is personal preference! I love "A Star is Born" and have seen all versions (I think - three, right?). Of course the Judy Garland is my fav as I love her voice...hope your weekend is (was) super!!
ReplyDelete