WIP: Twilight Angel - Couching!

Happy news! Pleased with the result of my test-piece, Couched Rose, I decided to go ahead and try out the couching on my Angel, and am pleased to report that it's finished! I've got lots of pictures to share! When we last left her, she looked like this:

And here she is in all her gilded glory:

I also added in the backstitched overlay to the skirt band before I started couching, but it's very subtle, and didn't show up well in the photographs.

Some close-ups - The top of her bodice (I may add some beads or something):

Her skirt sash (I really like the ribbony effect, though the tips were hard to curve!):

And her skirt band (which also has the lovely ribbony look):

Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome! There are a few spots where I should've curved the couching more, perhaps, and in the band above you can see a bit of blue there in the second underfold, but I was able to keep my stitches relatively small, and this is essential. Honestly, I don't think I would have been able to do such a neat job of it if I hadn't done my test piece, using the same gold thread, first; following the curves of the rose taught me how to follow the curves of the sash and band. And it was a bit awkward going in places, even with the practice piece experience, because the little curves and twists were quite small.

This is also the first time I've couched on Aida. I debated using Aida for my test piece, but went with cotton to get the feel of the technique first, and I am glad I did. Having done my Couched Rose as a true embrodiery, I was able to adapt the technique to Aida by doing the unthinkable - I went through threads randomly with my sharp "tacking" needle instead of just following the holes in the Aida! This is something I would never have done before, and the smooth look that I was able to attain would not have been possible if I had stuck to following the squares of the Aida (and my tacking stitches would've been a great deal larger and more visible!).

Once I had the outline couching finished, I considered couching the curliques on her skirt as well, and actually started out with that technique. However, I quickly realized that the colour called for (the 1 strand of yellow with 2 strands of gold, tacked with 1 strand of gold), which was used for all the couching work, just sort of vanished into the yellows of the skirt. Also, the extra three-dimensional work looked odd, and distracted from the outline couching I'd already done.

So, after some, er, "reverse stitching", I settled on using three strands of gold and using backstitch to follow the curliques on the pattern. A close-up of the area:

Where each loop-de-loop occurs (which are made with lazy daisy stitch, which I first worked in another test piece that I'll be writing about soon) there will be beads!

Here is my Angel, as she is now, all ready for embellishment:

So I'm very excited about the embellishment process! This will be the most heavily embellished design I've ever stitched, since there's seed beads (in various colours), sequins, and charms! And I have some interesting ideas that are a bit different than the kit suggestions. The instructions are only guidelines, after all! *wicked grin*

WIP: Twilight Angel - Backstitching!

With my forced blogging sabbatical, you'd think that I'd have lots of lovely projects finished off to show you. But that is not the case, as you'll soon see. I hit some minor road blocks with my Twilight Angel, which I'll explain as we go along :)

When we last saw her, all her whole and half cross-stitches were finished:

Here's another picture of the before-backstitching that is a bit clearer:

And here she is with her features (face and hands), her overskirt, the left edge of her underskirt, her blouse, her hair and her wings outlined:

You may have noticed the beaded headband. Here's a closer look:

The design calls for a variety of cross-stitches, French knots (my Most Afeared Foe), seedbeads and a star sequin in the middle. I decided to simplify her headband, since the space is quite small, and I wanted it to actually look like something *in* her hair instead of all these things piled *on* her hair, if you know what I mean *rolls eyes*.

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out :)

For the seedbeads, I used two Mill Hill colours I had that serendipitously matched the medium shades in her overskirt (the blue) and underskirt (the yellow). I intend to use these in place of the blue and yellow French knots elsewhere. The gold beads are Mill Hill Antique Petits, which is why they are smaller. I stitched in the blue and yellow first, and I decided that the smaller spaces were perfect for the Petits.

Previously, I had intended to add the pearly white beads (like those included with the kit, but substituting my own Mill Hills, to keep the finishes the same), but I think that they would have pushed the others out of alignment and ruined the 'headband' look.

And this is my Twilight Angel with her underskirt fully backstitched:

This section was a bit nerve wracking. Although the leading edge of her underskirt was stitched in dark grey, the pattern called for light grey to be used for the folds of her underskirt. But I had a problem - I had about two inches of the light grey left!

I'm not quite sure how I managed that. I'm generally careful with my threads, and have been especially so with this kit. One of the main reasons I love Dimensions - aside from their beautiful designs - is their wonderful customer service. I knew I could go on the website and order more of the colour I needed.

But I can never resist a challenge :)

After carefully studying the package picture, I came to the conclusion that the light grey blended in a bit too well with the darker yellows of her underskirt, and on a much thought about whim, I decided to go ahead with the dark grey. And I'm pleased with the result. As her blouse and sleeves were outlined in dark grey, I think adding that colour to the folds of her underskirt sort of connects the top and bottom.

So this is where my Twilight Angel stands at the moment. All of the regular backstitching has been done; there is some two-colour backstitching on the sash of her underskirt that I have finished but have yet to take pictures of (but will soon!). Being so close to the embellishment stage is tantalizing, but it is here I hit the wall.

You see, somehow in all my careful reading of the project instructions, I had missed the part that stated that the outlining on the Angel's ribbon sash and underskirt sash was actually couching (!). While familiar with the concept, I have never attempted couching so fine, or couched threads for an outline before, and was (and still remain!) very nervous about possibly ruining all the work I had put in so far.

To prepare myself, I started a specific couching project, with similar threads, so that I could test out my abilities (or lack thereof, let's be honest *wink*) and get a feel for it. That project is now finished, and I will be doing an in-depth post about it soon, but I'm still on the fence when it comes to couching on my Angel. I could substitute backstitching. But I'm afraid that if I do so, the sashes won't look as ribbon-like.

Decisions, decisions.

In the immortal logic of one of my all-time favourite cartoons, I am choosing not to make a choice for the time being :) And therefore, I can feel like I'm doing something by not doing anything at all! Ain't life grand?!  Whatever and whenever I make up my mind, I'll be posting up information about all my substitutions (including the colour numbers and types of Mill Hill beads) when I finalize them.

Until then, I wish you very Happy Stitching and a wonderful weekend!

WIP: Twilight Angel - Almost Done!

Happy news! I've just finished all the whole cross-stitches and half cross-stitches on my Twilight Angel, and now can move on to the backstitching!

Normally, I would post up the last photo of my progress, but as I had to repost my last entry, it should appear right below this one. So on to the new photos!

The addition of her wings:

The start of the blue cloud:

And the completion of the blue cloud!

And there you have it! Next up is the backstitching, which I think will be very interesting, as it is done in several different colours and with different strand amounts. The blue cloud was a bit of a challenge, actually, because it only uses 1 strand of floss for its mix of whole and half cross-stitches, and it's the first time I've actually cross-stitched using 1 strand. I frequently use it for backstitch, but was surprised by how fragile it seemed when cross-stitching!

It took me a while to get my tension right, as I was afraid to tug too hard, lest I break the thread. But the differences in strand size make the cloud look very hazy and appropriately background-like! And it's funny, since when it's in, the blue I used for the cloud looks just a shade darker than the blue-violet Aida cloth, but it's actually a turquoise! When I first went to put it in, I was very dubious, but using the 1 strand really softens the colour. That's a neat trick I'll try to remember for the future! ;)

I'm greatly looking forward to moving on to the backstitching, because it will add a lot of detail. The feathers on her wings, for example, are all added by backstitch over the mix of white and greys that I've already done. And once I manage all the considerable backstitching, it's on to the sparkles, the wonderful sparkles!

And I realize that I haven't posted updates on anything else in a while, but now that the end (oh, the glimmering, shiny, sparkling end!) is in sight, I just can't put down Twilight Angel! I am happily looking forward to spending some quality stitching time with her during this Victoria Day weekend. Even the forecasted rains, methinks, will not stop me :) I suspect that once I start adding all the lovely shinies in, Mr. Sun will have to come and lend his light, just to see them glitter and gleam! Happy Stitching!

WIP Twilight Angel: Overdue Update!

This is a reposting, to fix the tags at the bottom of the post. After the glitch, they were not restored, and I wanted them to match the series. That way, if you would to see all the posts about Twilight Angel, all you have to do is click the tag at the bottom of any related entry.

If I had left the tags glitched, this post would have disappeared from such a search. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused!

Hello Stitchy Friends!

My sincerest apologies for my lack of activity recently! I haven't been well, and so I just sort of got behind on everything (again). Thanks very much for your patience!

Stitchy-wise, I'm afraid that I don't have much progress to report.

But I do have a little bit of good news!

When I last posted about Twilight Angel, she looked like this:

Since then, I've managed to finish off her blue skirt band:

And, to my delight, have filled in everything on her person!

I'm very pleased with how she has turned out so far :)

The gaps at her wrists and neckline will be filled with a floss and gold metallic mix, and the space on the crown of her head is where her ornate headband will reside. My foe, the French knots, are called for, but I have sneaky secret beady substitution plans!

But by far the best thing is that I can now go on to work on her wings!

And, I am happy to report - especially to Rainy Day Crafter and CrazyStitcher, my cheerleaders in this matter - that I am remaining steadfast, despite the occassional urge to the contrary, in my resistance to completing my half cross-stitches!

I hope all is going well with your stitching, and I greatly look forward to catching up on all the new stitchy blog news in the next few days. Until then, Happy Stitching!

WIP: Twilight Angel - Her Skirts Appear!

Spring is surely on its way, for Mr. Sun made a greatly appreciated appearance on not one but two days! And so, much happy stitching resulted, aided and abetted by his sunbeams :)

When we last left Twilight Angel, she looked like this:

And she has since had her overskirt finished, and her blue sash added:

As if that wasn't enough, she has also had her underskirt finished:

Next up for stitching is the wide blue band on the bottom of her underskirt, which echoes all the blues in her sash! I was very surprised with how fast the stitching of the underskirt came along, actually. I think that the larger sections of a single colour really helped to speed up my stitching, as the colours of the overskirt changed every few stitches.

Although the colouration of the underskirt is less subtle than the overskirt, I really do like the sunray effect of the yellows! One of the features that attracted me to this design is that Twilight Angel has colours of the day (yellows, white) as well as colours of the early evening (lavenders, light blues) and the darker hues of the night (navy blue). Most angel designs that I've seen tend either towards the very light or the very dark, and I like that Twilight Angel contains the many different hues that characterize the actual transition of day into night!

So I am quite happy with my progress, although I must confess that I had a difficult section with the very right of her underskirt. I had thought my stitching on target, until I went to put in the final colour and realized that I was out by one and a half stitches. And I further realized that I needed to take out the other four colours in that section to properly remedy the error! As tempted as I was to fudge it, I took the time to undo the mistake and redo the stitching and am much happier for it, though I was less than content at the time *rolls eyes*

Also, I surpassed a Personal Stitchy Record - I have worked with Twilight Angel for weeks and have yet to make the half cross-stitches into full stitches! And furthermore, I have actually added in more half cross-stitches and left them alone too! This is a first for me.

Time will tell how long my fortitude will last :)

Weather-wise, Twilight Angel may have to be put aside for a little while. The forecast here is for rain and more rain (and perhaps a few flurries, *ack!*) for the next few days, so I will likely be working on other projects instead. I've finished the blackwork on my Monarch Pincushion, and will be starting on the filling stitches sometime soon; hopefully, I'll have some pictures to share in the near future! I'm also looking forward on catching up on my e-mails and stitchy blogging news; and I do appreciate your continued patience.

Here's hoping that Mr. Sun will come out and shine on your stitching! ;)

WIP: Twilight Angel - More Overskirt!

I got in a few nice afternoons last week, wherein the sun decided to come and machete-hack its way through the ever-present jungle of grey clouds and shine on my stitching for a while. This made the conditions perfect for a little more Twilight Angel work!

Last time I posted, she looked like this:

And now, she looks like this:

As you can see, this piece is hard to photograph, due its subtle colourations. Once I move past the overskirt, things will brighten up.  The most challenging part of this for me wasn't the fractional stitches (I had to learn to come to a sort of stalemate with them a few months ago when stitching a large floral work for my Grandmother for Christmas, whereby I pleaded with them "I hate stitching you but I need you" and they sort of smugly said "of course you need us, and so you must stitch us, like it or not!" and so I had no choice. Doing something over and over may not mean you'll ever love it, but it does mean you learn to at least tolerate it when necessary, though it does not guarantee you'll do so with good grace).

No, the most challenging part of these few stitches for me was the half cross-stitches. Obviously, I can stitch them. But I've never liked the look of them. Here's a closer view:

The half cross-stitches are in the middle of the picture above. They are white, like the neighbouring whole cross-stitches to their right. Do you see what I mean? Half cross-stitches always seem, well, incomplete. I know half cross-stitches are an important tool in the kit of any stitch designer, and that they can be used very well to artistic effect, as I hope will be evident when I finish this piece. But I've never been able to stand leaving them as they are, and so in patterns that have called for them before - even in one where the background was essentially all half cross-stitch - I have gone back and filled them in with the other half, making them whole, despite my good intentions to resist doing so.

In Twilight Angel, half cross-stitch is everywhere - in the blue background, in the wings, and in the dress. And so I am doing my very best to stick to the design. When I first put these in, I thought they wouldn't stand even a few hours. But when I started stitching the white whole stitches around them, I could better see the effect that they will have. I think, when it's finished, that these half-stitches will serve to provide more gentle transitions between the shade colours of the overskirt and the bright highlights of the white folds. I hope.

So, for now, I am trusting in the great wisdom of Dimensions, and will leave them as they are. When the Sun sees fit to break out of its prison again, I will happily sit and bask in its welcome glow with my needle and my Angel in hand. However, as we are now in the middle of a raging blizzard, methinks it will be a while before that happens. Ah, Winter!

*flings back of hand to brow dramatically*

Hope this weekend provides lots of happy stitching times to you!

WIP: Twilight Angel

As you can see, I have a *tiny* bit of progress to show you on my angel. The biggest change is the white running along what is, in effect, the 2nd fold in her overskirt. The stitching is bit slower going than usual because I am endeavouring to neaten up the colours underlying the backstitch. For example, sometimes the backstitch will cut through the stitch, but the pattern is showing a whole cross-stitch, leaving half of the stitch on the other side of the backstitch line. This isn't very important in some areas - such as the soft dress and overskirt folds - but I am making an attempt to neaten up the edges and lines that are very clear cut, making the whole stitches into 3/4 stitches as I go along.

It's very subjective, and therefore a bit time consuming, but I believe it will be worth it when it comes time to add the backstitch outlining. There are a few areas around her face, hands and hair where this 'messy outlining' is particularly obvious, and I hope to fix that as I go along. This is very good practice for me, in a way, because 'messy outlines' are usually something I can't stand in the least, so hopefully this will teach me to neaten what I can and tolerate what I cannot change. Or my patience will be improved. Perhaps both :)

Also, my apologies for the light shining through the Aida towards the top right of the photograph. In an effort to more accurately capture the colours, I tried taking the picture in natural light, and while I'm pleased with the outcome, it does look a bit unusual.

Valentine's Day and a New Start



Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
May "Love Brighten Your Life!" and many good things come your way!

I also have a new start to share with you! It's not far along, but here is my new work in progress, Twilight Angel, my first Petite Dimensions Gold kit:

This photo unfortunately doesn't capture the delicacy of the colours very much, but it is very hard to capture the right tones. The background is 16 count Aida, in an unusual colour called "dove grey" that is really more of a smoky blue-grey.

These few stitches are my progress for the last two days, and form part of the angel's overskirt (for reference, please see the kit image in my sidebar under WIP). The lightest blue closely matches the colour of the background, and the floss has an unexpected but lovely sheen to it, like a cross between cotton and rayon. It is also more 'springy' than DMC. That's the only way I can think of to describe it.

I have worked a Dimensions Gold Collection design before, a wonderful piece that I completely fell in love with, and that inspired me to pick up cross-stitching again a few years ago. At the time, it was called Elegant Roses, but is now called Rose Cuttings, and appears to have become part of the regular line. I do not have a photograph of my work at the moment, but here is the kit image to give you an idea:

(I have yet to find the right frame for my piece, but am envisioning something much more elegant than the suggested frame, with scrollwork, perhaps in gold)

The kits have improved a great deal since that time. They now come in resuable hard plastic folders instead of plastic-bagged, which is very useful to keep the materials that you are not currently using together and clean, and with pre-sorted threads attached to a colour card.

When I worked on Elegant Roses, the floss was very reminiscent of DMC, a cotton whose only discernable difference was a lesser incidence of pilling or 'thread fluff' when stitching. So I suspect that the floss has been revamped along with the kit design, and it took a few stitches for me to get used to it. It has a bit more fullness, and its slight slipperiness makes firm darning of the starting and end threads more important, as the ends have a bit of a tendancy to slip out if not darned tightly. But the consistency is in no way as difficult to work with as rayon, and I am enjoying the way the floss lies smoothly against the Aida, and the extra little bit of shine!

I will post a review of my stitching experience and my impressions about the kit when I finish. For now, I am quite happy to be starting a new design, and greatly look forward to attaching all the pretty charms and beads and sequins when it comes time to finish. I've got a long way to go before I get there, though. :)