I put the finishing touches on these around midnight last night. A last row of red stitching next to the satin stitched edges. (Click on photo for larger view.) They are now tucked in Christmas cards and on on their way...
Yes, I started with four, but that fourth one became a "prototype" of experimentation, trying to hit upon a thread color that pleased me. My meager collection of reds were all similar in value to each other and to the fabric they were to lie on. The rayon just didn't give the effect of berries that I had in mind, a dark brown was simply not right. If you look closely at mountain ash berries, you will see they are more orange then red, so I thought, aha! that orange polylite thread that has come in so handy lately will surely do the trick. But no, it too wasn't what I had in mind. (It's the lower three in the picture above and the center finished postcard in the top picture. You can see how it makes the red fabric look more orange than the same fabric stitched with reds.) I actually picked out the stitching on one semi-circle, no mean feat when you have double-stitched a circle with tiny stitches. It was a bad day at the office.
Then in conversation with a friend, two things happened. I was reminded of the technique of blending your own color by passing two different threads through the eye of the needle. And I remembered I had some red silk thread stashed away with my supplies for Baltimore Album blocks. There was a darker, almost reddish brown thread in there that on its own was too dark, but which toned down the red rayon just enough when paired with it to give more definition against the red fabric. (You can see in the previous pictures several of those blending trials with other thread colors.) The difference is subtle, but what I was looking for.
So what do you think? Is this a design idea worthy of further exploration in a larger format? I'm thinking yes. Got ideas or comments? Please share!
Yes, I started with four, but that fourth one became a "prototype" of experimentation, trying to hit upon a thread color that pleased me. My meager collection of reds were all similar in value to each other and to the fabric they were to lie on. The rayon just didn't give the effect of berries that I had in mind, a dark brown was simply not right. If you look closely at mountain ash berries, you will see they are more orange then red, so I thought, aha! that orange polylite thread that has come in so handy lately will surely do the trick. But no, it too wasn't what I had in mind. (It's the lower three in the picture above and the center finished postcard in the top picture. You can see how it makes the red fabric look more orange than the same fabric stitched with reds.) I actually picked out the stitching on one semi-circle, no mean feat when you have double-stitched a circle with tiny stitches. It was a bad day at the office.
Then in conversation with a friend, two things happened. I was reminded of the technique of blending your own color by passing two different threads through the eye of the needle. And I remembered I had some red silk thread stashed away with my supplies for Baltimore Album blocks. There was a darker, almost reddish brown thread in there that on its own was too dark, but which toned down the red rayon just enough when paired with it to give more definition against the red fabric. (You can see in the previous pictures several of those blending trials with other thread colors.) The difference is subtle, but what I was looking for.
So what do you think? Is this a design idea worthy of further exploration in a larger format? I'm thinking yes. Got ideas or comments? Please share!
1 comment:
Cool cards and lucky recipients! The combination of black, white and red is very graphic making it an interesting possibility for a larger work. Have a happy stitching holiday!
best, nadia
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