Thursday, February 12, 2009

Royal Santa by Amanda Lawford #7

The top right corner is completed. This includes "The List", the gift box, and the frog.


The stitches used in these areas were tent stitch (basketweave where I could), Diagonal Victorian Step on the package top, and Brick Stitch on the background of the paper. Threads used include Soie d'Alger, DMC Floche blended with Accentuate, Kreinik #12, Rainbow Linen, Rainbow Gallery Fyrewerks for the package top, DMC floss for the green package, Trebizond gold for the frog's belly, and Rainbow Gallery Flair for the frog itself. Flair is a tubular mesh thread that is sparkley and transluscent.

I've been working on Santa's man-bag. The red so far is Medici wool. The squares are Scotch Stitch, and the red on the bag is basketweave. There are two strands used, so it is easy to blend them. Stitch all the darker areas with two strands of dark wool. Stitch all the lighter areas with two strands of red wool. Fill in and stitch all the areas in between with one strand of each.
A note about the stitch guide: I've received a few e-mails about the stitch guide. I did give credit before so I'll do it again. :) This stitch guide is by GeorgaDee MacLeod. She designed our ANG chapter nametags. GeorgaDee works at The Needlepointer, a shop up in downtown Everett, Washington. She is a neat lady and has a great sense of style for canvases. GeorgaDee is actually the person who taught me how to use a laying tool!
I don't know if this stitch guide is purchaseable without taking the class, but I do know that she's done quite a few stitch guides for other canvases and every one I've seen has been fantastic. The stitch guide I have for Royal Santa includes what thread, the amounts, and what stitch should (could) be used in each section. She also has stitch diagrams for unusual stitches. It makes it very easy to break down a large piece into maneagable suggestions. I will confess I skipped the line where it said "Stitch Background" and gave stitch and thread suggestions. I need to buy thread for that and will do that when I can. My kit came with a cream silk n ivory and I'm not sure if I want to do white or a light green.
I am really enjoying stitching on this piece - I have a small Melissa Shirley easter egg I've been stitching on and it is much slower than this large design. Funny how that works.

2 comments:

NCPat said...

This looks great Summer!

Front Range Stitcher said...

Hi Summer, I am so pleased I found your blog. So inspirational. I have to give you lots of credit for stitching such a large canvas, it's beautiful and you're doing a fabulous job with the stitch and thread choices. Looking forward to watching your progress on this magnificent canvas.