Crossing the Border Line

Here are a few more border ideas that I wanted to share with you.

First, I want to show you one of my favorite designs by Diane Evans of Something Different, called "A Third Diane's Delight 2".....


I LOVE this design! (I love all of Diane's designs; they are all different and totally unique, but this one really "sang" to me and so I had to stitch it up.)

I met Diane at several of the CATS Festivals and we had a great time chatting about stitching. I asked her how she came up with these gorgeous designs and she told me that she gets bored doing repetitive stitching, so she just starts stitching and then changes the elements as she works. And VOILA! Something very different is created.

After I stitched up this design, I left it on the stretcher bars and stared at it for a long time. To me, something was missing. And being the border-obsessed stitcher that I am, I finally realized what would make ME happy was a BORDER around this piece. I agonized about what type of border would work on such an asymetrical design, and then finally decided to try something different.... I added this one:


While the central piece was stitched with Waterlilies silk, and had a simple variegated border line, I decided to CROSS THE BORDER and stitch the same internal patterns on the outside, but I used the thicker #5 Watercolours. And look what an unusual border it makes!

By adding a darker, heavier border that echoed the internal colors and patterns, I was able to "corral" the original design with a border that - I think - only reinforces the beauty of the central design. And also notice what happens when you add a darker border to the pale central area. Doesn't it create a wonderful sense of depth?

Just think of how you might use this technique on other counted canvas designs...or better yet, pull out some of your painted canvases and see how you can add this technique around the border of a canvas. Try extending your internal colors and patterns over a simple border line - darkening and thickening (or perhaps even lightening) the colors of the original design.

P.S.: I made an unintentional mistake on my last post. I referred to a stitching magazine called ARIADNE and said it was Danish. So Sorry! It was a Dutch magazine and published in The Netherlands. Thank you, Blog Reader, for correcting my boo-boo. (If you ever come across old issues of that magazine, look thru them. They are truly fabulous!)