A Really Colorful Gerbera!

Here's the finished version of the gerbera daisy canvas I made from my sister's photo:


It's very..... BRIGHT, isn't it?
But then, the flowers themselves aren't exactly subtle in their colors....so this canvas represents that zingy brightness in it's colors and patterns.

My long satin stitches are a bit ragged, I know....but I was in a hurry to get it done and didn't lay them as neatly as I could have....no matter, I was eager to see how it LOOKED! So I rushed thru it.....and maybe using the thicker Floche thread wasn't the best choice after all...maybe stranded floss or silk would have given a smoother finish. However, I do like the contrast between the dark orange basketweave-stitched petals and the satin-stitched petals; that's something I'll keep in mind for other projects. But you know, that's the fun of playing around with smaller canvases. I learned a few things that I will certainly apply to other canvases in the future.

I'm particularly pleased with the border. The padded green borders are complimented by the variegated yellow & gold section, which I created with three of the yellow threads, but merged the colors in a simple skip-over where the colors met...


And I wanted to try making the fuzzy little leaves with random lazy daisy stitches, but I inserted an additional straight stitch in the middle, in a lighter green. I wanted to see if it would look like the leaves...It sort of does, but maybe more shading of colors would have made it look more realistic.

Anyway, I really like the pink background stitch....it's slightly jazzy, but also a fast and easy stitch that lets the pink canvas show thru, but still finishes off the background effectly. (After I stitched it, I realized I should have tried to make rounder polka dots in the background....wouldn't that look neat, too? Oh well, I can try that sometime on another canvas!)

Now that I have gotten this bright gerbera daisy canvas out of my system, I can go back to stitching my other (quieter) canvases. . .

And the Next Flower Collage Will Be...

I've had a few emails from stitchers asking how many flower collages I will be designing overall in the Collage series. Well, I was rendered speechless over that question. I'm planning to stitch as many flower collages as there are flowers (which is A LOT!), and for as long as I find them interesting to stitch (which should be forever). I'm guessing that I'll be designing flower collages as long as I continue stitching....(which, God willing, will be a really long while yet...)

But for you flower collage lovers, here's a peek at the latest flower collage that I'm currently stitching right now. Can you guess what the center flower will be?
(Pssst....HINT, HINT: It's the flower in the enhanced/blurred photo above.)

In this new design, I've created another yummy pair of ribbons that are really fun to stitch...

And in the lower left box I've stitched a simple bargello pattern that incorporates the variegated color in the top row of the flower bud (see how the colors move along the rows?)

And in the upper left box, I've created a very simple floral blackwork design (using the variegated thread) that echoes the tiny four-petal flowers found in the real flower.

I also enjoyed creating the large pattern in the upper right box. I wanted an airy lattice foundation (to suggest a garden lattice)....but I used the variegated thread for the foundations stitches (instead of the solid greens) and then added rows of flowers in alternating colors of lavender. Isn't it interesting how the variegated colors of the "latticework" really looks like sun-dappled light on a garden lattice? (And viewed from a distance, that pattern has a rather rich, medieval tapestry look to it...I really like it....)

And I decided to use the newest variegated floss from DMC - their "Color Variations" thread - for the pale background filling. It's a nice, soft watercolory wash of pale blues and lavenders using only 1 ply of the cotton floss in a simple 4-way stitch. (If you are a painted canvas stitcher, you might consider using that very simple 4-way stitch to fill in backgrounds. And you can use 1 or 2 ply of a variegated silk or cotton thread to create a soft, washed look - just like in the photo above.)

Well, that's all for now....time to get back to stitchin' and graphin'!

(P.S.: If you have any favorite flowers you'd like to suggest for future flower collages, let me know.... I'd certainly appreciate hearing your ideas!)