Meanwhile, Back at the Beach...

Now that I've finished the PATRIOTIC canvas and stitch guide, I can go back to working on Sandra Gilmore's SHELLSCAPE canvas, which is a new design in her line this year.  I always start a new canvas by staring at it for quiet some time, decided where I want to start stitching.  It seemed easiest for me to start at the top (and begin a driftwood-looking border using a variegated #8 pearl from ThreadworX) and work downwards, to all the items in the foreground.

This canvas has lots of areas for tranquil "filling in" that don't require complex stitches -- or complex thinking -- which is perfect for nighttime stitching while watching tv, or afternoon stitching, when you don't want to do anything too taxing!  Because I wanted to add many soft, subtle colors, this piece has lots of "blended" threads -- where I mix a solid thread with a variegated thread for more visual interest.  As I began stitching I decided instead of working the sky, water, and beach all in tent stitch, I would use three different small scale stitches, to break up the canvas, and also to make it more interesting to stitch.

I've done the sky in a simple 4-way stitch, using 2 ply of a Splendor silk, so the aqua canvas shows through.  The clouds are diagonal satin stitches, broken up in cloud shapes, with the smaller colored sections done in a pale variegated ThreadworX in creams, apricots and lavenders. (I decided to let the variegated thread create the color changes, instead of stopping and starting several different solid colors.) 
 

The sea is done in rows of elongated tent stitches (to mimic the horizontal lines of an ocean view), using shimmery Ribbon Floss and a variegated blue ThreadworX cotton blended with 1 strand of a sparkly blending filament  - to add some subtle color changes and create a metallic sparkle over the whole sea:

The beach/dune area is done in plain old tent/basketweave stitch, again using a subtle variegated ThreadworX color.  But instead of doing ALL basketweave, I alternated my stitching directions randomly: doing rows of horizontal tent stitches, then switching to a patch of vertical tent stitches, then doing chunks of diagonal basketweave -- all to avoid creating those dreaded diagonal stripes that happen when you do a strict basketweave stitch with a variegated thread.  Below you can see how the patches of colors look very much like shadows on the beach dunes:

When I moved down to the lower level of the canvas, in the table/ledge area I chose a large blackwork pattern, using the same #8 pearl cotton variegated ThreadworX I used for the outer border and window sashes:

Again, there's more tent stitching (or basketweave) to be done on the RELAX sign and the terra cotta pot; lots more areas to fill up before moving on to the textural items: the shells, starfish, coral and flowers.  Bit by bit, this canvas is filling up... and I must say, I'm enjoying working on every part of this piece.  It's been very relaxing stitching.  I hope to get the rest of this piece done over the weekend, so I'll share the rest of my beachy adventure with you next week!

First Cyber Class for 2013

Hey, Stitchers!  I've decided to try something a little bit different for my next cyber class.... 

I'm calling this one "FLOATING PANELS" since it's got lots of interesting geometric elements floating within a larger geometric area.

The wonderful thing about this design is that it features a variegated silk thread (Waterlilies) with a palette of silk threads that are mixed and matched in such a way as to change the look and color of each rectangular box.  I love experimenting with variegated threads, and this design plays around with how the variegated colors change throughout the piece, depending on which solid colors you mix with it.

I've created four different colorways, to broaden the interest in this piece: AMETHYST (shown above, in purples and blues with Waterlilies 06-Amethyst), SAPPHIRE (blues and aquas with Waterlilies 289-Lexi's Blues), RUBY (reds and purples with Waterlilies 290-Mystery Mix), and AMBER (golds and browns with Waterlilies 251-Sunflower Seed):
   

 

In the photos above, the first skein on the left is the color used for the borders; the next three skeins are the main color group; and the final two skeins on the right are the accent colors.  There's also a handful of matching metallic threads from thick to thin (not shown), just to add extra texture and sparkle.

There will also be a few Swarovski crystals, a sprinkling of beads, and a handmade fused glass jewel that will match each of the color groups.  All of the groups are worked on the sage green 18 ct. canvas, except for the RUBY colorway, which will get sandstone canvas. (If you want sandstone canvas for the other colorways, please let me know and I can adjust your kit.)  By the way, the finished size of this piece is 6.25" wide by 11.25" tall...not super big or complex, but the nice thing about this abstract is it can be framed/displayed vertically OR horizontally!

If this abstract geometric appeals to you, and you'd like to start the New Year with something totally different, please visit my website, Laura J. Perin Designs, for more information regarding this 2013 cyber class.

Are Your Hearts All Afire Yet?

Keeping with this week's valentiney heart theme, I thought I'd show you some of my other heart designs. The pattern above is an older one called HEARTS AFIRE. I just wanted to do a bunch of heart shapes floating around like balloons and fill them with different composite stitch patterns. It's kinda silly really, but it was fun, too.

My favorite thing about this design is the lovely Watercolours skein I used: 028 - "Confetti". [Aside: don't you just love the names of all these threads? I think they add a magical allure to each thread, making them even MORE irresistable...] It has a yummy mix of dusty pinks, with pale golds, greens, teals, lavenders...so you can pick and choose the contrasting colors you want to highlight. (Of course, I can't guarantee that current dyelots are the same as the one I used many years ago, but chances are "Confetti" is still a happy mix of mid-range pastel colors.)

Here's an up-close look at part of the pattern:


As you can see in the close-up shot, I also stitched it on eggshell canvas that has gold metallic flecks in it. A good "cheater" canvas, when you don't want to stitch all the background areas.

If you ever get a chance to pick up a piece of this fancy canvas, do so... it makes a great background for ornaments when you leave the background unstitched - because it still looks elegant! (FYI: This metallic canvas also comes in white with silver metallic flecks, and white with opalescent flecks - like snow. It's available in 18 ct. mono canvas, as well as 25 ct. Congress Cloth.)