A Gentle Breeze is Blowing...

Here's a canvas I recently finished stitching (still has to be framed):


It's a Curtis Boehringer canvas that I fell in love with a few years ago.

I've always wanted to stitch a velveteen rabbit of my own, so that's how I stitched this one - I used Petite Very Velvet for the whole rabbit.
Here's a close-up:


I had intended to stitch the flowers in dimensional stitches (padded satin and long satin stitch) and God knows I tried. But no matter how many times I tried - and with lots of different thread types, I might add - I just couldn't get it to look good. So I ripped out (I lost track of how many times) and finally opted to stitch everything with Ye Olde Basketweave Stitche.

And what the photo doesn't show is that all the daffodils and leaves and pink ribbons are stitched with a softly metallic Ribbon Floss, so there are subtle metallic glints on everything that isn't bunny.

And yes, I added the thin wavy breeze lines by backstitching them with a fine metallic thread.

And because I didn't want to stitch a background, instead I used a soft blue colored pencil to CAREFULLY scribble around the bunny and then smear (with ye olde index finger) to blur the soft blue background.

One of the nicest things about Curtis Boehringer canvases is how well they lend themselves to Basic Basketweave. Since the designer uses his signature swirls on everything, it's easier to stitch them in Basketweave, and just embellish a few things in accent stitches, rather than try and figure out how to incorporate lots of fancy stitches. Another stress-free option is to Basketweave Stitch everything - BUT USE LOTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF THREADS - and how fun would that be?!?

And because his designs are so beautifully composed and the images are so graphically pleasing, you can basketweave to your heart's content, and not feel guilty about it. Sometimes simple IS best.

If you're interested in seeing other Curtis Boehringer designs, check out his website (www.curtisboehringer.com) or browse around in ebay, where his canvases appear from time to time...