Hi all! It's snowing and we're predicted to get enough to keep me inside for a few days stitching; a situation only possibly enhanced if some of you were here too! Pinch me! Thankfully I have all the important food groups covered (coffee, cream, butter, bread, chicken soup..); my dear kitty Teddy nearby; broom and gloves positioned near the front door to clear off the satellite dish...seems as though all the planets are aligned.... Happy dance!
Late last night (apparently I'm taking on the habits of my subject here) I finished stitching the back of the owl head using the Inverted Small Diamond Ray stitch; a great choice for feathers especially when you're trying to achieve a sense of order with how the "feathers" lay? lie?. Let me just interject something that I believe I've expressed somewhere on this blog in the past, about how I seem to fall into the same quandary when stitching a painted canvas. The back of the owl head is a perfect example of the feather ruffling impasse I typically reach when trying to bring the painted canvas and stitch choice into harmony.
This canvas has been painted with near perfect uniformity when looking at the color placement for the feathers; this is wonderful if I were doing tent stitch, but in this project I am not because I want the chosen stitch to create the illusion of feathers. The suggested stitches and the painted canvas are perfect here....just not for each other. I'm not questioning the stitch guide at all; I'm merely saying that I don't know how to implement the two together.The challenge for me is to reconcile color placement with stitch placement and I always seem to struggle when determining which takes priority. Unfortunately this slows down my pace, I end up ripping out and ultimately getting a little frustrated. Understand that while I'm addressing this project specifically, I often come across this conflict with most painted canvases I stitch. Maybe you can see what I'm trying to explain in the photo on the left as you view the stitched part of the body (using Offset Ray) versus the unstitched portion directly below. The wing will be stitched in a totally different way.
I am not trying to achieve perfection at all and yes stitching is about enjoyment, but I do wish there was some type of a "rule" or method from which to consider the various options? If only to move me a long a little faster. Believe me it's crossed my mind to ignore the colors painted on the canvas, and then using the feather stitch, alternate the 3 or 4 thread colors as I go along. Am I taking the stitch/color connection too literally? I don't know but I am hoping there may be a word to the wise (owl) out there from stitchers that may throw a (wing) tip my way. I am all ears.
Posts
Your owl is looking great! Could you point me to a book with a graph of the Offset Ray stitch? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNancy
This is one reason I use a lot of light coverage stitches. The difference in color between the thread and the painted area add depth to the design.
ReplyDeleteYou really don't need to totally match a white thread to a white area. Use the painted canvas as a guide but don't worry if things don't map one to one. I know this is hard but you are creating the illusion of an owl, not replicating the painted owl exactly in threads.
Hope this helps.
I would continue stitching all around the wing, and go with the majority rules idea......Don't be afraid to have more than one color in the offset rays. I can't tell what thread you are using or how many strands, but you could also needle blend if it is strandable. Hope that helps. And, it does look like feathers.
ReplyDeleteI think I can see what the problem is - just don't know if I can explain it without actually being there. It looks like the feathers are painted like off-set scallops, with dark ones under white ones, and vice versa. Perhaps if you stitched a row of white feathers first (diagonally), followed by a row each of the medium and/or darker colors it might form a pattern that looks more like the painting. There actually is a stitch that looks exactly like off-set scallops that is stitched on the diagonal, so if you can't make the rays work, let me know and I'll send you a diagram.
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies for your input. Nancy I didn't find a book with the offset ray, it is a slight variation of the Ray stitch. I think I may have thrown in a few standard Ray stitches by accident. You have all led me to greater clarity, thanks so much. The thread used is one of my favorites, Burmilana, one or two strands. I think the suggestion for lighter stitches would be very effective in a canvas painted such as this, not completely covering the painting yet still adding texture. I may hear a frog rippet in the distance....or maybe not. lol! Thanks again for your help, it most appreciated!
ReplyDeleteLady Madonna, looks wonderful! If you see a visitor from Port Isabel, it's me.
ReplyDelete