Looking at the lighthouse in a different light

Every so often, a little variety is a good thing. Only three times have I stitched a lighthouse canvas in which the sky wasn't sunny. East Chop on Martha's Vineyard was portrayed in fog; Point Lookout in Maryland was deliberately gloomy in keeping with its haunted history; and Grand Haven in Michigan was shown at night to accentuate its illuminated boardwalk.

For the Presque Isle North Pierhead lighthouse, I decided to take advantage of the expanse of sky and water by setting the scene at night. And, unlike Grand Haven's sky, this one is needle-blended.

Turning my canvas upside down, I began at the horizon with DMC floss #3755 and #334--two plies of each. For each layer of basketweave, I subtracted one ply of the lighter shade and added one ply of the darker shade, moving on to DMC floss #322 and #312 as I completed four plies of each value. By the time I reached the top of the canvas, I used two plies each of the last two values.

Lest there be any doubt about this being a night sky, I then added a full moon, using DMC floss #746. The presence of the moon will enable me to add some reflections when I begin stitching the water. Altering the time of day in the design provided a welcome change from all that endless sunshine without compromising the integrity of the lighthouse itself.