Monday, August 23, 2010

Of wings and lily pads


Just for fun and variety, I wanted to stitch the wings of Judy Harper's July angel a little differently. You may recall the December angel's wings were worked in a Nobuko stitch with Kreinik gold metallic--fine for a winter angel, but a little heavy for a summer angel.

This time I was aiming for a "sculptured" look. I first tent-stitched the lines of the wings drawn on the canvas with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #032. Then I filled in between the metallic stitches with white DMC #5 perle cotton in satin stitches. I had first tried floss for the filler stitches, but the floss didn't provide the sheen and "loft" I was looking for. The perle cotton, being a tad heavier and with a slight twist that is light-reflective, was the better choice here.

Heading back into the water, I then worked the lily pads in three shades of Petite Very Velvet--V622, 623, and 624. I first worked the veins in the medium green in tent stitches for the top and middle lily pads, filling around the veins in basketweave with the lightest green. For the lily pad at the bottom, I used the darkest green for the veins with the medium green around them. I was pleased to see that adding the lily pads enhanced the look of depth to the water.

I'm on the home stretch now--only the angel's bolero and lilies themselves remain to be stitched!

4 comments:

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Love the wings! I'm always looking for different wing treatments and I think this one's great. She is shaping up very nicely, isn't she?

Cool City Stitcher said...

The wings are very summery in appearance, and go well with the water effect. Love the shading of the lily pads.

Possibilities, Etc. said...

You've done an amazing job with this!! Love the wings. She wears her rubies well.

Anonymous said...

She is definitely a work of art, Anne! Please hurry and finish the lilies, etc. so we can enjoy the total effect of your wonderful needle-blending.