My "Beacon" sailor's valentine is finished, with the addition of shells both stitched and real!
When I'd completed stitching the segments of the octagon, I outlined the perimeter with ecru DMC #5 perle cotton in stem stitch to give the piece more of a finished edge. Using the same perle cotton, I stitched starfish and some Smyrna crosses in the tan segments. DMC #5 perle cotton #642 worked in stem stitch and French knots formed the seaweed.
I then dug out a package of tiny shells I'd "imported" from Texas when we moved to the Cape over four years ago--a new twist on bringing coals to Newcastle! I attached the shells with two strands of cotton floss around the center scene to form a frame. I'm happy with the effect--a little like looking at the lighthouse through a porthole.
This project was so much fun and worked up so quickly that I may search out some more "treasures" and design another version of sailor's valentine!
9 comments:
I love it! Very unique, and a great idea. The shells add the perfect touch.
Fun and quick to stitch too!
This is a really fun/pretty/novel piece of needlepoint! Surface embellishment is great looking and fun to do - please do another one soon!
This is lovely! You do beautiful work. Are the star fish worked in stem stitch or are those bullion knots?
The starfish were worked by first making the five spokes in long stitches, then wrapping each spoke three times with the perle cotton and ending the thread in the center. Not very conventional, but at least it looks like a starfish!
Darling!
I love this. You are so-o-o creative.
Fantastic finish! A very unusual sailor's valentine but I really love it. A true original.
This is just charming! What a cute idea!
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