Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Game over!


There's something to be said for a hurricane: you can get an incredible amount of stitching done waiting for it to arrive! Good ole' Earl got down-graded to a tropical storm and became more of a "pseudo-event" here on the Cape, but thanks to all of you who sent positive thoughts our way!

"The Gamblers" is finished. and I think I now have worked the "sillies" out of my system! After completing the border and the ghosts themselves, I concentrated on the table. I needed a matte thread which would resemble felt for this area, so I selected a green Petite Very Velvet. The color and texture were just fine, but the higher profile of the PVV created little "wells" where the poker chips would be stitched.

I needed to raise the chips above the background as well as give them the appearance of being stacked. So I first padded the areas with DMC floss in basketweave, then turned the canvas 90 degrees to work oblong cross stitches horizontally on top of the padding. Voila!--stacked poker chips!

Now it's back to painting, as I contemplate my next project!

3 comments:

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

It's a fun pattern but the "stacked" poker chips are my favorite touch. Very clever, Anne. Glad you are just a bit wet from Earl, too.

Cool City Stitcher said...

Well done! I was wondering how you'd do the poker chips, and as always, you got it exactly right!
Perfect Halloween piece.

Possibilities, Etc. said...

I hope you don't lose "the sillies," as yours are delightful. This is a great piece you've done!