Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Dressing Mother Ginger and celebrating a blog birthday


Most of us have heard the expression "My, how time flies when you're having fun." It's hard to believe that The Cape Stitcher is two years old today! My thanks go out to all of you who have taken the time to visit and watch my progress in bringing painted canvases to life!

Now to Mother Ginger! I've made my color choices, and not for the first time am I glad that I never paint a master for a design until I've stitched the model. Mother's cap and shawl remain white, worked in satin stitch for the cap and diagonal mosaic stitch for the shawl using Vineyard Silk "Bright White." But I've changed her dress to a gray, using DMC #5 perle cotton #318 in a Nobuko stitch for the bodice and hoop skirt and tent stitch for the sleeves, which are outlined in DMC floss #444. Her face has also been stitched in basketweave with DMC floss #950.

With these elements in place, the color choice for the background became clear: a royal purple to set off the colors of the other costumes, intersected by vertical lines of gold metallic to emphasize the vertical composition of the design. I'm using DMC floss #550 in rows of side-by-side mosaic stitches and Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 for the gold stripes.

A good start! Now I'll work from top to bottom, adding background and costumes as I go.

5 comments:

Cool City Stitcher said...

Congratulations on your 2-year anniversary of blogging.. So glad you decided to do this!

I love the colors and the design.. as always, stitching is perfect!

Anonymous said...

The background is really going to make the figures stand out - it's going to look lovely!

Possibilities, Etc. said...

This one is wonderful - as are the others you've done. I really like the colors!

Possibilities, Etc. said...

P.S. Your blog has been a great addition to my world! I'm so glad you decided to do one, as everyone can benefit.

Anonymous said...

I remember when you started your blog a month after I started mine. Congrats!! We all have learned a lot from you in the two years you have shared your stitching with us.

This ornament is going to be so much fun! And the violet background will make the whole little family show up so well.