A tranquil sky

I began work on the Brant Point Sailor's Valentine with the tower of the lighthouse itself. Since it has clapboard siding, I worked this area in slanted gobelin stitches over two threads with white DMC cotton floss.

The larger size of this Sailor's Valentine gave me an opportunity to needle-blend the sky. Turning my canvas upside-down, I began at the horizon with four plies of DMC floss #3841, stitching five rows deep in basketweave, and being careful to stagger the bottom stitches so I wouldn't create horizontal lines in the stitching. I then followed this recipe:

Row 2: DMC floss #3841 - three plies; DMC floss #3325 - one ply
Row 3: DMC floss #3841 - two plies; DMC floss #3325 - two plies
Row 4: DMC floss #3841 - one ply; DMC floss #3325 - three plies
Row 5: DMC floss #3325 - four plies
Row 6: DMC floss #3325 - three plies; DMC floss #3755 - one ply
Row 7: DMC floss #3325 - two plies; DMC floss #3755 - two plies
Row 8: DMC floss #3325 - one ply; DMC floss #3755 - three plies

I finished off the remainder of the sky area with four plies of DMC floss #3755. I'm quite happy with the way this looks--it reminds me a little of a watercolor painting. Now that the sky is finished, I can work on the lighthouse itself!