I zipped along with the Nobuko stitch for the background until I got close to the top of the fish itself. Decision time: what threads should I use to outline the fish and the bubbles?
Why outline? A couple of years ago, I stitched an underwater fantasy piece (shown on the right) in collaboration with Judy Harper. I worked the sea horse first, outlining it with orange perle cotton, and then moved on to the angel fish, stitching the various parts of its body in different colors. The little angel fish totally disappeared within the jacquard patterned background. It was only after I outlined the angel fish in a dark green perle cotton that its body became prominent. I certainly didn't want my new fish to do a disappearing act! As my grandmother was fond of saying, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!"
The navy perle cotton I had in my stash was too dark, so I used Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #033 to outline the fish and Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #032 to outline the bubbles. Confident now that the fish wouldn't "go missing," I resumed work on the background. I'll outline the remaining bubbles, and then finish up with the Nobuko stitch.
4 comments:
I love the nobuko stitch. I wonder who developed it? I know many of Jean Hilton's stitches, but not where nobuko came from. Any ideas?
I searched "Nobuko stitch," but only got lots of diagrams and YouTube videos of how to do it. Nobuko is a Japanese name, used in reference to females. Otherwise, not a clue as to how the stitch got its name.
Hi Anne- Where can I find that underwater fantasy canvas? I mentioned it on my blog today and wanted to provide some more details (hmm.. and I might also want Mary Agnes to order it for me)!! I'm working on my second Nutcracker ornament- loving them!
I'm sorry, Meredith--that canvas isn't available. As I mentioned, it was a collaboration between Judy Harper and me--her fish designs and my overall design, including the plant life. Two designers, asking the question "What if...." We had great fun with it.
Glad you're enjoying the Nutcracker Suite ornaments!
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