Friday, March 15, 2013

Angel Progress: The Mane Event

Q:  Does it really take four weeks to stitch the mane on a lion?

A:  No.  It takes 2-1/2 weeks to practice creative avoidance and 1-1/2 weeks to stitch it.

Yes, folks, Leo the lion, as he is now dubbed, and I have been hanging out together for four weeks.  I've called him other names during that time, but we won't go there.  It's hard to make that first stitch when you're out of your comfort zone.  While I had practiced random stitching on his tail and was pretty satisfied with the outcome, that mane loomed mighty large!

I started with two strands of the lightest shade of Burmilana, working from the crown down to his ears, then turning the canvas 90 degrees to stitch the long sides.  When the base was finished, I added more random long stitches on top of it with one strand of two darker shades of Burmilana.

All that remains is to stitch tall grass on top of the brown area around Leo.  I promise it won't take another four weeks to wrap up this project!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely, all this random stitching is great inspiration for the piece Im going to undertaking.

Needle Nicely said...

It turned out beautifully and was well-worth waiting for.

Anonymous said...

That mane looks good to me.
And I understand all too well creative avoidance I practice it well and often..should be a master at it by now.
Have a Happy St Pat...Toppy and I think of you everyday as we make eye contact.

LIZ said...

The mane looks fabulous! I will try to take hope for random stitching from your success!

biddie1031 said...

I'm not "lion" when I say the mane is beautiful! I'm learning so much watching you work this project - especially taken with your method of stitching the sky. Thanks for sharing your expertise!