Finally--a finish!

Give me a new canvas to stitch and I'm like a puppy with a bone!  For some time, I've been working on a canvas for an upcoming Needlepoint Now column and poor Herald Angel has been languishing on the sidelines.  Feeling sufficiently remorseful, I finally finished her.

Her hair was worked with two strands of Burmilana #3506 in long-short stitches for the crown, ending in a cascade of French knot curls tumbling down her back.

Now it's decision time:  what do I work on next?

Swirling ribbons

The ribbons encircling Herald Angel were painted in muted tones--dusty rose probably best describes the overall look.  I chose to brighten the ribbons a bit to coordinate with her turquoise dress.

Using three strands of DMC floss #600, 602 and 604, the ribbons were worked in an encroaching Gobelin stitch.  The angel's lips were added in tent stitch with DMC floss #602.

Winging it again

The only thing I wasn't crazy about in the Herald Angel design was the yellow with which the wings were painted.  The yellow paint wasn't an intense hue, so covering it up wasn't a big problem.

The individual segments of the wing were first outlined with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 in tent stitch.  Each segment was then filled in with a satin stitch using four strands of white DMC cotton floss.

The white wings show up nicely against the navy Petite Very Velvet sky and will fit in much better with our decor.

Herald Angel - Part Three

A quick trip to my LNS took care of the gap in navy Petite Very Velvet under Herald Angel's outstretched arm!

Her dress is now finished, using the three shades of aqua Impressions in basketweave.  I used the Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 from her dress to work the body of the horn, with #2122 for the ring at the bottom.

Time to move on to the wings!