Ivory Angel - The finale!

Folks who follow this blog will probably be as relieved as I am to see this day arrive:  the Ivory Angel stocking is finished!

The area behind the name was stitched in basketweave with Vineyard Silk Classic Natural, with the name stitched with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 002V.  On top of the basketweave, another border of slanted Gobelin stitches, braided knitting and slanted Gobelin stitches was added to mirror the border at the edge of the cuff.

When I marked the area for the cuff, I had added three additional rows to give the finisher more flexibility turning the top over.  I checked with Mary Agnes Rhudy Cussen at Needle Nicely in Vero Beach, Florida, to see how those last few rows shoulld be stitched.  She advised a row of tent stitches abutting the last row to maintain the integrity of the outside slanted Gobelin stitches, so that's what I did.

This is my fourth stocking finish in 18 months--not a feat I care to repeat anytime soon!  But to paraphrase Kermit the Frog in the song The Rainbow Connection, "I did just what I set out to do!"

Ivory Angel - Crawling to the finish line

Creative Avoidance is a term I learned from designer Judy Harper.  As it relates to needlepoint, it involves working on absolutely anything and everything except for the project you're supposed to be stitching.  While I've continued to put in a few stitches a day on Ivory Angel, I've also finished two other canvases--smaller and much more colorful than the stocking.

It's partially my own fault--leaving nothing else to be done but filling in the gold of the vine and working on the ivory cuff.  I'd also been dragging my feet about stitching the angel's hair, one of my least favorite things to do.  But she's now completely coiffed, worked with two strands of Burmilana in long/short and satin stitches.  Some "highlights" were added with one strand of vintage DMC Medici wool on top of the previously stitched areas.

The edge of the cuff has been started with the same Vineyard Silk Classic Natural that had been used for the angel's dress.  A row of slanted Gobelin stitches over three threads abuts the tan Petite Very Velvet, followed by a row of encroaching oblong cross stitches and another row of slanted Gobelin stitches.

I'll finish filling in the vine with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 002V, then move the canvas on stretcher bars for the final task of working the cuff.