Adding to the cast of characters

The section of white foliage behind the two hansom cabs, the focus of this Central Park scene, needed to be relatively unobtrusive yet provide a sheen to highlight the cabs. I cast Vineyard Silk for this role, using basketweave. It provides just enough contrast against the black-and-white foliage directly below it and the black skyscrapers directly above.

On to the bridge! For this section, I wanted a thread with a somewhat craggy appearance: something to mimic the look of stone, as well as provide further depth to the foliage behind it. I chose DMC #5 perle cotton, stitching the white of the capstone in a gobelin-over-two stitch, which makes this section stand out even further from the sections behind it. I'm stitching the white background of the bridge itself in the same perle cotton in basketweave. Then I'll go back later and fill in the individual stones.

I'm concentrating right now on getting as much of the white areas stitched as possible, so I can then go back and fill in with the black. I've finished the white Nobuko area on the right and started on the two white sections on the left side. Reaching the right side with my dominant right hand, keeping my left hand underneath the canvas, wasn't easy--my new nickname may be "Stretch"!

There's a lot of water in this piece, and I've chosen to use DMC cotton floss in a basketweave. I don't want the water to overpower the foliage and rocks in the foreground, so I'm keeping both thread and stitch deliberately simple. When I have some more of the water stitched, I'll be able to move on to those areas calling for black thread.