A subtle sky

I began stitching the lighthouse at Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire, over the weekend, beginning with the white of the tower itself in four strands of DMC cotton floss in a basketweave stitch. Then I started in on the sky, using four strands of DMC floss #3755, again in basketweave (left photo).

Over the years, I have either purchased or received as gifts a large number of lighthouse reference books which have served as launching pads for my needlepoint adaptations. Almost all of the photos of the Portsmouth Harbor lighthouse show the tower against a virtually cloudless blue sky, which seemed to be a very appealing portrayal. I decided to needle-blend this sky, too, but using only two shades of floss and staggering the color changes to create a more subtle sky.

In the right photo, all the white of the tower and the railing of the walkway have been completed, and I've begun needle-blending. I first combined three plies of DMC #3755 and one ply of #3325. At the point where I stopped, I was using two plies of DMC #3755 and two plies of #3325. All this basketweaving makes for slower stitching but also a smoother look.

When I finish stitching the sky, I'll move on to picking threads and stitches for the lighthouse foundation and water!