Mission accomplished

Just in time for a new year, Mission San Gabriel Arcangel is finished!

The strip of grass below the stairs was worked in a slanted gobelin stitch with one ply of Wildflowers "Jade." Using the same thread but with two plies, the grassy area in the foreground was worked in a diagonal horizontal cashmere stitch.

I didn't have quite the right shade of thread that I wanted for the trunks of the palm trees, so I decided to make my own thread! I combined three shades of Burmilana--one ply each of 3504H, 3729T and 3506--and worked the trunks in a vertical slanted gobelin stitch. While I'd normally use two plies of Burmilana for basketweave, three plies make the trunks stand out nicely from the buildings behind them.

The shrubs were worked in different green threads and stitches to make them look more realistic. The shrub on the far left was worked in long stitches using one ply of Impressions "Moss." The darkest green shrubs were stitched in French knots with Impressions #5060, while the middle shrub was worked in more French knots with Sheep's Silk "Moss Green." The shrub on the far right was worked in a satin stitch with Impressions "Moss"--no French knots here, so I wouldn't give my framer fits when trying to place a matte around the border.

The fronds of the palm trees used--believe it or not--two different dyelots of Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves Dark." I first worked the darker shade with one ply in long stitches, then added long stitches and stem stitches with the lighter shade on top to give the fronds some dimension.

I'm happy with the way this project turned out, and hope the graduate of the Mission high school who asked me to work up this design is, too!