Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Chipping away at the background


I'm taking a slightly different approach to stitching the Amanda Lawford Santa canvas.  There was so much background stitching for the Toyland Rocking Horse canvas, I got a little bogged down at times.  So while there isn't that much background on this canvas, I decided nevertheless to work as much of it as I could first before getting into the really interesting areas.

My choice of thread and stitch for the background was predicated on the design itself.  I wanted a neutral color that would make the colors pop but not make all the white in Santa's hat and beard disappear.  Texture, too, was a factor:  I'll be using a variety of threads on this canvas and wanted a background thread that wouldn't be used elsewhere.  The answer:  DMC #5 perle cotton Ecru.  I'll need to buy a fair amount of thread for the rest of the canvas, and perle cotton offers the added benefit of being economical.

And yes, I'm using the Nobuko stitch again for the background!  I wanted a little texture to contrast with the central design but not detract from it.  The Nobuko stitch is non-directional, compensates easily, and--for me, anyway--works up quickly.  It also won't be used anywhere else in the central design.

Now that I'm a little over half-done with the background, I can treat myself by working on Santa's face!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am looking forward to seeing what threads and stitches you use on Santa...I have an Amanda Lawford Santa too and have not started him because it overwhelmed me. I'm going to take notes...

Jan said...

A good choice of color and thread for the background. This will be lots of fun to watch - so many little details just like the Rocking Horse piece.