The eyes have it

The Molly O'Beagle canvas by Nenah Stone is finished!

By the time I completed stitching on the beagle, I had used six different shades of brown Burmilana thread. For some areas, I used two strands of one color; for other sections, I combined one strand of two different colors to needle-blend the shading.

I love the expressive eyes that Nenah painted. I first outlined them in the darkest brown, then filled in with white, black and a warmer brown with the whites of the eyes actually a pale yellow DMC floss.

I'd never stitched an animal this size before, and I found it to be quite challenging but rewarding. My thanks to Nenah for doing such a great job helping little Molly come to life! After the weekend, I'll start a new project--one with a human form!

Getting nosey

I got a little carried away since my last post--I was so into my stitching, I didn't stop to take a picture!

Flashback to a couple of days ago, when I visited my LNS for threads for Molly O'Beagle herself. I had Felicity's Garden in the back of my mind as the thread I'd use: just the right weight, and the combination of silk and wool would give her coat a nice sheen. But there weren't enough browns in stock at the time, and Barry, the owner, suggested Burmilana, a wool/acrylic blend. This thread requires two strands on 18-count canvas, which turned out to work to my advantage.

I started stitching with the white Burmilana at the top of her head and worked down past her chin line. I added the nose, mouth and shading, and decided to work on the chest area awhile. I kept stitching, and stitching, and stitching--until the whole chest area was finished. I wanted to try out a little needle-blending on her shoulders, using one strand each of two different browns, so I stitched the shoulders. Then I decided, what the heck!--I might as well finish the shamrocks that overlapped the chest.

Oops! Time and then some to take a picture! I've started outlining Molly's head and will hopefully soon be finished with this canvas!

Growing shamrocks

There are three distinct areas in Nenah Stone's Molly O'Beagle canvas: the sky in the background; the dog in the center; and the shamrocks in the foreground. So in selecting a thread for the shamrocks, I needed something that would provide a higher profile as well as being green!

Rummaging through my stash, I pulled out two distinctly different threads that would meet my requirements: Petite Very Velvet and Silk & Ivory. When I held up the three shades of PVV to the canvas, they turned out to be too dark--I needed brighter greens. So the Silk & Ivory won!

I started working on the veins of the shamrocks first, using S & I "Honeydew" in tent stitch--a bit tight on 18-count canvas but still do-able. This helped define the segments of the shamrocks, making it easier to then work the rest of the plants in satin stitch with S & I "Kelly," the lighter shade, and "Emerald." To make the shamrocks stand out even further, I filled in the areas around them with DMC floss #911 in basketweave.

I'll continue working on the shamrocks but I'll avoid the areas which overlap the white on the dog's chest so as not to create problems for myself down the road!

A lot of blue sky

Finally!--I finished stitching the sky behind the beagle in Nenah Stone's canvas.

The dog is obviously the most important element in this design, so I wanted to keep the background subtle yet attractive. So--once again--I needle-blended, beginning at the top of the canvas with DMC floss #3755.

Using four plies of the floss, I worked down to the top of the dog's head in basketweave, staggering the bottom stitches randomly. I then added DMC floss #3255 into the mixture, using one ply combined with three plies of DMC floss #3755. I continued subtracting one ply of the darker shade and adding one of the lighter to the mix until I reached four plies of DMC floss #3255. At this point, DMC floss #3841 was worked into the formula. By the time I hit bottom, I was using one ply of DMC #3255 and three plies of DMC #3841.

The canvas is now actually about one-third stitched! I think I'll scour my stash for some shamrock threads next, so stay tuned.

Always room for one more

Have you ever stopped to think how many painted needlepoint canvas designers there are? Probably as many as there are personal tastes and interests among stitchers! If you've ever looked on eBay under the category "hand painted needlepoint canvas," you'll find it resembles a remake of the classic Clint Eastwood movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. But as my sainted Irish grandmother used to say, "One man's pie is another man's poison." Some may be attracted to modern designs with bright colors or trendy themes, whereas I prefer timeless pieces that are well-painted.

So when I visited the website of newcomer Nenah Stone recently--www.nenahsneedle.com--I was enchanted! Painting animals is not my forte, but it certainly is Nenah's. The expressions she achieves on her cats and dogs are amazing. Sensing a fellow dog lover here, I corresponded with Nenah to find out more about her source of inspiration and background. I wasn't at all surprised to learn that she volunteers at an animal shelter and donates a percentage of her sales to it. She's also a member of a pet therapy group which takes dogs to visit at nursing care facilities and hospitals. Add to this the fact that she comes from an artistic family and is a stitcher herself, the result is a line of beautifully executed animal canvases.

I sent Nenah a photo of our own Molly O'Beagle and asked her to see what she could do on canvas. I'm thrilled with her interpretation and look forward to stitching this canvas as my next project!