Sliding in on a banana peel

There are only two more days left in February!--my, how time flies when you're having fun! I was asked to adapt my guardian angel design for an ornament to support the American Heart Association, and have just squeaked in under the line.

This little Heart angel is wearing a red dress of Petite Very Velvet, trimmed with Kreinik #8 fine braid. I stitched her halo in basketweave using Kreinik #12 braid, so why did I switch to #8 for the dress? I have found that the nap of Petite Very Velvet plumps up as it's stitched, making the tapestry braid a bit of a tight fit. The fine braid, on the other hand, slides in nicely and performs a more-than-adequate job of making the Smyrna crosses sit up at attention.

Her hair was styled in long stitches using "Coffee Bean" Silk & Ivory, and the sleeves and hem of the dress were stitched with "Bright White" Vineyard Silk. I've started stitching a back for her, but will have to make an end-run to my LNS since I've run out of Petite Very Velvet!

Winging their way home

My little guardian angel ornaments arrived yesterday from the finisher, Stitchery Square in Camden, Maine, and--as usual--I'm so pleased! I wanted to show off such fine finishing before I head to the post office to mail the angels to their new owners.

Mardi Gras

Translated from the French, Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday, the last fling before the 40 days of Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday. What better time to visit New Orleans, the hub of Mardi Gras activities!

The ancient Romans began the tradition, with a celebration of Lupercalia. And the first Mardi Gras celebration in the United States was actually held in Mobile, Alabama.

But in the late 1700s, New Orleans began to affix its mark on the celebration while still under French rule. The French king gave the territory away to his Spanish cousin, whose representatives nixed the pagan festivities. But along came the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and by 1823 the new governor permitted masked balls and street masking was again legal by 1827. In 1872, the official Mardi Gras colors were selected: purple (for justice), green (for faith), and gold (for power).

So today, in the spirit of the Mardi Gras, I'm beaming myself from Orleans, Massachusetts, to New Orleans, Louisiana, to revisit my doorway--one of my favorites from the Doorways to the Past Series.

For those who are interested, this piece was stitched almost completely with DMC perle cotton and floss. The hanging ferns and greenery in the potted geraniums were stitched with Caron Impressions.

Introducing Abigail

Shortly after I began stitching my two little For the Cure guardian angels, I received an SOS e-mail from Sue Dulle, a fellow designer in Kansas City. She, too, had a close friend about to undergo surgery for breast cancer, and she wanted to stitch an angel to provide her friend with some moral support. Thankfully having only one angel to stitch, Sue wanted to take her gift one step further, and asked me to design a back for the angel as well.

Sue's skillful fingers created Abigail, shown here pretty in pink Silk & Ivory, with her hair styled in bullion stitches. I was even more impressed that Sue did the finishing herself (for more details on how she went about this, visit her blog at www.sudukc.wordpress.com). Lined with pink fabric, Abigail can be used as a tree-topper or as a stand-up.

As a token of thanks, Sue has generously donated a stitch guide for Abigail. A contribution from the sale of this canvas with stitch guide will be made to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation. Thanks, Sue, for helping to make a difference!

Biloxi's light still shines

The Biloxi lighthouse is pristine again, using DMC floss for the body of the iron-clad structure in basketweave stitch. In fact, except for the trees and the grass, the entire canvas is stitched in DMC floss.

For the trees, I once again chose Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves," but this time in a diagonal cashmere stitched vertically. I used this thread before for the St. Marks lighthouse, in a Nobuko stitch, and once again it came through with instant shading as well as texture. The grass is stitched in Wildflowers "Jade" in a diagonal mosaic, using two strands. This thread is over-dyed and could lend itself to streaking in a diagonal stitch. But it's also a bit on the thin side, so if you pull two threads from the skein going in opposite directions, you'll have more than adequate coverage on 18 ct. canvas and eliminate streaking at the same time. The over-dye blends into itself and gives a more even appearance.

Next up: a visit from a designer colleague.

Mississippi's lonely lighthouse

The Biloxi lighthouse, authorized by legislation sponsored by Representative Jefferson Davis in 1847 and completed in 1848, was at one time among more than 10 lighthouses that guided navigation along the coastline of Mississippi. In its lifetime, it has survived numerous tropical storms and hurricanes, the most devastating of which was Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

The Biloxi light incurred serious damage to its interior brick lining; other lighthouses were less fortunate. A replica of the Ship Island lighthouse was totally destroyed, and the Round Island lighthouse, destroyed by Hurricane Georges in 1998 and under reconstruction, was wiped out a second time. Today the Biloxi light has the dubious distinction of being the last standing lighthouse in the state. Since the morning after Katrina hit, an American flag has been draped over the railing which surrounds the lantern room as a symbol of the city's determination to rebuild.

I had received a request to review my explanation of the needle-blending technique that I used in creating both the sky and water for my St. Marks, Florida, lighthouse canvas. Since the Biloxi canvas has plenty of sky to work with, I determined it was a prime candidate for needle-blending. This time, however, the stitch I'll be using is Nobuko and I'll be working from the top of the canvas downward.

For the darkest shade of blue, I chose DMC floss #334, followed in succession toward the horizon by #3755 and #3325. The first photo is of the darkest shade of floss alone, using four strands. I then stitched three rows each in the following floss/strand combinations:

A) #334 - 3 strands/ #3755 - 1 strand
B) #334 - 2 strands/ #3755 - 2 strands
C) #334 - 1 strand/ #3755 - 3 strands
D) #3755 - 4 strands
E) #3755 - 3 strands/ #3325 - 1 strand
F) #3755 - 2 strands/ #3325 - 2 strands

The second photo, taken after I completed section (B), shows very little shading--this is a subtle process! The third photo was taken after I completed section (D)--a bit of difference is peeking through. By the time I reached the horizon at the end of section (F) in the fourth photo, you can really see the difference.

Needle-blending is a simple technique, really--one that produces a more realistic-looking sky using less expensive threads and which avoids the tendency toward streaking commonly found when stitching with over-dyed threads.

The reflective heart

My first heart design is finally finished, after several Valentine cards, a box of chocolate turtles, a bouquet of flowers from my Webmaster (No. 1 son), and the flu. When the going gets tough, the tough keep stitching!

I followed through on my last plan, adding Scotch stitches in Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 061 to the squares inside the diamonds, and am happy with the results. The hearts really have disappeared considerably. When you catch the heart image, it's as a reflection of the one above it, and that's about it. But that doesn't bother me--I rather like the subtlety. I'll leave the more ostentatious representations to Hallmark.