An Egg well done!

If you recall, way back at the beginning of May, I received an e-mail from Gaile in Wisconsin, asking for help in stitching my Eggs for All Seasons "Candlelight Window." After a 15-year hiatus in needlepoint, Gaile was testing the waters with a painted canvas. And what a treat--the other day I received a picture of her finished canvas. Excuse me, but I don't think Gaile needed any help at all! Look how beautiful her ornament is!

I asked her about threads and stitches she had used, as well as her overall experience getting back into the swing of things. Here's what she wrote:

"Basically the stitches I used were basketweave, straight and slanted gobelin, a few continental where needed to fill in, and French knots for the pine boughs. I have a large stash so I bought only the Petite Very Velvet, which is a treat to work with. For the wallpaper, I experimented with several threads, but liked the way DMC Medici wool looked and so I used that for the background as well as the burgundy crosses and the valance. The white part of the valance is Silk & Ivory. Then I used blue #5 perle cotton for the window frame and woodwork, and white #5 perle cotton for the paneling beneath the window. I had a small bit of red silk which I used for the candle, because the sheen was nicer with it than cotton floss.

"Actually, the stitches just seemed to flow....I've avoided painted canvases because of having trouble deciding where to change colors, and there was no question at all on this canvas. It was a pleasure to stitch, and when it was finished I was a little sorry....hated to see it come to an end. But I love the ornament. It just called to me, and I'm so glad I was able to get it. Now it'll be on our tree for many years to come."

The pleasure was all mine, Gaile! I'm so glad you had fun--that's what needlepoint is all about! This one is headed for my Guest Gallery for sure!

A "berry-nice" finish

The Raspberry Island lighthouse in the Apostle Islands chain on Lake Superior is now completed!

The most difficult decision in stitching this canvas was the choice of stitch for the forest behind the lighthouse. I needed something low-profile, so as not to overpower the building, but that gave the appearance of foliage. I finally settled on the diagonal oblong upright cross, a stitch designer Carole Lake featured as the ANG Stitch of the Month in July 2002.

But trees in a forest aren't all the same shade of green--individual trees, with their own distinct colors, ultimately blend into one another to give an overall effect. So I decided to section off different parts of the green background, using the same stitch for all but changing the threads. The outer left and right sides, as well as a small portion at the center top, were stitched with Impressions #5000; the sections next to them used Impressions #5061. The areas in the foreground were stitched with Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves." If you click on the photo, you'll be better able to see the distinction between the threads--subtle, yet realistic.

With a different dyelot of Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves," I stitched the small tree in front of the tower in French knots. I then added the metallic tops of the chimneys using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #101, and Raspberry Island lighthouse was finished!

Progress!

After finishing the keeper's house and tower, I moved on to the aky, stitched in basketweave with four plies of DMC cotton floss #3755. Then the mailman arrived, with a care package! In it was a skein of Sheep's Silk "Leaf Green Dark"--perfect for the grassy bluff in a Nobuko stitch.

The water proved to be a bit trickier. A lot of folks like the light, airy look of a painted canvas that's been stitched in a weight of thread that doesn't quite cover the canvas itself. Others like to use a stitch which leaves part of the canvas exposed. Somehow, I just can't see either of those treatments used for a small lighthouse design. Chalk it up to personal preference!

I wanted the visual effect of movement which can be achieved with the "Water Stitch" developed by David McCaskill, but I didn't want to have any exposed canvas or use metallic to highlight the ripples in the water. So I experimented and came up with a very modified Water Stitch--needle-blending again! This time I used DMC floss #322 and #312--darker shades in the same blue family as the sky--with two plies of each. Just like the original Water Stitch, I placed gobelin stitches--over three threads wide and one thread high--alternating the angle every other row. But I overlapped the stitches to eliminate the exposed canvas intersections. The impression of movement is still there, but the canvas is completely covered.

The rocks at the water's edge were worked in a satin stitch, using four different tan/gray shades of DMC floss. Next up--trying to tell the forest from the trees!

Waiting for reinforcements

Setting plays an important role in the design of the Raspberry Island lighthouse: the tower and keeper's house are nestled in a forest as well as perched on top of a bluff. I realized I was running precariously low on threads for trees and grass, so I'll need to make a trip to my LNS as well as order some threads that it doesn't carry. To keep this project moving along, I decided to stitch the building first with threads I did have available.

The lantern room and roof lines were stitched with DMC #5 perle cotton, which provided additional weight visually against the rest of the building, stitched in DMC cotton floss primarily in basketweave. I'll wait to stitch the metallic tops of the chimneys after the trees have been worked.

A visit to Raspberry Island

Some time ago, I was asked to look into lighthouses in the Apostle Islands along Lake Superior. I discovered that, strangely, nobody knows exactly why this chain of islands is so named, as there are 22--not 12--in all. Partly because of its name, and its cheerful, cherry red roof, I chose Raspberry Island as the locale for my next lighthouse adaptation to needlepoint.

By the 1850s, maritime commerce on Lake Superior was booming, and a need was identified for an aid to navigation from Duluth, Minnesota to Bayfield, Wisconsin. The U.S. Lighthouse Service carved a clearing out of the forest on a bluff at the southwest point of Raspberry Island, and by 1862, construction was completed on a two-story single-family keeper's house with a short, square wood tower rising from the center of the roof. It wasn't until the following year, however, that the Fifth Order Fresnel lens finally made its way from France and the lighthouse became fully operational.

By 1906, the lighthouse boasted of a head keeper, his two assistants and their families, which necessitated extensive renovation of the original house and tower to the duplex you see here. In 1947, the light was converted to automatic operation; 10 years later, the Coast Guard installed a battery-operated beacon on top of a tall pole on the grounds. Congress appropriated funds for another renovation in 2006, which included measures to prevent further erosion to the bluff upon which the lighthouse sits.

This should prove to be an interesting lighthouse to stitch! There'll be no needle-blending of the sky on this one--there's not that much sky to work with. The trees in the background and the slope leading down to the water will be a challenge, however, so do check back in a couple of days!

Another lighthouse finished

The East Chop lighthouse is finished! After needle-blending the sky with DMC floss in basketweave, I finished the tower itself and moved on to the greenery.

To maintain the illusion of fog in the background, I chose a lighter shade of green--Impressions #5061--for the tree on the left, working it in a vertical diagonal cashmere stitch. The deciduous trees on the right were stitched in French knots with Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves," using one strand and one wrap for each knot. The bush in the foreground was also stitched in French knots, this time with Impressions #5000--a darker green--with two strands and one wrap per knot. Using two strands here made the bush look more pronounced, adding to the visual depth of the whole canvas.

The small bush at the right below the water was worked in a simple satin stitch with Silk & Ivory "Ivy." The path around the lighthouse foundation was worked in gobelin stitches with some Matte 18 I found in my stash, and the fence was also worked in gobelin stitches with DMC #5 perle cotton.

The overall effect of this canvas is of a lighthouse captured on a foggy day--just what I was aiming for. Even clear blue skies can get boring after stitching as many lighthouse models as I have!

Paradise Lost

Isn't it funny how things change as you get older? When I was a kid, summer was my favorite season: school was out, and my friends and I could go to the beach, have picnics, and generally chill out. Now summer is my least favorite time of year. The good news is, I live on Cape Cod, one of the prettiest places I know. The bad news is, I live on Cape Cod, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the US.

Little Parker the penguin needn't worry about my usurping his spot on the beach. A) I'm too busy painting; B) I never was a sun-worshipper; and C) I'm waiting until fall, when all the visitors have gone home, to go back to the shore and collect shells.