All but the center!

The lattice border is finished and the brown bands are done, too--I'm on the home stretch for the Ojo de Dios canvas!

The diamond banding of the lattice border was worked in satin stitches with DMC #5 perle cotton #310, just like the banding of the inner square. The weight of the perle cotton gives some depth to the basketweave for the off-white and brown bands.

I then completed the black zig-zag lines around those bands with black DMC cotton floss.

Next up will be the circles, the background for the center square and the Ojo or "Eye" itself--and I'm done!

A little more progress

I'm quite proud of myself: with not too much available stitching time, I've still managed to finish three-quarters of the lattice border!

I moved on to the first brown band, stitching the background in basketweave using DMC cotton floss #433.

When this area was finished, I got a little carried away and starting adding the black zig-zag lines to the previously-worked areas. Nifty! This canvas is shaping up exactly as I hoped it would!

I hope to get the outside borders done by the weekend, so I guess it's time to bring out the turbo-needles!

Moving inward

I made a little progress on the Ojo de Dios canvas over the weekend, moving inside the lattice border to give myself a little variety.

I'd initially thought to stitch the background of the bands with circles and zig-zag lines in a diagonal mosaic stitch. Using DMC floss #712, I started in on this section--and very soon ripped it out! I realized the diagonal mosaic stitch would prove to be too much of a distraction behind the stitch I'm planning to use for the circles, so I worked the background in basketweave instead.

On to the center square, where I worked the small off-white band in a series of oblong cross stitches: the first worked vertically, with another placed horizontally on top of it. The black border around these stitches was worked in DMC #5 perle cotton #301 in a satin stitch. Using the heavier thread made the oblong cross stitches "pop" and gave more depth to the center square.

Next I'll play a little "catch-up" with the lattice border and start in on the brown bands!

From the outside in

I began stitching the Ojo de Dios canvas with the least inspiring part of the design: the outside border. Many years ago, when I was having another canvas framed into a Sudberry House bookend, a finisher gave me a valuable tip. While quality products, Sudberry House items were originally designed to showcase cross-stitch and embroidered pieces, worked on cloth much thinner than needlepoint canvas. To make it easier to insert the canvas inside the lip of the box, a needlepointer should try to keep the outside edge as low a profile as possible.

The outside edge of this canvas is four threads wide, so I worked the outer frame over two canvas threads with a slanted gobelin stitch using DMC #5 perle cotton #738. Then for the lower profile, I stitched the remaining two threads in basketweave with DMC floss in the same color. Interestingly, the twist inherent in the perle cotton makes it appear lighter in color than the surrounding floss.

I then moved inside to the lattice border, stitching the background in basketweave with DMC floss #738 and the lattice itself with DMC floss #310. A good start, but a long way to go yet!

South of the border

My next project is an adaptation to needlepoint of several design elements I came across in researching Mexican art. At this point, I'm seeing the end product of this canvas as a lid insert for a black five-inch-square Sudberry box, which I fortunately found while raiding my stash last year.

At the center of this design is an "Ojo de Dios," or "God's Eye," a symbol of seeing and understanding the unknown and unknowable for the Huichol tribe of northwestern Mexico. It is formed by crossing two sticks, with the four points representing the elements of earth, air, fire and water.

When a child is born into the Huichol tribe, its father weaves the center "eye"with yarn to join the sticks, adding another "eye" for each subsequent year of the child's life. When the child reaches the age of five, the "Ojo de Dios" is complete. In the Huichol culture, it is thought that this symbol will bring health, prosperity and long life to the weaver as well as the person for whom it is being made.

In keeping with tribal simplicity, I'll be stitching this canvas exclusively with cotton floss and perle cotton, adding dimension and visual interest with my choice of stitches for the various sections of the design. Do come back and check my progress over the weekend!

Another lighthouse finish

With the addition of trees, bushes and grass, White River lighthouse on Lake Michigan is finished!

For the trees, I was looking for a thread that would provide a low profile and a stitch that was non-directional. I chose Impressions #5061 in a Nobuko stitch, which offered just enough texture while keeping the background where it belonged.

The grass was stitched with two old favorites: Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves Dark" using a horizontal diagonal cashmere stitch.

Lastly, came the bushes at the base of the lighthouse. I was looking for a shade of green that complemented both the trees and grass, yet was variegated snough to provide some shading. I used two strands of Sheep's Silk "Camouflage," lining up the strands so the change in color was going in exact opposite directions, and made one wrap around the needle for the French knots.

My stitching progress is going slower these days, as I'm back in "paint-by-day, stitch-by-night" mode, but I can promise something entirely different in the next couple of days!

All but the greenery

The White River, Michigan, lighthouse canvas is moving right along, now that I've finished the tower and keeper's house.

I've added windows and the caps on the buttresses, using DMC cotton floss. To imitate the look of limestone block, I worked the foundation with DMC floss #712 in a series of gobelin stitches over two threads, Scotch stitch and Scotch stitch variation.

The roof of the keeper's house is shingled, with the reddish-brown asphalt almost variegated with the sun shining on it in the photograph I'm working from. To duplicate this look, I chose Sheep's Silk "Rust Brown" for my roofing material. It's another color of Sheep's Silk which is more mottled than the usual over-dyed thread, and when worked in a gobelin stitch over two threads comes pretty close to the look of the actual roof.

Next up: trees, bushes and grass!