A little experimenting

Many of you may know that I stitch models for each of my designs. In fact, I don't paint a master for a new design until I've stitched it, just in case the design itself needed a little tweaking.

A couple of years ago, the model for my Lobsterman nutcracker stand-up "went missing" during a trunk show--the only time this calamity has befallen me. Now that I have a new brick-and-mortar shop carrying my canvases in Maine--The Stitching Mantis in Cape Elizabeth (www.thestitchingmantis.com)--I decided it was high time to stitch a replacement model for the shop to display.

The first model was the 18-count canvas version, and I do dislike stitching the same thing twice, even if it is my own creation! So the new model will be a 13-count canvas example, which will give me an opportunity to experiment a little with new threads and stitches. Stay tuned!

Ready for inspection

With the addition of bushes and trees, Horton Point lighthouse is now finished!

The bushes flanking the doorway were stitched in French knots using Sheep's Silk "Camouflage." The knots were done with a single wrap to keep the bushes at a lower profile.

The little fir tree on the right was worked in layered long stitches using Impressions "Emerald." There are some fairly bright green sections in this overdyed thread which I cut out, as I wanted to highlight the medium and dark blue-greens.

The trunk of the tree in the foreground was stitched with three strands of Burmilana, while the leaves were worked in French knots with two wraps using Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves" to give them more prominence.

The roof and gallery of the lantern room were stitched with DMC cotton floss, while the optic itself was worked with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #008HL.

Now to decide what my next project might be!

Blue skies over Long Island

I finished my needle-blending of the sky over Horton Point lighthouse. Having begun with four plies of DMC floss #813, I continued using the following formula:

Section 2 - 3 plies DMC #813, 1 ply DMC #827
Section 3 - 2 plies DMC #813, 2 plies DMC #827
Section 4 - 1 ply DMC #813, 3 plies DMC #827
Section 5 - four plies DMC #827

By the time I finished stitching Section 5, I was just below the bottom of the roof line of the keeper's house. Since the sky was already fairly light at this point, I continued with the four plies of DMC #827 down to the top of the tree in the foreground. I then resumed needle-blending, adding DMC #828 to the mix. The last section stitched just at the horizon combined two plies of DMC #827 and two plies of DMC #828.

For the water, I again blended threads--DMC #826 and 825--two darker shades in the same color family as the threads used for the sky. The water was worked in gobelin stitches over two threads to achieve the impression of waves in a very small space!

Now I'll start adding the greenery and the lighthouse will be ready for your inspection!

How random is random?

I've not made a ton of progress on Horton Point lighthouse since yesterday's post. The grass is now finished, using Sheep's Silk in a diagonal mosaic stitch, and the path is laid with DMC #5 perle cotton.

I've also started stitching the sky, using the needle-blending technique in basketweave with DMC cotton floss #813. This seemed to be a good opportunity to answer a question I've received several times: How random is random when you're stitching basketweave using this technique?

I figured a picture was worth a thousand words, so click on the photo and you'll see for yourself!

For those of you who've followed my needle-blending process over several projects, you may have noticed that I sometimes start at the top of the sky and work my way down, while on other occasions I've started at the horizon line, and stitched with the canvas turned upside down. For this project, I started with the darkest shade of blue working from the top down to be sure the thread I choose for the oxidized roof of the lantern room will stand out sufficiently from the sky.

Next I'll start the actual needle-blending, adding DMC floss #827 and finally #828 to the recipe!

Special effects

Since there is so much white in the Horton Point lighthouse design, I decided I should concentrate my stitching on the tower and keeper's house first, rather than attack the sky as I usually do. The surface of both buildings is stucco, a feature I wanted to highlight in my choice of stitch and thread.

I've stitched stucco before, primarily for some of the Missions of California designs. One combination which has worked for me is a Nobuko stitch using DMC #5 perle cotton. The Nobuko stitch provides the visually rough, somewhat swirly look of stucco; the perle cotton adds the sheen to mimic the play of sunlight on a surface full of nooks and crevices. An additional benefit of using perle cotton is I know the buildings themselves will stand out in relief against the sky, when I later stitch it with cotton floss.

The asphalt roof, window frame and door are a very dark green--what I once heard a Connecticut house painter refer to as a York green--a traditional colonial color. I also wanted a thread with a flat appearance to contrast against the white stucco. Rummaging in my stash, I found a card of Matte 18--a 100% cotton thread--in the perfect shade of green. The roof was worked in a gobelin stitch over two threads; the door is a simple satin stitch.

Now that the shadow lines and window are stitched with DMC cotton floss, I can start working on a fair amount of sky!

Hand-picked by George Washington!

With the sounds of fireworks still reverberating in our ears, it seemed appropriate that I should select for my next project a lighthouse location originally identified by George Washington himself!

Washington was only twenty-five years old when he rode from Virginia north through Long Island, New York, and came across two likely sites for a future light station: Montauk and Horton Point. In 1790, now-President Washington commissioned the construction of the lighthouses, but while Montauk was soon operational, it wouldn't be until 1855 that sufficient land was acquired by the government for the Horton Point lighthouse pictured here. The lighthouse was completed in 1857 for the princely sum of $7,500, with a fixed white light as its nighttime identification.

By 1932, however, it was decommissioned and a new optic light was installed atop a skeletal steel tower constructed on the bluff overlooking Long Island Sound. Between 1941 and 1950, the original tower was used as an observation post by the Army, Coast Guard and civil defense personnel. It fell victim to vandalism during the 1960s, but was luckily rescued by the Southold Historical Society. The skeletal tower was dismantled, the original structure was renovated extensively, and the Horton Point lighthouse was re-commissioned in 1990 with a flashing green modern optic as its identification. The historical society continues to operate a nautical museum in its first floor and basement.

I'll start working on the white tower and keeper's house first, then forge ahead with the sky and rest of the scenery.

Happy Fourth of July!

It's the 233rd birthday of the United States, and a time for celebration!

The "Fourth of July" doorway pictured here was not a figment of my imagination: it's actually someone's doorway! A few years ago, a needlework shop invited attendees to its annual needlepoint retreat to submit photos of their doorways for me to convert to needlepoint canvas. When I saw this doorway, I fell in love! And luckily, the proud owner was happy to give me permission to market it after the retreat.

The main part of this doorway was stitched in DMC cotton floss and #5 perle cotton. The bunting was stitched with Silk & Ivory; Sheep's Silk, in a Nobuko stitch, formed the grass. The cat was stitched with black Petite Very Velvet, white Medici, and DMC cotton floss yellow eyes, just like the original!

One of my favorite parts of this design are the two urns of geraniums flanking the door, created with mounds and mounds of French knots in two shades of DMC floss to create more of a 3-D effect. The urns themselves were first padded with a basketweave of floss before adding the top layer of satin stitches in DMC perle cotton.