Adding some color

Jane Seymour now has sleeves and an underdress.

These areas were worked in a framed mosaic stitch with three plies of DMC cotton floss #920, a pretty close match to the color in the Hans Holbein portrait.

Besides its diminutive size, the framed mosaic stitch offers additional flexibility when working with even- and odd-count thread areas.  The sleeves, for instance, are eight canvas threads deep, while the underdress is an odd number in width.

I added some "gems" to Jane's necklace and waist medallion in cross stitches using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #3503.

Not-so-plain Jane

A feature of Jane Seymour's costume that I found particularly attractive in portraits of her was the stole she wore over her court dress.  The same design was used to trim the front of the dress.

To replicate this patterned material, I worked both areas in a double stitch with Impressions #1139.  The first pass of this stitch, essentially a series of oblong cross stitches over two threads, leaves a hole that is then filled in with a single cross stitch with the same thread.  Instead, I filled in the holes with a tent stitch using Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002.  The left side of the trim has been worked in the first pass only to show how the pattern is established.

Using the same Kreinik metallic, I worked a stem stitch around her neckline and the little locket hanging from a chain.  Braided knitting forms the cuff at her wrists and the edging of her overdress.  The medallion hanging from her waist was worked in a satin stitch.  The trim along the edge of her sleeves was formed with individual cross stitches using DMC floss Blanc and #310.

On to the sleeves and underdress!

Another wife for Henry

While the Anne Boleyn canvas takes a back seat, awaiting a trip to my LNS for more supplies, I've begun work on Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife.  This design was based on two portraits I found, one called the Dynasty Portrait by Hans Holbein and the other The Family of Henry VIII by an unknown artist.  Both works are in the royal collection at Hampton Court Palace.

Unlike her predecessor, who favored a headdress in the style known as a French hood, Jane wears an English gabled hood.  The portion framing her face was stitched with Petite Very Velvet V643 with a veil of black PVV.  Her hair was stitched with two strands of Burmilana and her face, neck and hands in DMC cotton floss.

Right now, poor Jane is looking a little plain with solid blocks of color for her court dress.  But I have plans for filling in those areas, so stay tuned!

Anne Boleyn--Part Three

Anne Boleyn has a dress now, filled in with Vineyard Silk Classic "Lipstick" in the Nobuko stitch.  Her underskirt was worked with three strands of white DMC floss in an oblong cross stitch.

A word about scale:  at four and one-half inches high, these cylindrical ornaments fall in the category of "smalls."  As such, they call for stitches which are small in scale.  Court dresses worn during the time of Henry VIII were constructed with very elaborate and heavily-patterned materials.  By using small patterned stitches, like Nobuko and oblong cross, you can simulate the weave of a fabric without overwhelming the small figure.

I've got a lot more work to do on this canvas, and need to make a trip to my LNS for more supplies.  So in the interest of progress, I will start work on another wife for which I have most of the threads.

Anne Boleyn--Part Two

Work on Anne Boleyn's dress began at the neckline, outlined in stem stitch with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 and filled in with black Petite Very Velvet every other stitch.  The same threads and stitches were repeated for the cording at her waist.

Her arms were worked in consecutive slanted Gobelin stitches over two threads with Vineyard Silk Classic "Lipstick" with more stem stitch banding at her wrists.

The bodice and train were stitched with more VSC Lipstick and Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #005, with tent stitches outside the ovals and satin stitch inside.  I then outlined the train in gold Kreinik metallic with slanted Gobelin stittches over two threads.  When designing cylindrical ornaments, I like to add a visual element to the back of the design since I've never met one that hung perfectly plumb on a Christmas tree, regardless of the skill of the finisher!

The Tudor Challenge

Just before Christmas, I was talking to the owner of my LNS, who mentioned he needed two lighthouse canvases and a Henry VIII cylindrical ornament canvas.  He'd evidently sold the Henry he purchased some time ago and wanted one for himself.  And, he said with a twinkle in his eye, if I wanted to work up designs for Henry's six wives, he'd take those, too.

Mind you, I haven't designed a cylindrical ornament in ages--I worked up Henry himself 15 years ago--but the thought was intriguing and the subject matter right up my Anglophile alley.  So I started researching online to see what kinds of images were available--I wanted to be sure I could come up with six designs, each with its own personality indicative of the character portrayed.  The portraits I found were promising, and I accepted the Tudor Challenge!

First up here is Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife, sporting her famous pearls and "B" necklace and holding a Tudor rose.  I've jump-started stitching her headdress, since I didn't want to bore anyone working a lot of basketweave in black Petite Very Velvet.  It's in the style she favored called a French hood.  The hood is actually constructed in two parts:  a piece of stiffened material forming a tiara, worn over a veil of either satin, taffeta or velvet.  Kreinik #12 tapestry braid #002 outlines the tiara section in a stem stitch.

My research revealed Anne had a dark complexion, dark hair and eyes so dark a brown to sometimes appear black.  Her hair was worked in Burmilana and her face in DMC cotton floss.  So far, so good--I'll be back when I've finished stitching some of her dress.

Good things come to he who waits

Remember the photo at left from 2011?  I had blog-stitched a Baltimore rowhouse based on plans DH had made for his model railroad.  Finally--over the holidays, he finished this section of his layout, with not one but three rowhouses!

Mind you, DH is an old-world craftsman, scratch-building all his structures, then creating roads and a backdrop in which to place them.  Cars of the period (circa 1950), people, lamp posts and trees are added.  Finally--argh--he "weathers" them to make them dirty so they look real.  Certainly this isn't something needlepointers would ascribe to, but hey, this is model railroading at its best!

I've been working on a bunch of things since I last blogged, and hope to be able to show something for myself soon.  But I promised to show his finished magnum opus when it was finished, and I think you'll agree the wait was worth it!  See why the two of us rub along so well?