Gold Progress . . .

As the weathermen tell us that snow is supposed to be falling, I'm stitching!  We seemed to be in the hole on the radar screen where it was snowing everywhere around us but not in our yard.  We finally got just a bit of a dusting!

I'm reworking the layout.  As you can see, the left side is bit edited and more linear.  The right side needs reworking.  It seems a bit cluttered to me right now.  It is so interesting how you can see so much more when you take a photo and then look at the photo then in real life.  An example of this is the leaf sprig on the right side that I've couched with smooth passing.  It was supposed to be pointing down and not up- oops!  I don't dislike it.  Right now it just seems a bit odd to me, but I'll work it out.  I'm quite excited about the progress so far!  Cannot wait to see Leslie wearing it!  I hope she likes it.  I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit nervous as she has really left this up to me other than requesting gold and floral.

Back to Gold ! ! !

I have an amazing friend, Leslie, who is getting married in March.  Her wedding is ivory and gold, so she's asked me to embroider a belt for her to wear with her wedding dress.  Very excited to be back to gold for just a bit!

To start, I decided to use lace as the base as she preferred a floral design to a geometric one.  I also had some amazing French Chantilly lace that I had bought on Berwick Street 3-4 years ago in London.  It is some of the most beautiful Chantilly lace that I've seen and I've been waiting for a special project to use it for!  I cut the individual motifs out and then laid them out in the pattern I wanted on silk organza.  

Next, I decided on materials.  I've decided to mix the gold threads and wires with Japanese glass beads (the nice Aiko gilt ones) and Swarovski crystals in clear and champagne tones.  I wanted to play with the light that reflects off the belt and I also wanted to lighten the gold up a bit.  I didn't want it to feel too heavy and stiff.  With this in mind, my plan is to do each flower with a gold outline and a slightly different filling of beads, crystals, and chipping.  

 

When to Say When . . .

Possibly one of the hardest things for me is figuring out when to call it on a project.

I filled the small bits that I had left with button hole stitch filling in the lightest blue.  I'm not certain that I like it, but I also don't necessarily dislike it.  Part of the problem is I'm not terribly fond of the left leaf in general.  The right left was better planned to be honest.  I knew which techniques at the beginning I wanted on that leaf when I was sketching.  However the leaf on the left has been more flexible as I have been deciding the techniques as I go. The other possibility is that with the leaf on the right I completed it first in Durham when I was on my intensive.  The leaf on the left I have worked at home--leaving room and time for changing my mind and second guessing myself.  

Anyways, maybe I'm done or maybe I might add something else.  I kind of want to do something on top of the running stitch background of the 3 sections of the left leaf, but then do I need to?  I don't know.  Something just feels like it's missing or not finished.  Or maybe I've just been working on it for so long that I cannot objectively call it quits on this one.  Anyways, another bit done!