Since I thought the filling on the leaves were complete, I started back with the stem stitch on the stem. I have to admit that the methodical packed stem stitch is a technique I find incredibly satisfying. It looks so lovely on the surface and it really enjoyable to stitch.
I chose to use darker greens because if you study the leaves of lily of the valley, you will see that the leaves are mainly fairly dark green with faint lines of lighter/more yellow green. I wanted that darkness reflected in this piece.
After I finishing the stems, I felt that the fillings on the leaves needed a bit of darkening. The darkness of the darkest green in the stem seemed to dull the subtle shading of the lighter greens in the fillings. I decided to go ahead and add in some darker greens while following the subtle gradient already defined in the lighter colors.
For the gold, I am using one of my current favorite metallic thread--DMC Diamant. Tracy Franklin introduced me to it when I took her Silk and Gold class in Williamsburg a few years ago and I love this thread! In all the metallic threads that I have used I think this one shreds the least. It is also a similar (though not exactly the same) line weight as the Appletons Wool I was using for the rest of the piece when it is stitched. It is also very helpful that it is pretty easy to get my hands on now too as a number of online stores stock it as well as Hobby Lobby.
There are a couple minor tweaks I'd like to make before I reveal the full final piece. I will post it shortly. In the meantime, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
this looks stunning. I can't wait to see the piece as a whole, but wow!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nicole!
DeleteOn this rather grim day - - it is just lovely to look at beautiful, interesting stitching - - and right out of the UFO collection too - - makes me want to explore what's in mine! Thank you for such a bright and happy post.
ReplyDelete