Friday 21 April 2017

April Gifted Gorgeousness

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone has had a good April so far and the weather is treating you well. It has been feeling very spring-like here, although we still had snow early this week. I am excited to start gardening and seeing everything turn green. 

Everything has been going well here. I have finished up the course requirement for my Master's degree and now will be focusing on my research and thesis. My partner's job has been going well and he has been busy with that. We are planning on getting a new-to-us vehicle and am looking forward to a bigger vehicle for hauling the canoe this summer. With the courses done I will also be having more of my evenings off and will be able to do more stitching! I have also been watching a lot of sports as baseball ramps up and the nhl playoffs have started (and finished for some). This first round is always fun, even though my team is out. 

Now on to stitching:

Go and see the other GG posts on Jo's blog to see the other projects that the group has worked on. A quick reminder that my two gift projects are the Kingfisher and the Coastal View. 

I have done a fair amount of work this last month, but I have not finished the Kingfisher yet. I am planning to have it done by the end of the month but I am not sure I am going to make it. I am also not sure how I feel about the backstitching on the bird. The model did not stitch it and the painting also did not have the black lines. I think that it looks alright but I am not sold and might pull it out and use a dark-ish blue instead. Any thoughts? How does it look to someone who has not stared at the piece for hours?

Here is the total piece at the end of page 2. I had not backstitched the bird yet:


And a  up-close of page 2 before and after the backstitching:











You can see how stark the black and white the backstitching is on the bird and I prefer a quieter backstitching for a nature piece. I will decide how it looks when the whole piece is done and I haven't looked at it for a couple of days. 


The other work that I have done is the Coastal view. I am almost done the path (on this page) and then I will do the backstitching and start on the buildings.  



This is a great travel projects and as the days get longer I get to do more stitching as we drive so it is getting more hours and is growing quickly. 

See everyone in a couple of weeks,

Bekah


16 comments:

  1. I like the idea of using dark blue for the backstitch, I often change my to a tonal shade rather than black.

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    1. I think that is a good idea, just to add detail without it having such a large contrast.

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  2. The kingfisher is looking great. I like the path in Coastal view. My team is still in the playoffs but if they don't get their act together they won't be for much longer.

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    1. The path has been an interesting part to stitch because it looks like nothing until all the stitches are in. The shade and shine of the stones is really well charted in this piece. I hope your team made it through :)

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  3. I think both look awesome - the coastal view path reminds me of the Cafe Terrace painting by Van Gogh that we have as a jigsaw puzzle :) and I see what you mean about the backstitching and like the comment above that mentions a tonal shade - these projects both look so suitable for the spring, too.

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    1. Thank you for the comment. I am really enjoying stitching on the lighter pieces as spring sets in here.

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  4. Hi Bekah lovely to find your blog. What beautiful projects. I don't know the painting but I think I prefer the bird without the backstitch. It looks softer and more like a painting. I hope this doesn't confuse the issue and you find a solution you're happy with!

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    1. Thank you for the comment and welcome to my blog :). I also like the softer look more and link that the backstitching is unnecessary in most of the bird as the feather outline is already clear.

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  5. Kingfisher is a stunning piece! I do prefer it without the backstitch but it is my own opinion. It has more of a painting look without it. Have fun with your little crosses ;)

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    1. I am glad that you like the piece! I agree that the piece looks more like a painting when the backstitching is not there. Odd considering backstitching usually adds detail to the piece.

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  6. The kingfisher is looking so lovely.I don't mind the backstithcing .

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    1. I am really enjoying the design so far and really like the blues in the bird itself. I will finish the whole piece and then see if I like the backstitching before deciding. It can be hard to tell when you are so up close to the piece and when you know what it is supposed to look like. Thank you for your comment :).

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  7. Beautiful work on both your pieces. I love the brickwork and the paving on Coastal View. That looks really effective. Great job!
    xo Alicia

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    1. Thank you for your lovely comment. The charting is really interesting in the piece as it is almost a repetitive pattern for the paving but not quite. It gives a 3 dimensional look to the piece that I really enjoy.

      xx.

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  8. Great stitching this month. They look beautiful.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by. I love the bright colours in both.

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