Antique Mirror

I'm back to doing the Japanese embroidery piece - as Mary Alice is coming this weekend for a class. The chrysanthemums are done, the later ones look better than the earlier ones (the brown ones on the right side are the earliest ones)

The kikko on the other hand, was bad. According to the Susan Stevens book, she suggested using cardboard underneath to help define the edge, and flat silk in preference to twisted silk. According to the box chart, the kikko's should be padded with 8 strands of cotton, then stitched with twisted silk. After trying several variations and gotten to the point where I cannot re-stitch anymore without ruining it, I'm finally using an acid-free watercolor paper stock, then 4 strands of cotton padding on top, then twisted silk.

The first kikko was really badly stitched - although thankfully it doesn't look as bad as it really is; the twisted silk covers up a multitude of sins.

Hopefully after seeing everybody else's work in the upcoming JE class, I'll be inspired to do better and be less sloppy!