MC Design Step 1 Done

I figured out how to do the center. Once I got that in, the beads on the leaf looked fine, so I added more; and on all the leaves as well. Then I decided that the rest of the flowers needed more beads also. So this is the final version - once I made myself stop "enhancing" it.

I need to start writing the essay - as the library books I checked out for this project are due.

MC Design Step 1 with Beads

I've added the beads to the piece. I'm not sure about the beads on the leaf (on the upper left quadrant). When I first put them in I didn't like it, but with the rest of the beads in it may be ok - they counter the swirl of the purple beads. I'm letting it gel a bit before deciding whether to add more beads to the leaves or to take them out.

Maybe after I finish the center (which I still haven't figured out what to do) I'll think about the leaf beads again...

The original design has 2 rows  on each leaf.

MC Design Step 1

Most of the stitching is done, I'll work on the finishing touches next.  Since I still have not decided what to do about the center, I want to get a picture at this juncture in case I need to back off...

Master Craftsman Design

Now that I have completed MC in Color, I am going for MC in Design. Step 1 is to use a motif to design a pattern. I went through a few ideas along the way; I was ready to paint the background for this brick wall design:

And then I found this one - based on a 16th century Islamic Iznik plate.  As soon I saw it I knew it is "the one".

On Dupioni Silk, so far:

 

Wedding Ornament

I made a (belated) ornament for my friend's daughter's wedding.

Gatsby has been framed - a contemporary white frame, white mat, with a white fillet. After all, it's whitework!  Note: the white turned out blue in the photo, but I'm too lazy to do color correction.

Gatsby Done

It turned out to be more difficult than I imagined, judging by how many times I had to rip and re-stitch a section. It turned out well; I prefer not adding most of the outlines as specified by the instructions. Here's the original for comparison.
As usual I'll sit on it and see if it needs "enhancements". I'm considering adding a color backing behind the eyelet stitches - but the rest of the piece needs to be backed with white. I'll see if I can make that work. Considering a frame now.

More Gatsby, Tools

Getting closer to done!

Let me talk about tools that I usually use, and especially for this piece:

I will use the circle template to re-draw the circles with the Pilot Frixion Pen. When I finish stitching, the outline is erasable using the Clover mini iron. If I accidentally erased the outline with the iron, I can bring it back by sticking the whole piece in the freezer for a couple of hours. Pretty neat!

Before:

 Outline gone:

Wishing You a Happy New Year from Gatsby

The new stitch I learned for Whitework is the eyelet stitch - it's a lot of fun poking a large hole in the fabric, except I have to re-stretch the fabric to be drum tight after that. Well there are a lot of eyelet stitches coming.

I tried using a lighter color for the beads background but it turns out the black looks the best, and balances the eye lashes,

The floche which are the padded work in progress is difficult to lay smooth; it is not tightly twisted so the stitches can turn out different.