Blue Grid Building

I have been looking forward to stitching this building since it contains some of my favorite shades of blue.

The stitching started at the top with the roof.  A 4-ply Splendor S881 in an Upright Cross Stitch was chosen to give some texture as well as having easy compensation in the curved space.

I wanted the blue grid to give an impression of metal bars, so the chosen stitch needed to have some continuity.  Also, the vertical lines were not painted along the same thread and would have led to skewed and twisted bars, so some artistic license was taken to adjust the vertical lines.  Doing a Diagonal Gobelin would help create a sense of roundness.  The vertical area was stitched as one contiguous unit and the horizontal area was broken by the vertical bars.  The thread used was Silk Lame Braid SL15.  The fill area also used the same stitch using Flair F572.

The blue walls surrounding the window were very small areas so no detailed stitch could be used.  The Basketweave stitch in Pebbly Perle P52 for the yellow accent matched the Flair fill and the walls were done with 4-ply Splendor S929.

Since I wanted to get a better understanding of the pink and purple accents, I stitched the blue windows next.  The frames were done in Basketweave using Trebizond S10 Lapis (one of my favorite blues).  The windows were unequal in width, so the repeating theme of the Elongated Rice Stitch looks different in each window.  The shiny base was Soft Sheen Fyre Works FT36 and the overstitch was a 2-ply Splendor S965.  To avoid a misfitting compensated area, the tops of the windows were left with only the shiny thread appearing.

Now to do the pink and purple accents.  I wanted to unite both areas with some common color/thread that was done in a vertical pattern.  After hunting through my books, Jane Zimmerman's Canvas Embroidery Volume Two came thru again!  On page 86, I found an Oblong Cross Stitch variation.    These vertical threads were laid over every other column and the cross stitch would go on top.  Because of the thread weights, the entire space would be filled in and would also allow the 2-ply Gumnut Stars 179 to peak through.  The Gumnuts would become the unifying common thread. While laying the base, I discovered that the vertical lines were broken up by the shape of the accent areas.  To still have some curvature, I went down when the accent color ended and up when it started again, leaving the yellow wall untouched.  I also made sure that the total number of horizontal threads in a broken length was in units of 2 threads.  A complete cross stitch was 4 threads tall and a compensated cross stitch was only 2.  To insure that the stitched areas would not look ragged, I chose to do the thread counting.  This caused the shapes to not exactly follow the original design, but the concept was still followed.  The Cross Stitch was a tied and offset 2x4 cross unit, executed in diagonal rows as best as could be done in these awkward shapes.  The large Cross Stitch was 2 threads wide and 4 threads high, with a small Cross Stitch over the intersecting threads.  The laid lines served as the base for the Cross Stitch.  Splendor in a 2-ply was used for the Cross Stitch.  The pink was S845 and the purple was S1145.

Finally the yellow wall was stitched.  As I was starting in the top right area, I noticed a space for a small architectural accent.  A Smyrna Stitch in 4-ply Splendor S909 fit perfectly.  The rest of the wall was stitched using the random length Split Gobelin stitch going from top to bottom.  (See earlier posts for further insight.)

And the stitch guide

Lower Left Building

A major section is now stitched!  There was so much detail in the lower left corner and the structures were hard to separate visually, but it is now stitched.

Lots of details, but some straightforward design choices.  The first area was the blue and green stripe done in a satin stitch with 6-ply threads.  The green is done in Splendor S1139, while the blue is in Threadworx 010241.  The latter thread has some variegation in the dye design.  To avoid a striped appearance, 3 plies were reversed and then combined with the remaining three threads when threading the needle.

The green center section was stitched next.  The window detail was the start point.  For the shiny thread, Frosty Rays #Y360 in the elongated cross-stitch, and a 1-ply Splendor #S1145 was used as the rice stitch topping.  The dark green columns presented a problem: the columns should appear straight, but they were painted on a slant, so the stitch choice would be critical to create a straight object.  To repeat the dark green thread from earlier section, the Silk Serica 4036 was used for a Reverse Angled Gobelin.  Instead of doing an upright gobelin, the slant was from upper left to lower right over 1 thread and dropping lower by one thread for each stripe.  To allow the room for the fill thread (Kreinik #8 fine braid in color 085), a blank row was left before stitching the next Silk Serica row.  The fill stitch is a reverse basketweave.  The light green background was done in Splendor S1139 in a split gobelin with random lengths to create an illusion of stucco.  To have a smoother stitch, the needle comes up at the top and goes down at the bottom and also leaves a smaller puncture hole.

The door allowed for some creativity.  The white stripe was essential to help separate the two doors and was done in Elegance E800 as a basketweave.  The starting point was placed equidistant between the two door edges to make sure that each side was the same size.  Soft Sheen Fyre Works FT26 was used in gobelin over two threads.  The stitching was started at the bottom to allow for any needed compensation to be done at the top.  If the compensation was done at the bottom, the pattern rhythm could potentially be disrupted if there was not enough room for a complete row to be done.  The door handles were done in a straight stitch in Kreink #4 very fine braid 005 with tacks used where the curves occur.

The dark green walls in the lower right were stitched in Silk Serica #4036.  Because of the weight and texture of this thread, the simplicity of the basketweave stitch was all that was needed to allow the thread to shine.  Since the yellow windows were very narrow, Flair #F572 in a horizontal gobelin was used.  The window frames were also stitched in basketweave using a 4-ply Splendor S1145.

The blue and purple wall has some detail areas at the top and bottom.  Since architecture frequently has some raised decorative elements, to mimic that idea, the blue scallop area at the bottom was stitched using a buttonhole stitch done in an upright manner.  All of the threads were vertical with the edging following the scallop's curve.  The thread chosen was the Silk Lame Braid in 18 count SL15 has a fine weight with some sheen without creating a lot of bulk in this accent area.

I wanted to repeat the scallop feel of the bottom band in the upper blue band. I used this stitch diagram for this area. The heavy blue lines were done in a 6-ply Threadworx 010241 and the Silk Lame Braid SL15 was repeated as the fill. These thread choices connected back to the other blue wall areas.

The blue and purple wall was stitched in the same format as the blue and green wall using Threadworx 010241 and Splendor S827, both in 6-ply.

Now that all of the detail areas are stitched, the purple circle's purpose within the building appears to be a dome for the green column.  To create an illusion of a round 3-dimensional object, a Double Diagonal mosaic variation using a 4-ply Splendor S881 and a 3-ply accent of Accentuate 140.






The stitch guide for the Lower Left Building

The current progress....

Green stripe building

This building in the lower left corner group was very tricky to interpret.  After staring at the design, I determined that the purple object in the middle of the green stripe was a window and there was a round roof at the top of the green stripes.

I thought that accentuating the green stripes by outlining would be good idea.

However, after stitching the outlines, there was no room left to create the columns and they were bent in strange places!  So the chorus of "rip-it, rip-it" was heard,  creating this result.




Now that there was room, a stitch was needed that would create a sense of a column in the dark green areas.  The books led me to using a Reverse Angled Gobelin in Silk Serica 4036. The reverse angle means stitching in the opposite slant of the finished stripe.  The stripe appeared to be going top left to bottom right and the slant of the thread was in the same direction.  This was stitched over 1 thread wide and 4 threads high and skipping a row before starting the next row to create room for the reverse basketweave fill in Kreink #8 braid 085.  The columns had a barber-shop stripe of the two threads.

The light green stripe was stitched like the ZigZag Tower in 4-ply Splendor using a split gobelin with random length stitches and stitching from top to bottom.  The progress of the random stitches is shown above.

The purple window was stitched in the same manner as the previous windows.  Frosty Rays Y360 for the elongated x-stitch and 1-ply Splendor S1145 for the rice stitch.

The painted canvas showed a white stripe on the door.  I imagined that to be the separation of the two doors and stitched it in Elegance E800 in basketweave.  For the door itself, Fyre Works in FT26 (soft sheen) was used for a gobelin over 2 rows.  The stitch was started at the bottom to allow for any possible compensation at the top of the door where it was more realistic.

The door handles were done as a straight stitch in Kreinik very fine #4 braid 005.  To create the curve, small thread tacks were applied where the curves occur.

The purple dome called for a rounded effect.  A double diagonal mosaic variation was used.  The chart will be placed here.  This was a fun stitch to do in 4-ply Splendor S881 and 3-ply of Accentuate 140 as the accent.

And the green stripe building stitched:

Yellow CurleyCue Building

Finished another building!!  This one is named for its interior.

I started with the dome area and wanted to emphasize its rounded appearance.  To achieve this effect, Splendor (S1139 and S875) in 6 ply was used  in a horizontal gobelin stitch for the middle 3 stripes.  The two outer stripes were slanted by 1 thread moving upwards towards the outer edge.  More clearly, the left stripe went bottom right to top left over 1 thread and the right stripe went bottom left to top right.  This helped create the round effect.

The background of the center area was done in a 6-ply Brick over 4 threads using Splendor S909 stopping at the black interior design.  The yellow interior continued with the same thread in a 4-ply basketweave being very careful to leave the black design exposed.  I wanted the design to lay even in depth with the background and not sit atop other stitching.

The interior design was tricky to stitch and I made sure that I was awake because it required attention.  Kreinik very fine braid #4 in color 005 was used with a #24 needle to avoid creating large holes in the canvas.  Since there was a specific design shape painted, a modified Jean Hilton Crescent stitch was used.  Modified since the needle placement was not every other hole, but based upon where the design was taking shape.  Like the Crescent stitch, all holes were used twice and the stitch lengths varied to accept the curve shape.  The shapes are irregular, small and working with shiny thread made this whole experience a challenge with lots of needed concentration.

The exterior design was a breeze using a chain stitch.  Each chain started on the sides and followed the painted lines.  Therefore, there are 4 separate starting points for the chains.  For the chains on the left, the upper chain went towards the top and the lower chain went towards the bottom.  The chains on the right were mirror images.

And here is the stitch guide...

Beginning the Curley Q Building

I have been studying this space for quite awhile to determine the best stitch for the Curley Q's.  While studying my version of the Jean Hilton sampler, the "aha" moment arrived with a solution.  Use the crescent stitch in a fine thread.  Before stitching it on the actual canvas, a test was needed.  Out comes the practice scrim and here is the result:

Now to stitch the background for the Curley Q Building.  Since it is a building, the idea of using a brick stitch seemed appropriate.  Splendor was the thread of choice since it will give a nice smooth finish and lays easily.  The brick stitch was done over 4 threads in 6-ply just in the area outside of the Curley Q, leaving the black outline exposed.  For the interior of the Curley Q, a basketweave was the only choice since it is a very small area.  This was done in a 4-ply.  In order to see where the crescent stitch should be placed, all of the black outline was left exposed.  Here is the work in progress and the next entry will detail the stitching of the Curley Q.

Purple Yellow Zigzag Building

Trying to get back on a stitching routine.  We now have a new update!! I finally get to move the rollers and am now working on the left panel.  After spending so much time on the block building, the zigzag building had similar colors and became the starting point.

The arch was the easiest place to begin using Splendor and Renaissance Designs Sprinkles in a basketweave.  I just love the sparkle of the Sprinkles thread!  The window detail became the next spot.  The frame was done in basketweave with a 4-ply Splendor.  The window was a more difficult area.  I wanted to continue the pattern of some shine coming thru the window and the challenge was the unusual shape with very dark colors.  Previously, a horizontal elongated rice stitch was used but it would not completely fill this area.  To fill in the extra area at the top, a elongated cross stitch was used.  Because this is such a small area, only flecks of shine would appear and a magnifying glass would be needed to see the detail.

  

Using the actual photo, the stitches are noted on the right window and a diagram is charted on graph paper.

The zigzags were next.  Neon rays adds a nice sheen and Splendor in 6-ply is a soft contrast.  Some adjustments were made in stitch placement to assure that a zig would have a point.  I guess this is artistic license. 

For the door, a framed mosaic was chosen.  Starting at the bottom of the door to make sure that the blocks would be even, the frame was started.  Because of the count, there were two frames that met in the middle, creating a double row.  At the top of the door, when there was no more room to add a complete mosaic stitch, basketweave was used as the fill.  For the mosaic stitches, the blocks in the left column slanted // and were reversed  to \\ for the right column.  This was just to make the detail a little more interesting.

The finished building:

And the stitch guide:

Right panel done!!

Whew! I finally finished the yellow and purple building!  This area took so much longer than I thought.  It was difficult to see the location of the stitches.  Maybe a magnifying lens could have helped.  The bug eye was indispensable to help see the details.

After stitching the blocks, the separation of the magenta and green in the arch needed to be clarified.  A backstitch was added between the two colors without adding bulk.  The top section of the building was also done in horizontal interlocking gobelin, but over 2 threads, not 4.  The idea was to continue with the stone appearance.  Using the smaller stitch gives an appearance of being a taller building.

The update:

The original painted canvas is on the left with the stitched panel on the right.

And the stitch guide: