I'm looking forward to getting this project done so I can finally get back to my other projects.
Speaking of other projects - I left off yesterday with my run down of WIPs and UFOs. The WIPs are all listed out, but I don't really have any UFOs, I guess. Unless I count Stitching the Standard as a UFO, since I started it years ago. But once I get CG done, StS will be back in the rotation. So, I dunno.
Patterns in the "basket" to get started - way too many. At first I was going to list them, but then decided it was pointless and I would feel like a failure lol. Though I do have a little project list that I have prioritized and I'm going to try to keep to that as much as possible.
So, let's talk about details on the CG project.
She's being stitched on 36 count white chocolate linen. The chart calls for some DMC colors (white, black, 610, 3046, 3045 and 3371). Beyond those, you get to pick - I'm using Dinky Dyes silk floss.
Dark Green: 189 Evergreen
Medium Green: 162 Pindi
Pale Green: 195 Mulga
Floral Color 1: 143 Lost Gold
Floral Color 2: 83 Peach Melba
Floral Color 3: 146 Mingenew
Floral Color 4: 134 Shark Bay
Floral Color 5: 144 Aussie Dawn
Floral Color 6: 199 Choco-Cherry
Floral Color 7: 54 Ningaloo
Floral Color 8: 82 Whitsundays
Metallic Thread*
Bead 1: Bead Treasures CZ174 Silver lined red from Hobby Lobby
Bead 2: Bead Treasures CZ182 Purple/Aqua from Hobby Lobby
* Metallic Thread and issues with it
When I first started the project, I bought all the threads locally. I was I hot mess about wanting to get it started and I knew I hated working with DMC metallics but that's pretty much the only thing I could find locally. I had never stitched with RG Petite Treasure Braid before so I didn't even know what the thread looks like much less how it would work with my project. Plus I would have to special order it. Not great for instant start. So I trotted down to Hobby Lobby to see what they had.
I found a pack of metallics there in which resided a spool of a kind of flat thread that was shot through with all kinds of colors on it. I suspect it was intended as a blending filament. I really liked the look of it on the spool and decided to buy it. They also have another brand of thread, by Artiste, and there was quite a selection of metallics. They felt an awful lot like the DMC metallics but I thought perhaps maybe possibly Artiste might stitch up better than DMC. So I bought a couple of selections of color.
I stitched the center part of the design using the filament metallic and it had an interesting effect, but I wasn't enthused about it. I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. And it's a PITA to stitch with. So I decided to try the Artiste brand, specifically the color called Kaleidoscope. It's also a kind of variegated thread. I like the look of it, but OMG, it's a bloody nightmare to stitch with! But I stuck with it.
Then, later down the road I happened to notice a LNS carries a small selection of Petite Treasure Braid, and they had a color that was somewhat similar to the Kaleidoscope. PB51 Brown. So I bought some and decided to try it on the fleur de lis finials on the blackwork gates. And I love love love it! And it's a lot easier to stitch with, too!
I'm lazy though, so I decided not to frog the other metallics. I don't mind the effect.
In the end, I think the design would have been better stitched with solid colors rather than with variegated. I don't love the look of it, but I definitely don't hate either. And it's fun to watch the colors change on the more varied threads. Perhaps that kind of thread would be better on a 28 count fabric instead, where the stitches are a bit bigger. It's definitely a learning experience, and a valuable one at that.
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