And on to the next thing

And the next thing is ................................. blackwork. As I said, I know nothing about this.

I have chosen as my image a Leonardo sketch of a grumpy old man, although I bet he was handsome when he was young!

So far all I have done is put the linen onto the frame and marked up key features by stitching through a tissue paper copy of the image in a very pale thread. 

I have had a bit of a practice at the stitches. The actual stitches are simple, but they build up into quite complex patterns and need to be carefully counted.

I'm pretty vague about how the shading works! Wish me luck.

The finished piece!

Well here he is, back from assessment and looking full of himself. It must be a he - it's so flashy!

I really enjoyed silk shading this time round. When I did my certificate piece I really wasn't too sure about it, but now I know - it's fun!

Anyway. On to the next project. It is blackwork. I have never done anything like this before and have no idea how it is going to work. I end up putting my trust in Tracy.

I will post a picture of the prepared linen when I have finished  the preparation so far and before I go back to Durham on Tuesday.

Made it!

Well, he is finished. All done and dusted and mounted, ready for assessment in August. I really like the finished piece (and I always love to see a piece mounted - it seems to add depth and I don't know what but something magical). I also really enjoyed the process of doing it. The rhythm of colours and trying to get smooth sweeps around curves. I think that silk shading is my favourite technique so far, which is strange because I really didn't enjoy it when I did the Certificate course.

Unfortunately I will not have a photograph of my kingfisher until I get the piece back in September. By then he might have got over his measles (I never realised that kingfishers were quite that spotty).

So near and yet so far!

Well, it's been another long gap. I blame the glorious weather, we don't get so much that we can afford to stay in doors when the sun does eventually shine.

To Durham yesterday. It was good to see Pippa's Baldishol tapestry (Saves9) in the flesh. It looks even better than the photographs, much more vivid and textured. Nice to see you Pippa!

I made good progress with the feathers on the head and Tracy came up with a solution for all the spots on the head. So it's just a last big push this week and next to get this piece ready for assessment.

Almost there.

The neck/throat is a tricky bit. There are feathers going in all sorts of directions and so close attention to a good photograph is absolutely essential. I looked at the beak again and calmed it down a bit with some grey and I think that it looks better. The last push is to do a very spotty head and the final join to the neck. Right now there are a few tentative stitches in on the left of the neck, but lets see what happens. Overall I think that he is handsome, but then - I am biased.

Headless no more!

The local fish feel threatened now! I have to admit that I don't like that beak and just may take it out. But it's the old thing, you don't know until you try. it also may look different when the beak is a bit more attached to the body. I really hadn't realised how disproportionately HUGE a kingfisher's beak is.
There is just a tiny patch of wing to finish and then onto the head.

Don't do what I have done!

It is a really bad idea to leave a piece of work for several weeks without touching it! It has taken a long time to get my eyes re-tuned in to the colours I am using. 
Tracy helped me to get the curve on the wing yesterday and I am really pleased with how it looks. Blending the colours and the stitch direction from the wing to the body will require a fair bit of stitching and unstitching I think.

Anyway, I head back to Durham tomorrow, so I had better get some more stitching done.

Off to Scotland

We are off to Scotland for a few weeks, so this is a record of how the kingfisher looks before we leave. Actually I'm a bit phased by the prospect of blending the wing to the back, so I have stalled a bit. I will gather courage whilst away and move on up the body a bit before my next trip to Durham.
I hope that you like the photograph. It's definitely better I think.

Did you know that kingfishers have spots?

Well they do! In some areas every feather has a spot of turquoise/blue and, right now, that's what I am working on. I really like this bit, the feathers have definition and spots are fun. Still, I'm running out of time and will need some more time with Tracy to get this finished.

Magic Stitches

Well, I was full of despair, but Tracy managed to transform my ruffled feathers! How does she do it with half a dozen well placed stitches? So I am back on track and now starting all the small feathers with vivid spots in the middle. I have a busy few weeks before going off to Scotland for four weeks, so what doesn't get done in the next week or so will have to wait. I hate breaking off in the middle of things but there really is no choice - a slate frame is a frightening bit of kit to move about.

Woe is me, for I am undone ........... or I will be soon!

It was one of those days. Every stitch went in and out several times - and still it was wrong! Now the dilemma is whether to take out the last 3 feathers and try yet again, or to hope for Tracy's "magic stitches". I'm off away for the weekend so I will see what it looks like when I get back.

Feathers'r'us

Another day with Tracy working on those feathers! Trying to make them look separate and layered is difficult - double split stitch and careful colouring make a difference I think. Anyway I have loads more to do before I go back to Durham. I may be a bit feathered out within two weeks.

A tale of tail feathers

Ok, not sure about this bit. Doing the tail feathers is kind of complicated - which one is on top of which one? In other words where should the split stitching go? I don't think that I have it right, but you never know.

I think that the log is about finished, but I'm not too confident about that foot!

I am enjoying this a whole lot more than I enjoyed my Certificate piece. I think that I feel a bit more in control! Maybe I should find a picture of my Certificate piece and put it on here for comparison.

Now it's a bit better!

Don't you love it when things are working? Yesterday I happily sat and stitched away - I'm sure that it is the calming effect of blue.

I'm pleased with how it is going, now I have 2 weeks to wreck it in before Tracy sorts me out again!

I think that photograph is better, what do you think?

What a difference a day makes!

I really haven't worked on this much since I last went to Durham.

You will have to forgive the varied colour of the background fabric - I just can't get a true colour for it. It's actually a murky dark greeny-khaki. Sound attractive? If you think of muddy ponds you would be about right!

Anyway this is what it looked like yesterday morning. I'm pleased with the top/middle part of the breast, but it took Tracy's help to get the bottom bit looking right.

And here is yesterday evening. The breast almost finished and the blues chosen and started. I need to get the feet done today because I'm heading back to Durham tomorrow, although by the look of the snow .............

Getting started on Advanced silk shading

 This is the start of a long process.

The final product will be a Kingfisher, mainly because I love the colours.

Thank goodness Tracy knows what she is doing.