Last weekend, I was thrilled to be within finishing distance of my current crewel embroidery project, The Crewel Rooster. Between me and the Finish were many, many French knots. But the Finish was in sight! And, oh, that delectable anticipation of Finally Reaching the End! But... you know. Things don't always work out the way we plan. Here's my week-later update on The Crewel Rooster, which isn't finished at all, and which still requires lots and lots of yucky knots. (See how my attitude has changed towards the French knot?!)
French knots are not really yucky, I suppose. I just under-estimated the time it takes to work that many French knots, and, as it turns out, I haven't had a lot of time for embroidery this week.
I have, however, moved on to the second flower and adjusted the color layout somewhat. I'm still using Renaissance Dyeing wools - wools dyed with pure vegetable dyes - and I'm really enjoying working with these threads. They're quite nice. The colors are the same used in the first crewel flower, but I've re-arranged the location of the colors on the various parts of the flower.
The stitching is the same - the buttonhole scallop around the outline of each petal, the petal filled with French knots, and then a detached buttonhole stitch worked around the very edge of the petals.
For the colors, though, I went with the mid to lighter tones on the scallops and the filling, and then the darkest tone as the "ruffle" around the outside of the scallops. The dark red will also be used for the stamens and the round things at the very top of the flower. I like this color layout better, personally. The dark on the very edges blends better with the buttonhole scallops, so the individual buttonhole stitches don't stand out as much, making the stitching look neater over all.
But, hey. That's just my opinion! What's yours?
I am determined to finish the rooster project this weekend, come hell or high water or even something more exciting, like a place to go or people to see. No, no! I shall be a hermit and git 'er done. It's time to move on to a new project. Multiple projects all at the same time, actually - but more about that later!
Enjoy your weekend! And keep your fingers crosses for me!
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