While it seems like so much of my stitching in the last number of months has been kept “secret” until I was ready to reveal (because it was stitching models for my own patterns), I realized the other day that I so could have been blogging about my current stitch project. For the past few weeks, I’ve taken the mental break from stitching my own designs (and keeping them secret) and have been working on a counted canvas work piece from Threedles a.k.a. Kurdy Biggs.
If you are unfamiliar with Kurdy’s work, I certainly suggest checking out her website or simply some Google Images searches. She packs a lot of sophisticated and complicated stitches into her designs and I have always loved the challenge of them. To my eye, however, there seems to be a little *too* much. A few years ago, I did one of her designs, called Cathedral, using my own color way. Instead of the multitude of colors as suggested, I simply eliminated that element and went with a blue and gold theme. A number of different threads and beads added a lot of texture and depth to the piece and it worked out exactly as I wanted it to – eliminate one element (variety in color) and the design spoke to me in new ways.
About a month ago, I was up for a certain kind of new challenge and I got it in my head that I wanted to do this again – take a complex Kurdy design and eliminate that factor of color and change it to my own color way. And so I have.
I chose to do the piece titled “A Different View,” found on her website in three different color ways.
This time I went with a red and gold version, using the same gold threads and beads as my other piece and stitching on the same ecru and gold 18 count canvas. I acquired about 7 different types of red threads to bring in the variety needed to attain that interest in texture and depth and just plunged right in. Decisions have been made as I have been going along, evolving patterns and plans with the threads, all helping to make a cohesive whole.
Here is where my piece is as of tonight, with nearly all the stitching complete. Just need to finish up that last octagon and then it will be on to the beading.
I’ve really enjoyed working on this and, in all honesty, will be sad when it is done!