Saturday, May 31, 2008

Can't leave well enough alone!


The only trouble is I am definitely not sure that this is well enough to start with. After sleeping on it and spending the morning coming back to have another look I feel that I should do something -I have tried adding some of the blue contrast among the flower sprays. I am in two minds whether to pull out the French knots in the butterfly (I am not sure that butterfly is not the perfect example of a "sore thumb") and redo it in a noncontrasting colour and not in knots, or, whether to keep it as an example and stitch the design again - I tend to the latter as I really like the basic shape and would not mind trying it in different colours with a few minor changes.
Any thoughts , gentle reader?
Here is another scan in portrait mode and with the addition of a few blue knots. In portrait the pulled satin looks loads better as well. What a learning experience!

9 comments:

Paula Hewitt said...

you twit :). it looked great as it was. although the addition of some blue buds look nice too. dont unpick it. do it again with different colours, and perhaps thread painted wings a'la Trish Burr(good practise for your redoute flower)

Unknown said...

I like it in portrait and the touches of blue round the flowers are lovely. I really like the flower shapes too. I also think maybe doing another to experiment with different colours and a different stitch for the butterfly might be more satisfying in the end

MeganH said...

I think that the blue vs the orange/red colours looks lovely. And the contrast of the relative smoothing of the flowers vs the 'bubbliness' of the butterfly from the french knots.

I would say - the butterfly needs to move down a bit from the vine so the design has a bit more room to 'breathe' :-)

Meg in Tennessee said...

I do like this piece and I think the blue is a nice contrast. The only change I might make, if I was of a mind to make any, might be to take away the black in the butterful and use a darker blue in its place. The black might just be a tad harsh. I like the overall shape also.

Deb said...

Maggie: You asked for comments on stitchin' fingers, so here goes.
I actually quite like your design and what you've done with it. You might try it again with short and long stitching on the butterfly. Texturally, I think the french knots may fight some with the flower textures and you could get some better color blending with short and long. You could create a little more movement for the eye by using those french knots for tiny flower centers, so they would draw the eye around the piece, rather than standing out as buds might do.
I really love the background and the way you did it. Did you weave the fabric yourself?
I also would not take it out, but use it as a basis for a series--either one more or even more to explore with some of the ideas given and others you come up with on the way.
It's a very nice piece. I thought so before I saw your request for comments.

Lisa Dunn said...

I think the butterfly is beautiful. I like the contrast between the blue and reds/pinks.

Paula Hewitt said...

constructive criticism 2. I agree that the black on the butterfly (and perhaps the french knots) makes it stand out too much - i think the colours work well, but it does dominate the flowers. And perhaps as Megan said - moving it out away from the vine. having looked again - i still like it, and thing you judge it too harshly!

Moonsilk Stitches said...

I think that just by changing from horizontal to vertical and adding more blue, you made some subtle improvements to the piece. I love the background and think it really complements the design. I certainly wouldn't rip it out!

I might, however, as someone else suggested, use it as the starting point for a second piece, incorporating the things you've learned from doing this and perhaps trying some new things. Marjorie

Susan Elliott said...

I just LOVE this piece of embroidery. I just found your blog through Carol Anne and your work is just beautiful. I prefer the red too!