Mediterranean Squares Update II

Well I've blocked in a few more squares of this new design.  I do have a value sketch and my thread palette but it seems to work best for me to work back and forth, in different areas of the canvas, balancing the thread textures and colors as I proceed.  That's why you see so many unfinished areas......I work just enough to feel fairly confident about the desired effect before I move on to the next area. 

I've never talked about the scale of this design, but as shown it is about 9" square but I intend to add a border which will increase the overall size to 10" square. 

I hate to put this project aside for awhile as it is really fun to work on but I need to work on my next year's columns in the ANG magazine Needle Pointers.  Then there will be another delay while I begin my final proposal design for submittals in January.  I have decided on the range of colors and have set aside a large bin which is fast filling up with threads of every description, including a knitting thread I plan to spritz with several Adirondack Colorwash.  

So, I'll be back soon, hopefully with some fun photos to post of an afternoon's experiments with paint and thread.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

STITCHERS RETREAT

Claire and I are excited to announce the details of our nextwhich is only 3-1/2 months away. All who attended our first retreat in late September loved the location, hotel and food....not to mention the chance to have time away to relax, stitch, enjoy chatting with friends, old and new.

This time around we've decided to have the same format but I will be designing a mini project as optional stitching. It's happening in Los Gatos (San Francisco Bay Area) on February 27th through March 1st, 2009, so be sure to view our Retreat Page for more details.

The first day of the Safari Pilot was Thursday and was a fun day in a beautiful setting. The second and final class is this Thursday so I've been busy doing minor revisions to the instruction book before shipping off the kits to my ghost pilot stitchers. I was very excited to finally receive a thread shipment I had been waiting on since September 17th...from England. We think the first package is still probably languishing in customs somewhere but Stef Francis was great and sent a replacement package and this one arrive in 8 days. This package included the very last thread needed to complete Safari! Whew!

I've still been stitching most evenings this week on Mediterranean Squares and plan to post an update in two or three days.  It's been a real study of how colors advance and recede and how to use texture to create depth.   More to follow.

Now I must return to marking canvases to ship. Wishing all a great rest of the weekend!

Mediterranean Squares Update I

I've been slowly stitching on this new squares design between trying to finish up the instructions and canvases for the Safari pilot starting Thursday. I'm blocking in and balancing the colors as I go. On my first Squares entry on October 26th I included a photo of a group of threads and colors I had selected for my next square. The resulting square is completed and located just below and to left of center. And there are three other squares in various stages of completion.

You might also be wondering how many threads I am planning to use? Well, so far I have 18 or 20 different threads colors, while using about 10 to 12 different thread types/brands. That means the colors are fairly set but I will probably about around 8 to 10 more shades, etc. before completing the design.

I have a gray-scale sketch of about 3 inches square to use as a reference. It includes notes on stitches and possible thread combinations I think might work. It also has the major stitch/dividing lines and shapes blocked in within each square. But, it's all subject to change.

I think of squares/tiles/library floors while working on this design. Library floors you ask? Well, I visualize looking down on a tile floor, from.... let's call it the mezzanine, and ask myself.....does this stand on its own?

There are many references in books on architecture which reference floors of all sizes, including ballrooms, rotundas, large and small entry ways, etc. And when you add the references for church architecture, etc, the topic of Mediterranean Squares (Tiles) alone could be my recurring theme for quite some time.

More stitching to come.