One of my stitching goals is to progress on a few class projects that have been languishing, most of them from 2011. I decided that the first project I will work on is Lord of Fire from Leigh Designs.
I bought this canvas in 2010 at Bedecked and Beadazzled while in Baltimore for a long weekend. Ruth Schmuff, the fabulous owner of the shop, told me that Brenda Hart was working on a stitch guide for the canvas. I called regularly to find out when the stitch guide would be available and was absolutely thrilled when Ruth told me that Brenda would be at the shop to teach the canvas. I immediately booked a space in the class.
Brenda's class was just wonderful, and her stitch guide is amazing. We worked on small areas of the canvas in the one-day class, including the dragon. I started stitching on this piece again this past Christmas Eve and finished the large red circle as well as some more of the dragon. Brenda uses lots of beads, which is not my best skill, so the stitching is somewhat slower than usual. But the beads add lots of glitz! Here is my progress to date.
You can see that not much has been completed. But I think once I start working on it in earnest, progress will be made. The red is Soie d'Alger silk in long stitches and the blue in the middle of the top circle is Sundance beads with Kreinik #8 braid surrounding it.
The dragon's head is Soie d'Alger with Bijoux stitched over it. The body is Four-Way Continental in Kreinik #4 braid; a Sundance triangular bead is attached inside the diamond shape. The toes and strands coming out of the dragon's head will be French knots in the same silk. We had done some of the French knots in class but I took them out this week as I wasn't too pleased with how I had stitched them. Hopefully I can do a better job here at home.
I am looking forward to stitching on this piece. I really love Asian-inspired designs, and have several in my stash.
I wish everyone a Happy New Year - may 2013 be filled with joy and happiness for each of you.
 |
| Graphic from gograph.com |
Until next time, happy stitching!
I have had one opportunity to be in a class with Brenda Hart and she IS amazing, isn't she! Your mask will be a work of art, but it will be WORK
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you on that comment, Anne!
DeleteThat canvas is gorgeous.... wow.. I can't wait to see it when you have it completed.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I hope to publish regular updates on the blog.
DeleteThat will be a beautiful piece!
ReplyDeleteHeidi-ILCS
Thanks, Heidi. I just hope my stitching will do it justice. Happy New Year.
DeleteThat mask is amazing!! Wonderful to see and it will be even more impressive when completed. Be sure to put information on yourself in the back when you finish it....folks should know who did this wonderful work!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris. I fell in love with it immediately. Happy New Year.
DeleteThat looks like it will be a fun project on which to work. I love beading, but I hated it until I got a Tacky Bob. Pick one of those up (they're only $7 or so) and you'll find beading much easier. Happy 2013!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely try the Tacky Bob. Thanks for the tip! Happy 2013 to you as well.
DeleteHi Linda - How is this coming along? I will be very dramatic! Melita
ReplyDeleteAlas, not as much done as I had hoped. I did finish all the beading on the dragon and all the red bubbles, at least the silk part. I am now working on the gold and bronze around the forehead. There are lots of French knots on the dragon's head; I am not happy with how they look so I've been procrastinating on that section.
Delete