Monday 10 March 2014

continuing with the crewel

Good morning ladies, I hope you are all enjoying the spring weather...  yeah, I would be too if we were having any.

I wanted to show you how I'm getting on with the crewel flowers pieces I started for January's Needlequest challenge.  I bet you thought I'd abandoned it, didn't you?

Last time I showed you this piece, I was worried about the flatness of the stems.  I took all your comments on board and know that I have to do some highlighting.  I took the piece down to my brother's the other weekend along with a selection of crewel wools so he could help me choose the colour to use.  He's a graphic designer and has an excellent eye for these things. He advised me to wait until I've finished the piece.  So I will.


All the flower heads and buds are now finished, except the flower centre in the bottom right of course.  I've also finished off the stems so only have the leaves and the green bits of the buds/flowers (no idea what they're called) to do.


I thought it would take me forever, but it seems to be going pretty quickly.  I love the texture of the piece.  Now, when I asked for help, a few of you suggested using one strand of embroidery thread to do the highlights.  This isn't feasible as I'm working this piece in crewel wool, but I understand a lot of you may not have seen crewel wool, so I attempted to take some photos to show you the difference.


The green strand at the top is the crewel, the blue is one strand of floss.  Can you see the difference?  The crewel is matt and fuzzy, the floss is smooth and shiny.  That's why I thought the floss highlights would stand out like a sore thumb.


Maybe that shows it better?  This is one strand of floss over the crewel stitching.  Anyway, I'll show you the piece again when I've finished, then I'll have to start the highlighting!  Thanks for the suggestions everyone, they were very much appreciated.


Related posts

the beginning
flat flowers

19 comments:

Celtic Thistle said...

It's coming on beautifully Wendy!

Rhona said...

Your project is looking fabulous! I agree with your brother...wait till you've finished before you decide to do anything as sometimes your eye is drawn to a certain part but it's because the design isn't balanced until it's completed (Hope that makes sense!)

JoJo said...

It's very pretty...I love the shades of blue in this. Will it be a pillow or a framed hanging when done?

Sarah in Stitches said...

It looks great so far! :D

Elizabeth Braun said...

That's going really well, well done!

Sandra :) said...

I agree - it's a great idea to wait until you've finished - what you see during construction is up close and you see every little problem - perceived or otherwise. Waiting until the stitching is done will give you a better overall view of what may or may not need to be done.

CeLynn said...

You are making very good progress on this Wendy. It is really pretty,and will be such a sweet finished piece.

Jane said...

I've just been to put the washing out, it's freezing out there! This is coming along beautifully

Anonymous said...

It really is coming along a treat Wendy - well done you!

margaret said...

looking very good, you are certainly working this at a good speed, very nice

SuperMomNoCape said...

I'm glad you stuck with it... it's going to be stunning when you've finished it. Sometimes when you've been working on a project for a long time it's hard see how pretty it is.

Jo Ferguson said...

It's gorgeous...absolutely gorgeous. I've never worked with wool before, so thank you for showing it with the floss.

Jo Ferguson said...

It's gorgeous...absolutely gorgeous. I've never worked with wool before, so thank you for showing it with the floss.

Unknown said...

Beautiful work! I agree with your brother - it is coming along so nicely, wait until it's all finished then see if you really need to make any changes. It looks stunning! Chrissie x ps I have a crewel kit, a small one, that I bought at the Knitting & Stitching show last autumn, I really need to give it a go...

Lisa said...

Your project is absolutely beautiful! Your doing such a great job on it!

Katherine said...

Wow! Love your crewel work, Wendy. I'm crushing on the blues you're using for the flowers - so pretty in the graduating values. Love it!

Carrie P. said...

gorgeous. i love crewel work.

Chrissie said...

Great project, love the colours, look forward to seeing it finished

Rachel said...

Sometimes you want the contrast of texture between the wool and cotton or silk, but if you want to be strictly crewel you will stick to wool. You might need to go a shade lighter than you expect..