Needlequest Update - 21 April 2014

Is it really almost two weeks since I last posted?  Goodness!  Well, I'm OK, although health has been a problem of late.  I still can't wear my glasses, but am taking antibiotics for the sinus infection and will see the doctor tomorrow about it.  It does make computer use very challenging and so I've hardly had my machine on at all.  Actually, it's been rather nice....=)

So, where am I with Needlequest work?  I thought I'd try and merge March and April's themes and do my goldwork butterflies as fitting 'Spring' as well.  So, I made a start with the most appalling bullion knots  done very badly with Coats Ophir, as you can see here!  There's an extra loop just hanging around on each of the three knots and they looked so bad, that all I could do was take them out again.  To be honest, bullions aren't my forté even with cotton threads.  With metallics, they're dreadful.  I'd need a lot of patient practice before I could make this look good.  Then I got to asking myself if the reason I'd neglected this piece didn't have something to do with not really wanting to stitch it, and realised that I really didn't want to do it. So, I took the fabric out of the hoop, erased the outline and put it aside for something else later on.  Basically, I like using metallic threads as trims etc, but I'm not into pure goldwork after all.  Something valuable learned there!=)

So, what next?  I decided as I love butterflies and am thinking of using a Helen M Stevens' inspired design for the wedding ring cushion (more on that another day), I would work a small piece of hers in silks.  Anyone who has her 'Embroidered Butterflies' may recognise this piece from early on in the book.  I decided to take the two elements marked out here:

And turn them into a nice, small scale study.

As you can see from this tracing, I've deleted the caterpillar part as it would have made the whole thing a bit too wide.

The two butterflies here are very springlike indeed as we actually saw them in a garden in Gloucestershire where we were guests last Sunday.=)  So, here are one brimstone and one male orange tip.

This is the green fabric I've chosen to work it on and the Pipers silks ready to go.  I've transferred the outline, which is a bit faint, but workable with, I think.  Just need to fish out one more colour for one of the butterflies and then get started.  The fabric is quite interesting as, although you can't really see it here, it's a bit discoloured and a darker, blue-er green at the bottom than the rest.  I'm hoping that that subtle shade change will enhance the finish, making it more lifelike.

I really haven't felt much like stitching of late, so I hope I can get on with this during the week and have something to share next week.

What about you?  What have you been doing?

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2014