Projects, Pet Portraits, & Patterns: Summer Q & A, 2018

Blackwork butterfly on checked gingham

Are you still doing the Spanish blackwork?

Yes, indeed. Both the lion and the butterfly blocks are now completed. I was especially pleased with the butterfly.

Here is a picture of the chart for the fan-tailed goldfish, which is meant to be a facing companion piece to the tropical fish shown previously.

Downloadable blackwork goldfish pattern

Look for more pictures and patterns in our Autumn and Winter Questions and Answers.

You had a cute picture of mushrooms on one of your classroom posts. Are you going to do anything more with mushrooms?

That would be the January 16, 2018 post. I’m glad you liked it. Yes. I am working on a rather large piece in crewel embroidery that features several different kinds of mushrooms. Some of the sections have been shown before, but there are still a few to be completed. This is our busiest season, however, with farmers’ markets, art shows, and local events, so it will be some time in the autumn before the entire project will be ready to be shown in a post. Keep watching.

Are any of your embroideries done on a programmable sewing machine (asked at a recent show)?

None at all. All my work is handwork, done with a hook or a needle.

In a recent post you wrote about showing your classroom students how to get some special effects on pictures of their pets. Can you tell me more about those?

Iris needlepoint with light colored top stitching

Certainly. I first addressed the topic of how back-stitching around prominent features enhances a picture. This is true for pictures of plants and other subjects besides animals. Top-stitching need not be done with black yarn or floss, although that is traditional for counted cross-stitch. It can be done in a darker tone against a light feature or a lighter tint around a dark feature, and the two may be used in the same composition. Here is an example of a floral piece that I did recently.

Detail of Boston terrier pup's eyes

Next I talked about putting an accent in the animal’s eyes. Because eyeballs are round and moist, they reflect the source of light as a small bright spot, usually at the upper part of the eye. In needlework, this is commonly represented in close-up pictures by a single white stitch in each visible eye, often done over yarn with a silky or glossy floss for additional “shine”. If both eyes are looking forward, the reflection must be in the exact same position in both eyes, not as mirror images of each other. I always put the reflections in last because they really bring the animal’s — or person’s — face to life.

Detail of mouse puppet whiskers

Most mammals have whiskers of some sort. Nocturnal animals, including cats, and animals like seals that spend a lot of time underwater tend to have prominent whiskers, which give them information about their dark surroundings. Each whisker emerges from a slightly enlarged pore on the animal’s muzzle. I use a very fine-pointed pen or marker to indicate a few of these pores on the animal’s face, making them mirror images of each other. I do this even for puppets in many cases. If you prefer, you can replace these dots with tiny French knots.

Detail of raccoon puppet whiskers

Starting at each dot, I make a long stitch outward in a realistic length for a realistic picture or an exaggerated one for a toy or puppet. The whiskers fan out slightly to cover more area. Use a dark thread over a light muzzle and a white or colorless thread over a dark one. I like nylon thread or even extremely fine fishing line for the long stitches.

Detail showing shine on Boston terrier's nose

Finally I talked about putting some “shine” on an animal’s nose. A healthy pet will have a moist — or even wet — nose. In most cases the faces are small enough that the nose-shine will be on the same side of the nose as the eye-shine is on the eyes. Since skin does not reflect as much as the surface of the eyes, I don’t use white for this reflection, but rather a lighter gray or even blue for a few stitches on the animal’s nose.

I hope this expanded explanation has been helpful. Thank you very much for asking.

Have you made any more of the little squares with the animals on them (January 1, 2018)? My kids love them! I printed them out and we glued them on cardboard with magnets on the back so we could put them on the refrigerator. I hope that was all right. I guess we should have asked you first.

It is fine with me. After spending half a century as an educator, I’m delighted when something captures children’s imaginations and interests them in the natural world. I’ve been looking ahead to fall and working on this design of squirrels and oak leaves. It is still in progress and I haven’t added the colors for the squirrels, but perhaps your children might enjoy coloring the animals themselves.

Four-way squirrel design

Enjoy!

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