Monday, February 3, 2014

Any Ideas?

I have spent many an hour stitching this Threads Through Time design, Christmas Village, which appears in the 1999 JCS Christmas Ornaments magazine.  I'm stitching it on the suggested natural linen although I chose to stitch it on 40 count rather than 35 count.  It's quite fiddly, & there is an error in the chart.  The model shows a wreath hanging on the door of the upper right blue house, but it's not included in the chart.  I didn't catch this until I started stitching the other doors on the other houses & then looked at the model, so of course I frogged the first door & added the wreath.  I've made a few other small changes & intended to make a few more including taking off the date & replacing it with a few more of the stars already in the design.  The stars, per the designer, are stitched in white.  If I stitch them in white, they get lost on the background.  The same goes for the border that goes around the design which is also stitched in white. 

Here is what the model looks like. 
I'm really stumped.  For now I have placed the project on hold & have started something new.  I will go back to this one, but really do need some suggestions on what I can do for the stars & border.

Any help will be appreciated   : )

17 comments:

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

What about a golden tone? Stars are golden and then maybe the frame in a green or red?

Melody said...

How about doing the stars in a silver metallic? They would show up then, with the shine of the silver. Or, you could forget the stars and add some white beads to look like snowfall....

Nicola said...

You could try using DMC 5200 which is a tad brighter than the white. You could also try using a blending filament with the white, if you are stitching with two strands, or just the blending filament on it's own, maybe in silver? I look forward to seeing the finished ornament as it' solo king great so far.

Shebafudge said...

Well as I was minutely examining your photo, Luke walked past and said 'That's nice'. As someone who rarely comments on my work he obviously likes yours.

The white of the church shows up well but I suppose the church is bigger than the stars so it would. Could you use a strand of metallic silver or something to lift the stars a bit...or would that finally send you over the edge?

Have to admit that I am with Luke and think it looks very pretty. Hope you can sort it to your satisfaction. xx

fullnovembermoon said...

You could use a sparky blending filament that has a bit of color in with the white thread to give it definition. Maybe some Kreinik blending filament in star yellow for the stars and pearl for the white around the border.

Kay said...

Yes, I thought gold, also, for the stars. I might use a brownish tone for the border, just to go with the kind of prim look, or a rusty red?

Marie said...

Try stitching the stars with metallic. You could always use seed beads as snow rather than stars.

I do like the design...Is there a reason you do not want to date it? I like ornaments that include the year stitched.

I am stitching on 40 ct and just had to frog a bunch of stitches. UGH It's so much worse to take out those tiny stitches.

Judy said...

I think your piece is looking good. The white on the church shows up nicely. I have this in my winter file to stitch..so thanks for the heads up about the wreath on the door. You have been brave lately with making changes..I've no doubt you will complete it beautifully!

Judy Heartland stitcher

Cactusneedle said...

Vonna's suggestion sounds good! Or even do the border in the same gold as the stars if you want to mimic the original in that respect. But I do like the idea of a different color for the border.

Sherry said...

Vonna has a good idea

LoriU said...

Hmm. I see you chose not to post my comment from yesterday. Well that is ok. I still think your stitched piece looks BETTER than the model.

Peggy Lee said...

I like the blending filament idea. This is a cute little design and you have stitched it beautifully! Can't wait to see what you decide.

Carol said...

Hi Shirlee--I tried posting a long comment on this post yesterday and it wouldn't let me! So frustrating!! So, I'm trying again.

I stitched this piece back in 2009 and omitted the date, too. Substituted it with a yellow moon so you could use yellow stars, too. I also changed the blue under the sleigh to white and outlined all the windows. I remember that little piece taking a crazy amount of time to finish!! But, it's very cute--don't give up on it--you can save it! Try a border in red and I think that would work just fine... (If you want to see my finish it is shown in my March 7, 2009 post).

Sarah in Stitches said...

How about stitching them in silver or gold? It looks so lovely!

Julie said...

A design I have not seen before, its lovely.

Chris said...

You could stitch the starts in metallic gold or silver and I would just change the border color to a red or green :)

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Lots of ideas there so i'm sure this piece will avoid The Sink of Doom.

Personally I would go for using B5200, it's my favourite white.