Framed!

Stash Cats Two

Two pieces framed!  The Marta Mask turned out just like I had envisioned. How often does that happen?!  The gray mat is actually silvery.  And I'm very pleased with Stash Cats, gorgeous frame.

Marta Mask

Marta Mask, FINISHED

Those of you that have been visiting this blog for a lonnnng time, may remember the Marta Mask (a Leigh design).  The last time I posted about it was in 2014!!

Well it is finally finished!  I didn't work on it at all for at least a year, then only a few times last year.  It was the beads.  I don't really like to do beads, but this canvas demanded them.  Lots of them.  Sigh.

But it is finally finished and it looks pretty good, for a non-painted canvas person.

It isn't a great picture.  The camera just doesn't do well with beads and metallic threads.  Plus it is on black sparkle canvas.  Hopefully I can get a better picture once it is framed with black behind it!

Marta Mask, Progress #8

The Marta Mask (Leigh Designs) is moving right along now.  I have completed another "set" of areas.
The largest of these are below the "feathers" and have open areas of canvas showing through.  There is also some of this at the top of her head.
I used Smyrna crosses in Kreinik #12 braid and an overdyed silk for the Diagonal Mosaic.

Marta Mask, Progress #7

DH was out of town for a week and I made significant progress on the Marta Mask.  
The striped outlines set me back for a long time, but once I figured out how I wanted to do them, it went pretty quick.  So they are all done and the light "feathers" are also done.   I used  "Katie's Cross" from Suzy's Stitches, in 4 shades of gray #8 pearl cotton and 2 shades of light gray Neon Rays Plus.
Next up will be the area below the feathers.  I think I'm going to do that in Smyrna crosses and Mosaic.

Marta Mask, Progress #6

 

DH was out of town this past weekend, so out came the Marta Mask.  I spent the better part of an afternoon deciding on a stitch to use for the "feathers".  I found this one, called Katie's Cross, on my Suzy's Stitches app.  (I love having stitch books on my iPad & iPhone!).  It is worked in shades of gray #8 pearl cotton with Neon Rays Plus accents.
Once I completed one feather, I realized that it was time to get some cording.  I want to do the black & silver edging around the feathers with black purchased cording and couch it with silver.

I took Marta with me, thank goodness!  I thought I would want a 3/8" twisted cord, but it was much to "tall", although it covered the areas well.  I had to get 3/16" cord and as you can see below, it doesn't cover well, but it looks right.  I will need to increase the inside of the areas. 
In the pic, the cord is just laid on the canvas, I haven't started stitching it down yet.  I'm hoping that I can force the ends through the canvas & secure on the back.  I will probably tack it down with black sewing thread and then couch it with silver FyreWerks or Kreinik metallic ribbon.  If any of you have any ideas about all this - I'm open for suggestions!

Marta Mask, Progress #5

Last weekend I went to a stitching retreat and I took the Marta Mask by Leigh Designs along to finally work on it again.  The week before, I experimented with stitchs & beads for the "cap" on the top of her head.
I decided to Basketweave the whole cap & then over-stitch it with a metallic in a very bright, shiny silver.  I used a 4-way Continental over 2.  It took forever and it isn't as "in your face" as I had hoped.  I am almost finished with the beads over the eyes (that's what the black thread is about).  So far, all of the beads are a silver lined clear, but they look bright silver.
I think I'll have to stitch over the black above the beads, if I can, with a gray to match the face. 
Then I will put it away again for a bit while I figure out what to do for the next section, which will be the "feathers" with the squiggly lines in them.  They won't be squiggly lines for sure, as they need to have diamond shapes to somewhat mimic the cap.  I have several stitches in mind that I want to try.

Marta Mask Progress #4

DH was gone this past weekend, so out came Marta.  This mask is a painted canvas and, for me, requires totally uninterrupted stitching time!

I completed the ribbon, which took about 4 hours.  It's amazing how long it can take to stitch a relatively small area!  Of course, some of that time was taken up deciding what stitch to use.  After being unsuccessful with Slanted Gobelin, the edges were just too jagged, I ended up using a simple Mosaic stitch.  With Mosaic, it is easy to adjust to the shape.  I used two silk threads and needle blended to go from the lightest to the darkest.  There isn't much variation, so that worked very well.

Marta Mask, Progress #3

DH was out of town this weekend, so I worked on the Marta Mask.  I rarely work on this if anyone is around - it requires a lot of concentration.  The photo is just of the areas I have stitched.

 

This weekend I worked on the "scarf" beneath her chin.  I had completed the solid area on the right side of the scarf awhile ago.  Sometime since then, I determined that the painted area extended further than I had stitched! 

And, in studying the pictures I have from the Leigh website, I noticed that there was sheer stuff behind the solid.  Oh boy, that's gonna be tough!  I experimented with several different threads and stitches and ended up with a Persian stitch with just 1 strand of silk.  The solid areas are a brick stitch in Flair with backstitching in #8 Kreinik braid.

 

It looks good from a distance, but less so up close.  Well, you are supposed to view it from a few feet away - not right on top of it!

Marta Mask Progress #2

Surprise!  I pulled out the Marta Mask last week and finished the face.  I hadn't worked on her for a while and was pleased to see that all of the Criss Cross Hungarian was finished.  All I had to do was fill in the spaces with cross stitches.  I used a silver Kreinik #8 braid.

I don't know what section I'll do next.  Maybe the "scarf" & ribbon at the bottom:  I have to do some research about layering stitches with Flair.  I think that would give it a light & filmy look.

Marta Mask Progress #1

I've worked on the Marta Mask the last couple of days.  I finally redid the whipped backstitch around the white petals on the left, then worked the petals on the right more or less the same way.
I had already decided that I would us Criss Cross Hungarian for the face, but I spent a lot of time sorting threads. I finally got a selection of shades using floss & Silk N Colors.  I will fill the spaces with cross stitches, not beads.
(Her nose is not running, that is an away knot on her mouth that I haven't clipped off yet!)
This is very slow going for me.  I'm finding the painted canvas difficult to stitch sometimes where the paint is a little too heavy & has clogged the holes.  A couple of times I had to get a larger needle to open the holes.  It is nice though to be able to use finer threads than usual for 18-count canvas.

Marta Mask by Leigh Designs

Some of you may recall that DH gave me the Marta Mask canvas by Leigh Designs for Christmas 2010.  Well, I am finally ready to stitch this gorgeous thing!  As a counted person, I am quite intimidated by this large and stunning design.  I hope I can do it justice!  I have spent lots of time selecting threads and thinking about stitches & techniques.  The actual painted canvas is darker than the picture on the website, and I like the picture, so I'll be using lighter threads than are indicated by the canvas.

So here we go.  I have done just a little bit.  First I stitched the mouth in Slanted Gobelin using an overdyed red silk.  Ordinarily I would not do a bright red thing first on a light background, however, I wanted to make sure just where I wanted the edges of the lips in case I needed to make any adjustments.  I think it turned out well!  Next is the "petals" on the face.  I just got the ones on the left side done and they need some tweeking.  I laid down "padding" with white pearl cotton and then stitched over it, more Slanted Gobelin, with white Neon Rays Plus.  Finally I outlined the petals with a Whipped Backstitch using Kreinik #8 braid, whipped with Kreinik #4.  I'm not happy with the Whipped Backstitch - I think it needs to be heavier, so I'll take it out and try again before I tackle the Petals on the other side!.