To Each Their Own..............

One of the things that keeps me so interested in needlework is the individuality you can accomplish even using a pattern. With my foray into hardanger, I have discovered that there is no limit except what you place upon yourself. Almost all the cutwork I have seen done has utilized white or cream fabrics.....and they all have looked gorgeous. But I wanted to try something totally different. Mostly because I have this gorgeous silk that I used on my Enchanted Alphabet called Orchid and knew it would look absolutely stunning on a black background. My friend (and teacher) thought that silk would not make a good base for hardanger work and the black would be too difficult to work on, especially for a beginner. She is probably right and as much as I value her opinion, I do tend to walk to the beat of a different drummer. What's the worst that can happen? If it doesn't work, you chalk it up to experience.

Needle Play had a beautiful ornie in the 2006 Just Cross Stitch issue called A Star is Born. It is delicate and the colors they used are definitely christmasy and added much to the charm of this design. Decided this would work with the black fabric and my lovely Orchid silk. As I went through the materials list, I discovered I would need another floss for wrapping the bars. Scavenging through my stash I found 2009 in the Needlepaints that looked like a good match for the colors in silk but with enough contrast to make it's own impact, but still be subtle. The gold originally called for did not look good, even looking at the white gold in petite treasure braid it still wasn't quite a good match. Hidden beneath I discovered a card of silver and it looked great with the soft purple colors. A quick look in my bead bag and there were some lovely lavender Mill Hill Antique seed beads that were just a tad darker than any of the floss colors but should still give me the effect I wanted. Now this design has some major bar wrapping to it, but once I got a rhythm going, it only took a couple of days to finish that part.

So here's my rendition of A Star Is Born:



This picture doesn't do it justice, as you can't see the cutouts (which have silver braid crosses with a bead in the centre) and the sparkle.

All in all, I am quite delighted with the way this piece turned out. I've decided to finish it in a diamond shape with a silver lining so the cutwork shows up better and edge it in silver cording. Hopefully I'll get a little time this weekend to do that part of it and then I'll post the finished project.

I really like being able to utilize the smaller fabric pieces of my stash this way, but I did splurge a little and invest in a good pair of bent hardanger scissors. With 2 curious little girls, I will keep them under lock and key. Just the thought of their tender skin and those sharp points......ouch!

I just realized something.....this makes 5 finishes since I started The Challenge!!!