Happy Fall to All and a First Look at "Star Maiden"

So here we are again in the fall season and I don't know about you but I am glad to see the end of 2020 getting nearer. What a crazed filled year it has been and I look forward to 2021 with hopeful expectations.

Right now I am going through some transitions with my art and art career. I decided last September that I was going to step away from my column on Mr. X Stitch and devote my full time attention to creating art work. So far I have completed two pieces (one of which is at the framer's) and working on the third which is in its final phase. The work at the framer's is not part of the series, it is a stand alone piece that I started then stopped quite a few years ago. I revised the fibers and their colors and started fresh with it. The title is "La Petite Fleurs". I'll get to that in future posts. 

I decided to work in a series I call The Maiden Series. The first was "Iron Maiden", the second is "Star Maiden" and the third is "Flower Maiden". These works have been in progress, design wise, for years, so it was about time to get it down on paper and stitch them up. Now here's the thing about needlework art, speaking exclusively to cross stitch, it is slow going. That means only a handful of pieces can be produced in a year. I have found that in making my own work, and doing it the right way, is a back and forth of design changes, fiber changes, and fabric changes. Some designs, such as "Star Maiden" that I am working on now, is a difficult one because my stitches have to lay all one way, yet my design is sideways and upside down. It is also on black Aida which is extremely difficult for me since the holes are near impossible to see and that means stitching by feel of where the needle goes more than seeing it. Oftentimes the needle finds the wrong hole and it has to be redone. Sometimes more than once. Very time consuming indeed. The struggle is very real.

Speaking of the black Aida, I went through three different kinds of black Aida before I found one that was truly black, which of course took about two weeks since I had to order them. The best pick was by MCG, which I had in my stash all along and was very fortuitous since they stopped making it two years ago. If I ever have to use black again, and I am hoping I never do, I will probably have to dye black Aida even blacker. That's crazy, but that is what I have to do in order to keep quality standards high. So be warned that black Aida is not that black with most manufacturers now. 

This brings up another topic I will address more in future blogs, that of quality supplies for cross stitch.

I will update soon on the project and posting more on important subjects of needlework art in the future so stay tuned!

Progress so far of "Star Maiden"

Framed and matted "Iron Maiden"