Sketches for the papyrus

[lobsterdesigns]

The wings are now outlined in gold thread, with an unpleasant pause to remove a blood spot from the background as someone caught their finger on an embroidery needle, and I'm sketching the papyrus clumps. I think the one on the left is sorted, though I've changed around the colour order and slightly tweaked the shapes. It's the one on the right that I'm working on. I was originally going to have the top flower pointing a bit to the right, but then I laid it out on the quilt and realised that there is enough pointing that way already. I've sketched in the looped stem on the right and am not sure if I like it or not. At the moment, it would be orange.

Note that I've labelled them O and B for orange and blue respectively. What do you think?




In other embroidery news, I need to embroider the waistband with about five little sets of dark brown stripes with a thinner cream stripe directly to either side, which is authentic and should be simple enough not to look out of place. I'll wait until the papyrus are done before making the final decision there. With regard to the beading, the stars are now going to be a simpler affair of five bugle beads alone, no seed beads, and probably transparent turquoise AB bugle beads rather than something darker.

Comments

[voxwoman.livejournal.com]

well, I like it!

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'll embroider the left one first and then I'll be able to get a better idea of what will work on the right.

I had originally done the stems alternating the two (rather similar) shades of green, but then I had also alternated orange and blue for the flowers. Now that I am no longer alternating orange and blue for the flowers (though I am still striving to get those two colours nicely balanced), should I continue to alternate the stems, or should I do one shade of blue to go with the blue flowers and the other shade to go with the orange flowers?

[voxwoman.livejournal.com]

LOL. My brain is not working well enough this morning to advise you with any sort of confidence. I have liked everything you've showed us so far and I can't decide!

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, the encouragement is much appreciated! I sketched it with a looped flower on the left clump and it didn't work, so I've traced and am embroidering the version in the photo. I ended up tracing it a smidgen closer to the border than originally planned, but hopefully no one will notice. Two flowers done so far, I'm working slowly today.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

Also I am dithering over that flower with the looped stem again. Would it be better on the left side of the plinth rather than the right, if I do include it? I did realise that I need to make sure I don't have anything else pointing to the right when I sketched a right clump with the topmost flower pointing off to the right, but I can't work out how a looped stem flower fits into that. Original looped stem flower, for comparison:

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

I've sewn the left side and am now working on the sketch for the right. I'm not sure about that looped stem. D couldn't tell what it was until I showed him the previously sewn version, and then said it might work but the looping looks too much, therefore too unnatural. I think it may work if I move the flower down and to the left a little, with less of a loop. I may also move the far right bud down a bit, and reconsider how to colour them all. I can have the top/outside flowers in orange, as in the left, then the slightly lower flower in blue, then either all the buds in blue and the looped flower in orange, or the looped flower and higher bud in blue with the lower buds in orange. First is probably best, if for no other reason than keeping the orange layer lowest, to match the other side and to contrast with the blue zigzags at the bottom.



You can see the sketch on the quilt top (yes, with the new embroidery!) here.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

And if I do move things around, that bottom left bud should possibly move out and left a little as well. You'll notice that the set on the left sticks out further over the plinth than the set on the right. That's deliberate, it's because there's more empty space in that area on the left.