Snowy Alps Stitchscape

It seems quite the right time for it to be snowing as I have just finished my Snowy Alps Stitchscape!! Most of the snow we had yesterday has now melted away, but I managed to find a little patch where some was left. The wind is absolutely bitter out there so I was taking photos like a mad thing trying to get good images before my hands froze to the camera. (The things we bloggers have to do.)

It looks like it might actually be snowing up there on those mountain peaks now I come to think of it, especially with the linear stitches punctuated with french knots. Brrr, make sure you wrap up warm before stepping into this 'scape!

So, onto the finer details. I mentioned before that I was thinking about adding some small french knots to the bottom of these plant groupings to ground them, which I didn't end up doing because I thought of something better after falling in love with the red berries further up the stitchscape. The red really gives a warmth to this embroidery but looked slightly strange just in a band through the middle so I have added tiny little spots of it on the end of my fly stitch fronds which I think bring a lot more interest (if any was needed) to to the bottom part. The colour also works beautifully against the pearl beads which have a warmth all on their own.

I've had lots of fun with my Hobbycraft bead tubes in this piece, adding some super shiny ones to the pale blue sky along with a metallic thread seed stitch- this has turned into quite a blingy 'scape!
The mountain top on the left I had to go back to at the end and add a layer of bullion knots just along the top of the snowy fabric. It got a little bit lost amongst the beads and french knots above with just a simple blanket stitch around it so I added some chunky bullion knots to help bring it forwards. For those new to bullions, the size of the knot is affected by the number of thread strands used, so in these ones I used three strands of thread to make it slightly thicker. In other areas I only use two strands for a more streamlined effect.

The above photo really shows how beautiful the DMC Satin thread is and the lustre it brings. I've used three different colours of the satin thread in this piece, two shades of brown, and of course the white for the feathers. I might have to pop back to the shop and stock up on some different ones...

I LOVE this!! The gorgeous sunshine coming through from the back. I wonder if these would make good lampshades? Now that would be an interesting avenue to explore. I like that you can see where the layers start and finish, everything about these stitchscapes is to do with layers, the fabrics, layers of stitches, being built in bit by bit to represent height and distance. The bottom section for example has several layers of fabrics, then layers of stitch covering the fabric to create an overal texture, then bullion knots are put in to highlight the edge of the fabric; beads are added and long straight stitches put down to represent plants, over the top of that fly stitch fronds are popped in, and finally tiny french knots on top of that. It's all about the layers!

There are lots of different stitches in this one; cross stitch, french knots, back stitch, straight stitch, bullion knots, fly stitch, seed stitch, blanket stitch, satin stitch, detached chain stitch and running stitch. It's always a challenge to see how many I can incorporate, and there are always different ones I could have brought in, like; whip stitch, pistil stitch, colonial knots, chain stitch, pekinese stitch.... the list is endless. Maybe I shall save some of those for next time.