Wedgewood Blue

What ho chaps! How's it hanging? It's been a little while since I posted on here. Unusually for me I just couldn't muster the energy to think of something to write about and then when I did have a topic I couldn't muster the energy to actually type it! I don't know what it is that's making me feel a bit lacklustre, perhaps the rapidly changing seasons (gosh it's chilly today!), the learning of a new job making me feel tired, a slowing down of Etsy sales or the prospect of another big show looming. It is all kind of hanging over me and in my typical stubbornness, it just makes me want to do nothing at all as a show of rebellion. But today I feel the need to type a little something about the images I took last week of a completed stitchscape.
This is another 'scape that originally came to life as a sampler for a workshop, demonstrating how to layer colours and fabrics. These demonstration pieces tend to not have a particular theme or inspiration behind them other than I liked the way the fabrics worked together. Generally a sort of inspiration comes along half way through and for this one it was the addition of the yellow flowers, popping so brilliantly against the blue medley background.

I'm not sure about a title for this piece either, although have called the blog post 'Wedgewood Blue' as that is what the colour combinations remind me of. Having already opened this out to my fantastic Facebook followers, there have been some suggestions for 'Reeds by the Pond' or 'Cruising on the Canal' both of which are equally lovely suggestions (especially with my penchant for canal travel) but neither of them have clicked for me so currently this piece is mostly nameless. Please pop your own suggestions, if you have any, on a (theoretical) postcard and send them in!

Of course, I don't have to name my stitchscapes at all- the little #inthehoop range 'scapes aren't named- but it makes it much easier if I am making them into cards or prints and selling them on Etsy, or have queries about them online. Rather than being asked about the sunset one with red in it, potential customers can just say 'Sunset Mountains', or whatever the piece is called.

Anyway, this piece is very simple, with happy, individual layers that speak for themselves really. Working from the top down, I have used a polka dot fabric to create a cross hatch base, working one direction in white thread and the other direction in pale blue which is really effective I think!
The next layer really does have a sort of porcelain feel to it with a lovely floral and leaf print creeping in and out. I have gone around the pattern outlines with a single strand of embroidery thread, and then also followed the colour inside the design with overlapping straight stitches to help build up the shading and make it look like I've actually stitched the whole thing myself.

The next layer down is peppered with seed stitch in a single colour, topped off with quite a narrow band of whip stitch over back stitch. I have long conversations with students in my workshops about the endless possibilities of whip stitch. There is often some confusion with the terms 'whipped back stitch' and whipped running stitch' written in magazines, and basically they just gives you the stitches that you have whipped over (either back stitch for a solid line or running stitch for a slightly wiggly line). Personally I will also whip over seed stitch, rows of bullion knots and vertically against rows of horizontal running stitch- they all give incredible textures, especially as the whip stitch itself is a surface stitch so anything you do with it will raise it above the stitching underneath.
Next up I have used the gorgeous spot design already on the fabric and simply copied it with tiny french knots. Two strand, one twist knots if memory serves me correctly. The colours I have tried to keep as true to the pattern in the fabric as possible.
Then finally, the very bottom batik fabric has just had single strand back stitch around the gradients of colour, either where the colour has bled and left a line or where the batik print pattern is. It's such a lovely fabric to work with, I really recommend including one if you are starting out on your own stitchscape project.

The flowers are rows of bullion knots in two different shades of yellow, sitting atop green straight stitch stems. Oh, and I forgot to mention the couched yarns at the top of the batik fabric, which is actually two lengths of a chunky aran weight acrylic yarn with different colours dipped into it, twisted with a shiny bouclé yarn for a bit of additional texture. Why limit yourself to just one yarn when you can have two!?
I am debating whether or not to turn this into a greeting card print as I'm trying to be more selective about what designs I print. What do you think? Would you buy this design in a card to send off? (Or even keep for yourself?)