St. Laurence: the background

Oh, how I wish to be able to attend Beating around the Bush in Adelaide! That really is high on my wish list. And probably this holds true for many of you :). However, my fox after Millie Marotta's brilliant drawing, is there! So, if you are one of these very lucky people walking around the needlework convention in Adelaide, do take a picture of my fox and email it to me. Thank you very much in advance!

Recreated background of St Laurence orphrey

This is what the project currently looks like (if you are new to this project, please click on St Laurence under categories on your right for previous posts). I learn so much by recreating this late medieval masterpiece! I really loved stitching the damask drapery in the background. It actually is a counted thread technique with Japanese Thread and red silk. And it is important to COUNT. How hard can it be to count to five? Well, judging from the left hand side in the picture, not as easy as you might think. So, I've learned not to eyeball this particular technique. For the right hand side, I decided to be a good good girl. And for once, it paid off.

Recreated background of St Laurence orphrey

Recreated background of St Laurence orphrey

Getting a neat edge on the damask drapery, was a bit tricky. The original piece clearly used a much finer gold thread than my Japanese #12. On closer inspection it looks more like a passing thread. However, I had this really high quality Japanese Thread and decided to use that instead. But it did mean that my turns are far bulkier and thus more difficult to cover. I started by making a fine silk braid and couched it in place against the turns. This dark line gives the piece a hint of depth. Then I couched a gilt Twist #3 on the turns. And below, at a short distance, I couched a very fine gilt twist. Not bad at all. And using a thicker gold thread for the damask had an advantage too. The thinner thread in the original piece gapes a lot as it is clearly less stiff and would have needed many more couching stitches to stay put.

Recreated orphrey of St Laurence

After my previous post on St. Laurence, Mabel send me an email with a suggestion on how to improve his face. I took out the left hand side of his jaw line and moved it down a tiny bit. That was all it needed to make him even more handsome. Thank you so much Mabel! This is what I really like about my blog-followers, you are so inspirational. Working on your own can make you feel a bit isolated. However, once a week we have a kind of a meet-up with all these wonderful stitchers all over the world. Thank you all so much!