Friday, July 15, 2011

Wynken, Blynken & Nod

Wynken, Blynken & Nod one night, set off in a wooden shoe... sailed on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew. "Where are you going, and what do you wish?" the old moon asked the three. "We've come to fish for the herring fish that live in this beautiful sea!"

Have you heard this story before? It's been one of my favorite lullaby's since we sang it in choir when I was in high school, yes I was a choir geek. Surprised? President of the club in my senior year, actually. Hehe... yeah...

This was what I chose to embroider for my partner, Nicole in the second half of the Phat Quarter Embroidery Books Swap. I decided to use the cover art from a copy of the book that I owned, illustrations by Sheilah Beckett. This is another picture heavy post, I hope you don't mind.
You can enlarge any of the pictures by simply clicking on them.

 Here's the cover, my inspiration
I've had the idea to stitch this cover art for some time, but never had a reason to do so. When I saw that Nicole was my "send to" partner, I knew right away what I wanted to make for her. I weighed this carefully, I always want my partners to get something they really like and want, and I almost didn't do this piece in favor of making something she'd suggested, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she would like this. I've been a fan of Nicole's work and Follow The White Bunny since I began stitching two years ago and I felt that while different from her work, this had a familiar vibe, whimsical, but not silly, and pretty and thoughtful, but not overly sweet. That's my kind of style too! 

It starts with a tracing.

Then some simple outlines and some hair...

I for the hair I used mainly stem stitch for all three children.

Next, some colorful fish...
 I used rayon floss, in a stem stitch to outline, and filled with a rainbow variegated open fly stitch to make "scales".

Next was the mast, and some flying ribbons... (and Doctor Who - I'm utterly hooked!!)

I decided a plain mast was too boring, so I quilted on a crescent moon and a hanging star

And more hair touch up after the mast was appliqued and secured with a blanket stitch.

Next came the net. The text of the poem says that the fishermen three have "Nets of silver and gold", so I had to make our little boy a silver net. This net had me quite tripped up. I actually stitched it twice, I snipped out the first version entirely. When I completed it the first time, I released the tension from the q-snap, and something went wonky with the stitching, the Kreinik thread I used got wavy and looked strange to me, other people said it looked fine and I should leave it alone, but I just couldn't. It bothered me that much. After a day or two, I  started again, this time with success! The tension was much better, the net kept its shape when I removed it from the hoop.



Lastly was the waves, oh the waves! I consulted Nicole's tutorials for some pointers here...
(Somehow I managed to miss pictures of these until after I'd done the color tinting.)

I used many different colors here, chosen to match the color of the water in the illustration as possible. Lots of different kinds of stitches here as well, some gleaned from Nicole's own website. Fill stitches aren't yet a strong point of mine, but after this project, I think I rather like them!

Next was the color tinting, I used color pencils for this, it was fast and easy and gave an immediate, dramatic effect.
Subtle skin tones and a slight blush to his sweet cheek.

Warm flush across the skin on her face, neck and hand...
Color added focus to the center of the piece.

Every body got a bit of color, even the baby and her bear...
Can you see Baby's collar? This is the tiniest text I've ever done!

The color tinting was the last step before hooping up this piece. I painted the hoop a soft dove grey/blue and added a layer of frost over it so it had some sheen and was smooth to the touch.
Before hooping, I layered a fluffy piece of quilt batting so that the finished piece would be soft to the touch and stand up off of the hoop just a bit more. I was really pleased with the effect.

Ready to see it completed?
 Viola!


Pretty close to the cover art, I'd say!

Nicole received her piece a couple of days ago, and I'm so happy that she likes it! It's now hanging on the wall of her living room among other very beautiful embroideries, so far from its orgins in California, all the way to The Netherlands! Nicole also featured this piece on Feeling Stitchy this morning!! I'm so honored to see something I've made featured there!


I'm so happy with the way the finished embroidery came out, there are a LOT of different stitches and components that comprise this piece, satin, stem, blanket and back stitches, open fly, French knot, brick and chain stitches, couching, applique, quilting, color tinting, rayon, metallic and Keirnik threads and many, many, many hours. Everything but the kitchen sink, basically. I gave it everything I had.
♥♥
  
What'cha think friends? Did I do ok?
oxo,
Lisa

26 comments:

Twyla and Lindsey said...

This is fantastic! You are so talented! I clicked on your blog because this was a book my children had when they were little. I can't image the work that you put into this. Have a nice weekend! Twyla

olisa said...

OH my gosh! I saw this on the Feeling Stitchy site and was just blown away by how stunning and full of glorious details it is. Gorgeous! Nicole is very lucky, indeed. I especially love the gossamer silver net. Wow!
Best, O

Bex said...

You are a talented, amazing artist. I could not have done this. It's beautiful!

Leah said...

Beautiful! My favorite part is the fish scales. :)

Unknown said...

It's absolutely breathtaking. You did a beautiful job.

Unknown said...

It's so beautiful! She's is so lucky to have received it!

Joanne Love said...

Um, ok?? This is so beautiful and intricate I am super jealous I didn't get it :-)

Becky said...

Seriously, did you do "okay?" That is so very beautiful I could cry!!! You have only been stitching for 2 years?

Beth said...

I LOOOOOOVE your work! You are so talented! The subjects and colors you choose are fresh and creative. Thanks for sharing!
~Beth

beadgirl said...

Honestly, your embroidery blows me away. This is gorgeous.

Kitkat said...

Wow this is so beautiful.

Melissa said...

Do you remember when we sang this song in choir? This is by far the most amazing piece of art you have done. I am so blown away by all the details. I love the fish net and the way you colored it in with pencil! It's beautiful. I'm going to lock myself in a room with you for a weekend and have you teach me some moves! :-)

Cristy said...

Gorgeous. The batting is a great idea. It is lovely!

Jill said...

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa... I could still weep. Seriously. I'm so glad I was able to see this incredible work of art in person before you sent it off to it's new home. It blows me away. You inspire me. I would say more, but I'm weeping. sniff... sniff...

Hugs,
Jill

PS: Crown & Crumpet! Crown & Crumpet!

genie said...

What an awesome piece of original embroidery. You are so talented. I have not done any stitching this summer...only working on my photography and other blog. Have missed stopping by to see you and what you have been up go. Hope you have been having a wonderful summer and not too hot. Genie

Jennifer Stumpf said...

Wowza! This is a total knock out!!! Love it to pieces!!! I'd say you did more than ok!

Blondie ~ Vintage Primitives said...

Hello!
I am bookmarking this to share with my sister - who, while she doesn't have internet, is a stitcher extraodinaire like you.
Your work is inspiring.
Blessings to you.
Blondie

Annette said...

That is amazingly beautiful Lisa! I love all the gorgeous details. You are very talented.

Linda Jennings said...

Sooooo beautiful!!

Janet said...

This is so beautiful! Your mother had sent me a message to take a look at your blog and work. I love what you do, it is so creative and adorable.

K @ Aurora Blythe said...

You are a truly talented artist! To transfer that image so elegantly into stitch form... WOW! This was one of my fave childhood stories. There was a time that my mother had to read that story to me every night!

parTea lady said...

What a fabulous piece of needle art. You did a fantastic job with the Wynken, Blynken and Nod illustration.

suzitee said...

How did I miss this post??? OH MY GOODNESS! What a magnificent piece of stitching this is. I'm breathless. It's stunning. You have done yourself proud, my friend...it is absolutely gorgeous, and your attention to detail is amazing. A big WELL DONE!

janice15 said...

LISA, YOU DID A GRAND JOB...WOULD LOVE TO DO THIS AS WELL..i LOVE THE COLOR TINTING..HOW IS IT DONE I ALWAYS WONDERED FROM OLD APRONS I HAVE. i FEEL IN LOVE IT IS SIMPLY ADORABLE..I'M YOUR NEWEST FOLLOWER, I'M ALSO A NEW BLOGGER @ SPOONWITHER.BLOGSPOT.COM..HOPE YOU WILL JOIN ME AS WEL..HAVE A BLESSED DAY. HUGS jANICE.

melissalee1 said...

This piece is absolutely amazing! Love it. Can you tell me what method you used to transfer from your original tracing of the book cover to the fabric. The lines are so crisp and clear. That is one of my biggest obsticals is getting a good pattern onto my fabric. If you could tell me the specific materials you used that would be such a big help.

melissalee1@bellsouth.net

Unknown said...

Lisa, I was actually looking for that board book for my grand daughter when I found your post. I loved doing crewel work when I was younger and I have to say, you are amazing! That came out exquisitely beautiful! Now back to my search for somewhere to buy the book itself!