Starting The Hounds
Finishing Akhenaten this year has left me rather wiped out. It’s not helped by the fact that he needs to be got off the frame and mounted somehow and that is proving Not Entirely Trivial, as The Australian would say, so I’ve been getting a 1000-watt glare every time I enter the room.
So I thought I would tackle something smaller and friendlier over the holidays, something that would help me gather my thoughts, and give me a change of scale and emphasis. Tanya’s gorgeous laid and couched work hounds seemed just the thing. I lost my heart to them months ago, when Tanya first showed them, but Akhenaten was such a dog-in-the-manger that I didn’t buy a kit.
However, by the time I went to Harrogate, he was finished, so I decided he didn’t have a vote any more, and indulged myself. After metal threads and silk, wool is a lovely change, and the medieval habit of using the direction for the lower layer that makes for the longest stitch on the surface means that each section is slightly different, and stops me worrying about what I’m trying to represent. Which is also a lovely change.
I’ve decided that they are called Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, in honour of the season in which I am stitching them.
I am rubbish at framing, but I think you want to ask a few experts for advice before you get Akhenaten off his frame, glares or no glares. You really don’t want to mess him up at this stage.
The Three Wise Hounds look like a splendid project for the dark of the year. Cheerful colours and just enough complication to be interesting.
A happy New Year to you!
What a lovely kit you have bought! I love her blog. Especially the one where she ‘installed’ a CCTV-camera in one of her embroideries :).
Looking forward to seeing how they turn out!
Gorgeous colors and stitching! Have a lovely New Year, Rachel!
Enjoy the change!
We all need a change of pace at times, and this looks like it is just the thing for you! Im Sure it will also get the creative juices going too for the next big project. And maybe tackling the dreaded framing!
I am very jealous of those hounds and they suit their names. Looks like a great project.