I continue to find it interesting to see Gay Ann’s designs develop such as when she repeats a stitch but in a different color and number of repetitions. And, Gay Ann is not afraid to leave some open canvas which I find can be difficult. This piece was broken up into 4 steps but I could not stop!
I am glad my phone has the ability to flip a photo and make a mirror image because I couldn’t see where to put the three long diagonal silver stitches in the center opposite sides. Looks easy now!
There are 4 columns of Tied Mohair that called for Planet Earth Fun-Fuzz-Funn but I had Rainbow Gallery Fuzzy Stuff which was fine. However, the pattern called for long strands of the darker color tied with the lighter color. I didn’t see that until I stitched them all dark. I should have taken a pictures of all the iterations I went through. Next, I stitched 2 of them as instructed. Bill & I liked the 2 dark ones better than the combo. So, out the combo came. Then, I stitched 2 of them with just the lighter thread. Bill liked either but when I showed him the picture, he agreed with me that the lighter gray was better. I stitched 9 columns to figure it out. Luckily, they were not a large area or a complicated stitch.
Gay Ann was by inspired by this photo of Lady Mary for her design.
Lady Mary is the second in the Downton Abbey series by Gay Ann Rogers. These are 6″ x 6″ and the center waffle stitch covers a 2″ square. It’s probably the biggest waffle I’ve stitched. The overstitching with the third thread (silver) was brilliant. And, then how she made it appear as a medallion with the slanting stitches was interesting too.
Again, careful counting is required. Not too much had to get restitched. Cross referencing to other areas helps.
Filed under: Gay Ann Roger's, Countess of Granrham, Gay Ann Roger's, Dowager Countess, Gay Ann Roger's, Lady Edith, Gay Ann Roger's, Lady Mary, Other People's Pieces
It took ordering from 3 stores to compile the required threads to stitch all 4 Gay Ann Roger’s Downton Abbey pieces. Everything including the 4 pieces of canvas are now ready to go. I only substituted Fuzzy Stuff which I had in my stash for the Planet Earth fiber Furr-Fuzz-Funn. One of the Kreinik colors has been discontinued but I was able to get it. I thought it was interesting that 3 of the 4 pieces use DMC Ecru and Lady Mary’s does not. Nothing as common as Ecru for her!
The next decision is in what order to stitch them? Do I stitch youngest to oldest or vice versa? This decision is based on one key point: The Dowager Countess is the newest design just released in her October sale and I would her done hers first. But, it uses Watercolours Amethyst 006 and I have stitched with Waterlilies Amethyst 006 recently. So, I will start with Lady Edith.
Filed under: Gay Ann Roger's, Countess of Granrham, Gay Ann Roger's, Lady Edith, Gay Ann Roger's, Lady Mary, General comments, Other People's Pieces, Technique Issues
I asked Santa for Gay Ann Roger’s series of designs inspired by Downton Abbey including the Countess, Lady Mary, and Lady Edith. Hopefully, she adds a fourth based on the Dowager Countess.
And, I expect to learn a lot from Susan Sturgeon Roberts in her book, Tips & Techniques for Needlepoint. After some cooking, I will settle down with this.
Happy Holidays to all!
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