I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Friday, May 1, 2020

An Oriental Tea Garden...........38 years later

I hope this finds all of you well and that you have not suffered from this dreadful coronavirus.
I hope you all have found a way to "hang on" and to get through this difficult time. 
As many of you have seen through the news media, one positive thing this virus has brought out......
is the spark of creativity in many. I hope after this has all passed, that everyone will still hang on to 
their imagination and keep creating.  
I decided this year that I have 3.......yes 3, embroidery 
projects that I want to work on and finish  by the end of this year...........
are many of you chuckling at this thought??  It's okay.....
I completely understand that 1 is probable......but 3??
Anyhow, I purchased this lovely kit 38 years ago.....just before marriage,
3 children, and a life detour away from this kit..............now ....dear husband has slowed down.....children have grown and flown,
 I dug it out of my stash.......still pristine......unopened........
and ready. 

It is from the Sunset company and titled, Oriental Tea Garden.
I fell in love with it at the needlework store the instant I saw it so many years ago.
I have always wanted a lovely pond.......a shaded place to enjoy fish and lovely flowers.
Southwest Texas is not an ideal place for such a luxury.
This is our actual pond...........crooked mesquite trees that give an interesting look, hang over the pond,
but do not offer much shade in the 100 plus Texas heat.  However, it is a wonderful quiet place to sit in the early morning/late afternoon.  I have tried to plant various flowers along the pond edge......but
with these wild woods.....many varmints eat everything I plant.  So I try to make
wildscapes that go with the area instead.  
There are pretty gold fish that I enjoy to watch

and out here in the middle of "dry" nowhere,  bullfrogs
come to visit the pond



However, through the years of embroidery, I have discovered that I do not like to 
embroider with yarn......such as in crewel work........which this kit was meant for and 
it came with all of the yarn. But if you have hung around and have read my blog over the many  years.......you know........I always change things around and embroider the way I would like the design to be. At least with this pond scene, I can add anything I want with needle and thread.........no heat, no varmints can take it away.

I matched embroidery floss with the colors of the yarns.  The first thing I decided to embroider 
was the tree.  And I am pleased with how it has turned out.  But then........I realized.....there is so much green, brown and gray in this project.........I want more color, 
so this is where I started changing things up.........a bit.

This is how the package photo shows the finished design.  If  you look where I placed the arrows,
I did not like to have just green bushes in front of the window.  Also, I did not like the faint blue
roof top.

I decided to add french knot flowers and daisy flowers underneath the window instead.
I  chose a brighter color for the roof, and I used perle cotton floss for the rocks. 
I have not worked with perle cotton floss much.....but for large areas such as this, it worked great.


I also wanted to see Koi goldfish and lilypads on the stream. However,   I did not want the embroidered goldfish to look like they were laying on top of the water, and I felt that would happen if I satin stitched them.   With the fabric being tinted and shaded, I drew a few fish and worked a simple outline stitch on them to make them look as if they were under the water.  I then made some lilypads.

This little "change up" I am happy with.

If you look at the piece from a distance, the fish do not glare out
......which is what I was hoping that they wouldn't. 
I also worked the bridge......pretty much as the pattern shows.
This has been such an enjoyable piece to work on. 
So now..........tell me........have you been side tracked with the virus
and have found creative time on your hands?  
What are you creating?  Are you embroidering, crocheting, knitting, 
.......painting? 
I would love to hear!
Stay safe dear friends! 

9 comments:

mamasmercantile said...

Wow, that is impressive. I am working on using scrap fabrics and finishing projects as well as little upcycling of furniture. Take care and stay safe.

Faith said...

I love what you did with making it your own creation. I wish I knew how to do this. I have tried in the past, it gets all knotty and what a mess. Lately I have been considering doing something..I need to learn stitches. And of course I have no embroidery thread or hoop at present and have no idea when I can purchase them. I thank you for stopping over my place and leaving a comment. No sales at the Etsy shoppe. You do beautiful stitch work.

handmade by amalia said...

A beautiful design and well worth your time, especially after waiting for so long in the cupboard.
Amalia
xo

Hill Top Post said...

I can imagine how delightful it must be to sit by your little pond in the shade of the mesquite trees at the end of a long Southwest Texas summer day. I love how you are adding your own little touches to create such a lovely piece.

Prims By The Water said...

Good luck with your stitcheries. We cannot have fish in ponds here.Too many herons and egrets. Yours looks very nice! Janice

Sandra said...

I think it is wonderful how you have held onto that piece of embroidery all this time and that you are working on it now. Never give up! I have quite a few long time projects that I hope to finish stitching myself. You give me hope! I have been a long time admirer of your special stitches. The piece will be amazing when finished and I hope you will frame it and enjoy seeing it in your home. I have some crochet and some embroidery going on at my house right now. With so many internet problems I am having a difficult time to blog right now; but hope to get things back on line soon.

Debra said...

This is so pretty, and I think your ideas are much better than the instructions. I do like your little pond in the heat-it's beautiful. We are struggling to get to 60 degrees here. I've been painting, and working in my gardens. Please stay safe my friend!

Lea said...

🥰😍 So beautiful. I like the little house with the bridge.

Laurie said...

I love all the changes you made, it's going to be so beautiful! I spend a lot of my time painting, mainly outdoor scenes and landscapes. It keeps my mind occupied while going through this virus. God bless, and happy Mother's Day