Cardinal Christmas Ball *Second Place Finish*

[Mabel Figworthy]

It's really pretty! How about using white with one strand of pearl blending filament?

[vanessanjf]

Beautiful!!!

[cgirlish]

very pretty ... something I would love to stitch one day ... If only I had more time and a larger stash area lol


Your looks great on the red fabric

[Nachstenliebe]

I think it looks great just as it is.. but adding some new element should really make it stand out. I can't wait to see what you decide!!!!
Faith

[BrownEyedGirl]

Wow, that's stunning! I love the colors and I agree, you have a winner there!

[tiffstitch]

Silver sounds like it would work very well! Beautifully stitched!

[Lili]

wow! beautiful!

[MaggieM1750]

Oh Amanda.. you should enter a piece this year. Come on.. everybody's doing it! I've never entered a piece before. And suprisingly.. theme and fabric count are wide open. I thought it would be more than just that it needed to be stitched within the last 3 years. Seriously.. look into it.

Thank you all for your comments. I am going to the stitchy store tonight.. or some time over the weekend.. to get this thread thing figured out. I was thinking perhaps a blending filament like Mabel suggested.. but then who knows, they may have something fun and new to try. I'll keep you posted (and ask for opinions after doing some test stitches)

[BrownEyedGirl]

Maggie, Maggie, Maggie..... I've already seen your entry and girl, I don't have anything that could even come close to that. Besides, I wouldn't have time to get anything completed before then. Perhaps a thought for next year.

Have fun at the stitchy store...... I'm jealous.

Amanda

[rcperryls]

Can't wait to see what you pick. Would any of the DMC jeweled or other new types of threads be too much? I bought a few but haven't figured out what to do with them.

Carole

[MaggieM1750]

So I've made the decision on the metallics.
All silver, Kreinik #4 braid.
My sister made the decision after a stitching few test areas with DMC 5200 + shiny white blending filament, 5200 + silver blending filament, or just #4 silver braid. She said blending filament wasn't blingy enough.. if I was going to do it.. I had to commit to it.. not just hint at it. The ladies at my stitchy store also suggested petite beads at the end of some of the swirls.. haven't tried them yet but I will soon. I've done the top of the ornament and just one dangly bobble so far. I wanted to get more of the silver done before I tried the beads.



Here are my questions to you.
1) The area at the top where the silver parts attach to the ball.. Its not in the right spot. It should be narrower and attach a few lines lower down. Both sides are wrong.. but they are equally wrong and I have already adjusted the top + and swirl to fill up the space more. Should I unpick and restitch the bottom part to bring it in a bit? It's not supposed to start at the top line, its supposed to start on the 3rd line down.

2) On the pattern, the "filler" for this area is a heart. I don't like hearts. They seem too cutesy for me. There are a few other spots on this pattern that have heart swirl fillers and already know I am either going to stitch something other than a heart. So.. what do I stitch up here? Diamond shape? Circle? Star? Bell?

[Serinde]

Don't suppose you could add a treasure of some sort? Mill Hill do little things. Or a snowflake? Or a little cardinal, come to that?

[BrownEyedGirl]

I agree with Serinde, a silver treasure would be nice or maybe just some little silver beads?

Amanda

[rcperryls]

I think Serinde's idea of a snowflake would be very pretty. This is a beautiful piece. Its nice to have Christmas in June.

Carole

[Mabel Figworthy]

The top, as it is what you might call "symmetrically wrong", doesn't look wrong, so if you're happy with it I'd leave it!

I like the idea of petite beads for some little accents.

Charms could, uh, work a charm , or if you prefer a stitched filling I think something star or snowflake-shaped would look lovely

[Nachstenliebe]

It looks fine to me.. You can't tell it's a mistake if both sides are even.. I like the idea of the snowflake charm. Especially if you're going to add the beads.. You'll be giving the design a lovely 3-D Effect
Faith

[Carole]

It's looking really lovely and the silver is going to be the icing on the cake. Especially using Kreinik #4 braid. I've just used that for the first time and I'm completely in love with it

I too think that snowflakes or stars would look maybe more fitting than hearts but whatever you do will look lovely I'm sure

[Rose]

I missed the update and this looks so good. I like the idea of charms maybe you could find some tiny bird charms they would work well with the theme of the design as well.

[Juel]

Looks beautiful
If you had not mentioned your mistake I wouldn't have noticed it.

[meerkat]

So pretty