This week the purple pumpkin will be stitched. Because with Christmas it’s such a busy time of year, it’s small. I stitched it in an evening.
The damask pattern used, Dayspring Stripe, below, is a very simple one and easy to vary. You can have any numbr of narrow stripes, separated by one thread, alternating with wider solid stripes. It’s also possible to vary it by adding another color in the one-thread stripes.
I used Rainbow Gallery’s Grandeur for the light purple stripes and JL Walsh’s silk/wool for the darker purple. This difference in color brings up another fantastic use of damasks. Instead of looking for a contrast in texture, look for a contrast in color. This can be, as is the case here, a contrast in value. It can also work effectively when there is a slight contrast in color, for example blue and blue-green.
If you are using a contrast in color, this should be relatively small. It needs to be enough to be clear in the stitching but not so much that you feel as if you are looking at two totally different colors.
This pairing of color and damask is one which is my favorite way of dealing with the problem of having two different dyelots. It allows you to create a pattern using one dyelot and them fill in with the second one. It transform what could be an unslightly mess into a subtle pattern that looks as if you planned it.
Because of New Year’s Day and Epiphany. the next two pumpkins will also be small ones, giving us time both to stitch and to enjoy the 12 Days of Christmas, which start, not end, on Christmas Day.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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