Yesterday I kept looking at the cardinal with those two colors that really didn’t have much difference in color.
I went ahead and finished stitching it but still wasn’t happy with it just looking like it was all the same color. I didn’t want to rip out any part of it and still wasn’t finding the perfect color to use. I was hoping to find something with just a touch of red every now and then because the pictures of female cardinals I found on the internet, they all had just a bit of red – a tiny bit.
The two on the left are the called for colors and those were the colors I used. The color on the right, Kudzu, looked like it might work – a bit brighter than I wanted but I remember that Denise had told me not too long ago that the white floss she was using wasn’t showing up, she took one strand and made one leg of the “x” (half a cross stitch) and that was what her project needed. So, I took one strand of the Kudzu and made half the stitch just on the breast area of the bird, where the Sage floss was used.
I’m happy with it now. I think the one strand of Kudzu was just what this bird needed. I stitched the tail with just the Kudzu.
Just what it needed, don’t you think?
justquiltin says
Dang that Denise has some brilliant ideas! 🙂 It worked perfect for your cardinal.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Yes, if she just weren’t such a picky eater! 🙂
Teri says
It looks great….what a good idea
Roberta says
So happy I am SAL with you on this one. These colors have been tough!!
I think I have 3 called for colors that all basically look alike!
I will definitely keep all of this in mind when I get to the female cardinal.
I just got in the mail this week some candidates for my house color. I will make some test areas on the house like you did.
In a way I kinda like these color issues, makes the project more your own than just copying someone else. On a different project, Fairy Garden by Blackbird Designs, I discovered one strand of two different colors stitched together, 2 over 2, was the perfect blend to make the color I wanted.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Yes, I gave up testing on the actual house and started testing in the margin because I was about to wear out my linen. I also like changing to my own colors but am too afraid to do it most of the time. When I hate to do it, like on WRM, it gives me more confidence to do it when it’s just because I want to.
BFromM says
Perfect solution! I do thread blending of stitching with strands from different colors, but that doesn’t work when you are stitching with just one strand. The Denise solution used by Judy is great for single strand stitching.