Well, I've spent the last month trying a variety of techniques with only limited success. The african helix thing was a little harder to wrap my head around than I originally anticipated, so I've set that aside for the time being while I try something else. I've always wanted to try doing some sculptural beadwork, so I've started work on a beaded hummingbird from Bead and Buttons "Beaded Critters".
The beaded hummingbird is done with a modified square stitch in a circular fashion very similar to the work I was doing with the doilies which was done with circular netting. Then the body is stuffed with polyfill (which was an interesting trick!). I am about three quarters of the way done and have finished the body. I am working on the tail now. It's actually gone pretty quickly (roughly a couple of hours a day for about two weeks now) compared to the doilies. I've made a few errors but overall I think it looks pretty good. I'll post a picture once it's done.
In addition, I've started work on a new mini tapestry, also done in square stitch, that I am converting from a beautiful Celtic cross stitch book by Barbara Hammet called "Celtic Art in Cross Stitch". It's called the "Greedy Cat" and was originally inspired by the Lindisfarne Gospel illustrations. I love Celtic artwork and this one reminded me of one of my cats, so I'm giving it a go. So far I'm pretty pleased with it. I've altered the coloring a bit to my own tastes, but love the way the general piece is turning out so far. I'll be posting progress pictures shortly.
Speaking of doilies, I've added pictures of the two that I had been working on over the last few months. The photos don't really do them justice, but overall, I was pretty pleased with the results. And hey, as long as their new owners like them, that's all that matters, right?
