Completed Cross Stitch – Charley Harper’s "Cool Cardinal"

 

The American Modernist nature artist, Charley Harper, has a minimalist style that has definitely stood the test of time.  He has worked with the Audubon Society, various zoos and even the Ford Motor Company and his active years appear to be about the 1950s to 1970s.

One of the reasons I point out that his work is timeless is that just for one example “Cool Cardinal” was originally released in 1974; the hand-drawn cross stitch pattern from KD Artistry, Inc. (for Puckerbrush) is from 1985 and finally, here it is again in 2013 in thread and fabric form.

Here is my list of random information bits about this latest completed work:

1. Finished size:  15.25″ x 4.25″
2. Linen 28 or 32 count, possibly Monster Mash from Picture This Plus
3. DMC white used not DMC B5200; DMC white is more yellow and B5200 is more blue (brighter white) – I only had white on-hand at the time (maybe B5200 might have been too overpowering)
4. Used 3 strands instead of 2
5. Would not recommend linen for geometrical work
6. Kreinik Metallics #032 blending filament used with white (really adds a delicateness to the snow and keeps the overall work from looking too flat or heavy because of the bold colours and lines)
7. Would not recommend this pattern for beginners – too hard to understand some of the instructions
8. Discovered a new technique from this pattern:  the use of interchanging double and single lines of backstitching for effect (that was really cool…no pun LOL)
9. Snowflakes got a little tedious to work on at times
10. And lastly, one time I looked up from this work and saw a cardinal sitting outside my windowsill…awwww

I have added a picture of the Kreinik blending filament to show the iridescence because unfortunately it does not seem to show up through the photographs (sorry, I tried several times with natural and artificial light)