I think this is post #14, going from the last numbered post and then adding all the WIPocalypse posts featuring multiple projects. Close enough, right?
So, I maybe finished the cherry blossom panel on Chinese Garden Mandala. I say maybe because I haven't decided if I want to completely fill the background with sky blue, or only stitch some of it as charted. The two bottom seasonal panels are fully stitched but the top two have some unstitched areas in the sky, and I'm not sure I like them being different.
Here it is so far:
The grey/brown/green tree branch is almost indistinct among the many green/brown/yellow colors used for the leaves. The bridge is multiple variegated colors that look almost identical. The water (in this panel as well as the other two) has harsh shading with two colors that are far too different. I don't know what the green/brown area in the lower left corner is, or what the blocky dark green lines in the water represent. The black shadow under the bridge is far too harsh and I should have changed it, but I saw several finishes with the black shadow and they looked okay.
I'm stitching with the original threads, purchased as a kit back when this chart was new, including all of the out of production Eterna silks, so it's not a matter of subbing in colors that weren't intended.
I wish I'd made more changes as I worked on this and the other two panels, because I knew I wasn't going to be happy with the results.
Autumn panel: I changed some of the leaf colors and backstitch colors, but I don't like the water contrast or the color of the tree trunk. I can't figure out if the brown/grey area along the bottom is a rock or a huge tree root. I might redo it as grass instead.
Winter panel: Changed the black tree to dark brown (it's lighter than it looks in this picture!) and fully stitched the sky behind the pine needles - it was charted to leave the sky behind the needles blank. I need to take out the two darkest colors in the sky and restitch them with something less harsh. This should be an easy change, thankfully.
I think I'll put this away for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. Right now I'm feeling too disappointed to think rationally about this project. :(
That's such a shame that it's not turning out how you want it to look. I can see what you mean about the colours. The winter block is my favourite out of these three.
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