Before I start on my Sampler - which will takes a few months to accumulate supplies for (Gylte Silk Twist, here I come!) - I have the other needlepainting project to do for my other friend, once I've finished the iris.

I was going to do the Poppy from Trish Burr's Long and Short Stitch, but there are 20 crewel wools required. (It's the only project in the book that I've seen that uses crewel wool)

After a discussion of cost with Kit (the recipient) we decided either to choose a different one, or to go halvies in the wool cost.

I showed her the Trish Burr Redoute book via Webcam, since she'd seen all the Long and Short projects by getting the book out of her library.

Mary C did a review of the Redoute book at http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/11/embroidery-book-review-redoutes-finest.html
I get a mention there coz I was kind of having a bit of a wibble about the book to Mary at the time -

Kit chose, from Redoute

It's a big project, but it's also a simple one. It's multiple variations on the basic exercise in doing a rounded petal shape, over and over again.

We're going to change the top left flower's colours to reds and blues, coz Kit doesn't like yellow.

It's interesting - the Redoute book only uses about 20 different coloured threads per project, whereas Long and Short uses upwards of 26.

Redoute also doesn't have a diagram of stitch directions in it, but L&S does. (Redoute was the first book, I think).

In terms of difficulty of projects between the two books, I originally assumed that the Redoute's would be harder - because the book is based on the paintings of the artist, I guess. I wouldn't say now that they are. There are the most simple projects in L&S (eg a pansy) but in general, both books contain simple and harder projects.

Certainly the Poppies will be easier technically to do than the Rust Red Iris - there is nowhere near the requirement for creating optical illusion. - remembering all those bugs at the base, and now the convolutions in the petals of the iris.

It's a pity I don't have silks to do the poppies in because the large petal surface areas, with a simple blending of 3 colours on each petal, would lend themselves to the shininess of silk to really bring them up (whereas the Iris is fine in DMC because there is so much detail). Oh well. No worries. :-)