Stumpwork Butterfly Revisited

Today I spent some time picking up and putting away supplies and tools.  It is an unending cycle of dragging out supplies only to return them when I can't find just the right thing.  So that limited my time of actually making something today.  Sometimes I think that I would be much better off with fewer supplies to choose from and it would be a lot easier to organize.

Yesterday I started sewing a blouse but I was having difficulty with getting the smocking dots even.  So this week I will look into the transfer sheets, Clover makes them.

So when I got tired I started working on the stumpwork butterfly.  The last wing I started just didn't come our with good shape. 

Just doesn't look like a butterfly wing!

There was a nice butterfly pattern on page 63 in the book "A Perfect World in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork by Di van Niekerk.  So I roughly sketched it out on the fabric.  Then turned the fabric over and sketched it again so I have a right and left wing.  I've never seen that trick in a book but it helps me make matching wings. 

Embroidering over the couched wires in black thread.
It shows embroidering over the doubled wires.

Friday I had purchased Gutermann polyester threads in colors 10, 212, 218, 227 and 230. One issue with the butterfly was that it was so small that even one strand of embroidery floss was thick for it. So as an experiment I bought the thread, which I didn't believe would work. What a happy surprise when the thread proved to be so strong and didn't fray going through the fabric many times. It also comes in many shades of blue!

The long and short stitch starting with

light blue at the point of the wing.

Next I started playing with an unorganized long and short stitch shading the wing from light blue to dark blue. At this point I decided that I wanted heavy black lines so it resembled stained glass. After stitching the pointed inner wing I stitched the black areas thicker, surrounding the upper oval shapes with black thread. If I do this again I will make the ovals a different color for a bit more contrast. To make the next wing I just turn the hoop and work from the back side.

In progress pictures.

Size of butterfly wings next to thumb.

Finished wing.

Hopefully I will make the second wing tomorrow.  I am thinking of adding the butterfly to the wood elf pincushion.  Still looking for something to hide the arm joints.  Also I want to make miniature french beaded flowers and may put the butterfly on one of the flowers.