The Four Faces of Bargello

Pattern, Color, Texture, and Focus: It occurred to me as I was working out these 4-way novelty pieces, that there are things we didn't have long ago when bargello was popular that really add a new dimension to the needlework.
Color we had in the beautiful Persian wools we used, but we had to rely on that and pattern alone for the surface interest - no variation in texture at all.

Variations in pattern only, and changes of color, held our attention, until Dorothy Kaestner's four-way Bargello began introducing conventionalized floral motifs, providing a focus.

Now, with the fun novelty threads available, the new dimension of surface texture may be considered. The yellow egg looks rather like swirled lemon icing, as I used several different shades of yellow in different fibers - from matte of the cotton floss to the very shiny YLI Ribbon Floss. In just turning it a bit, the light strkes these different surfaces in a most interesting way. The basketweave around the flower is the same thread (YLI Ribbon Floss) as the bargello at the top of the egg, but the light is broken up by basketweave, so that the long bargello stitches are light and shiny, and the center of the egg is darker with more texture. The beads on both eggs are like a bit of sugar sprinkles.

I get a bit obsessive playing with a new idea - and decided to make a round ornament the same diameter as the widest part of the egg, intending to use yet different colors later for new things. (and maybe different motifs in the centers)

Incidentally, the pink and green "spun sugar" egg is now available as an e-pattern on my web page.