Beautiful Bargello: Four "4-way"

Many times it is a matter of colors, thread choices, and arrangement that makes a project come to life as a beautiful decorative home accessory!

Liz Morrow's blog, LIZART, is one of the very very few needlepoint blogs I look at regularly, and this morning, as I was admiring the beauty of the colors and effect of the outlines on this new piece, I realized that it's an extremely simple mitered bargello pattern - quite elementary, and a great one for anyone to begin.

However, the arrangement of the four, in addition to the lovely choices of overdyed threads, etc., makes it one that anybody would enjoy doing.

I was surprised at the simplicity of the design, as Liz is, in my opinion, the best of the Bargello artist/designers these days, having surpassed the Elsa Williams style many of us started with in the 70's - as well as Dorothy Kaestner's Four-Way Bargello, which I found to be fascinating.

Anyway - whether you have or haven't worked Bargello, do go take a look and watch the process as she proceeds. She says she has other color combinations working as well - and I hope this one will be available as a pattern I might try for myself!!

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.

The Bargello Finished!

I posted pictures of this on the other blog yesterday before it was finished - along with the instructions. Just a few more hours today completed the work, as it took very little time due to the long stitches.

This is a 4-way Bargello ornament, so was worked as a square with the corners cut off to make an octagon. However, as it was lying on my table, I realized that by turning it 45 degrees, it looked entirely different - great for an ornament with a tassel on the bottom!

The design is only 4" high and wide, so works up quickly - a good project for two easy afternoons or maybe while riding in a car to a holiday destination.