Embroidered Collage

For the bolder, stylized design I wanted to use bold stitches.  So I started with cross-stitches in #5 perle silk across the top of the wings.  As a size reference, from the tip of one wing to the other is about five inches.  Then I continued the primarily one-stitch theme to other portions of the design.  The stitches at the outer edges of the lower wings blend in a little more than I would have liked because the colors match more closely than I had originally intended.  I thought about redoing them, but decided that the overall result was good.

I used the cross-stitches to add pattern and to blur shape.  I added a couple of lines as well.  I could have just emphasized the lines already there with stitch, but that just isn't what I want.  I want the stitching in my mixed-media embroidery to obviously be there for a reason, contributing to the composition.  Following drawn lines might have been a nice accenting touch, but it doesn't place the technique into prominence. 

I didn't like the final composition in relation to the rectangular piece of paper it was painted on.  So I chopped it up with the intention of using the stitched butterfly as a piece in a larger collage at some point in the future.  I actually did this the other two butterflies as well, as you'll see when I finish the stitching on them.