Over the weekend I finished the last little bits of background on Althea, then spent yesterday on the finishing touches. To start with she looked like this.
I began with her left eye, which still bothered me even after twice trying to fix it before.
I decided that it was too wide at the edge of her face, so I took out the little white part at the edge and swept the upper eye down around the pupil.
Then I tackled the nose. It too had undergone several changes (none of which I liked) and I knew it would be hard to take out because of the embroidery thread which was sewn in to create the outline.
It took me ages, using a pair of tweezers to remove the grey, and the tiny pieces I’d used for the edge of the nose. Then I pondered how to make it better, stared at my pictures, and thought about advice I’d received. I finally made two alterations…..I made the right nostril larger, thus changing the entire angle of the nose, and then straightening the nose itself, and reducing the bottom left, since it was now more in profile that before. Does that make sense??
This is her new nose.
Another area that bothered me was the grey outline on her skin. It looked too much like a coloured outline, rather than a shadow…..so I took out the part around her face. I found a piece of flesh tone wool that I had overdyed grey, and thought it might be less stark than the grey I’d used. I removed the part between her face and hair completely, and left a bit of her cheek with no outlining. I used a #4 cut and hooked it very low so it would not be so prominent. I touched up the flesh by replacing that brownish strip to the right of her lips, and added a few more pinkish “face strips” at the top of her neck to help in the transition from one “batch of flesh wool” to the next.
Whew!! Done. All that remains is the steaming and finishing.
Unfortunately, I’ve once again injured my knee and standing to steam her will have to wait a bit. 
Yikes…perhaps I should stop looking at her…because now that I’ve altered her eye and her nose…I think I should change her mouth as well. …but then I think it’s just the angle of this photo. I’m done…she’s done.
So here she is…my Althea….an adaptation of Klimt‘s “Lady with Fan”. 36″ x 36″ wool on rugwarp, completed in 4 months…December 2012 to March 2013….a tribute to my sister Audrey who died January 10th, 2013.
She’s beautiful Elizabeth. And what a beautiful tribute to your sister.
Thanks Jo-Anne. I call it my healing rug.
Absolutely gorgeous!
I’m so glad you like it Jan. Thanks.
Wonderful, Elizabeth! I love the way you used color, transitions of color, shading, etc. The change you made in the nose was great to see – thanks for sharing the process with us.
Phyllis I was nervous ripping out that nose…again….but as soon as I changed the nostril I could see what I felt was needed….if at first you don’t succeed….I struggle a lot with colour, so it means a lot that you think it worked.
You have created another masterpiece that is so grand and beautiful. I hope you’ve found some peace in pulling these loops in tribute to your sister.
jill in Ontario
Thanks Jill. I have gone through an emotional turmoil during the making of this piece, but the actual hooking of it has been a such healing activity. Althea makes me smile when I look at her. I also learned a lot in the hooking of it. …many little things that will help make the next project hopefully that much better. That’s one of the things that excites me about hooking….the possibilities are endless.
Your changes were perfect. I really didn’t see the necessity for the until I saw the finished version. You have an amazing eye for detail! I absolutely LOVE your work.
Lynne
Thanks Lynne. That ‘eye for detail’ is both a blessing and a curse. Once I notice something that bugs me about my work ….that seems to be all I see.
I love your rugs. Thanks for sharing your rug hooking.
Thank you so much Laurie. I’m glad you enjoy reading about my rug hooking journey.