There’s just no way around it.  Compensation is a way of life, particularly for needleworkers.

We are constantly compensating stitches to make them fit the shape of a painted area.

Sometimes it is easier than others.

Sometimes we are more in the mood to play the game than others.

This is one of those times in my needlework life where it’s all about compensation.

Today was the second lesson of Blue Moon and it was mostly about the background, the beautiful purple night sky.

I auditioned several stitches before succumbing to the lure of the dots.  I’m a polka dot kind of girl.  I like dots.  When I look at Blue Moon I see the white orbs in the sky, the owl’s big round eyes and circles call to me.  I tried not to do dots but what’s a girl to do?  The dots won.

There are big dots and little dots, they repeat back and forth.  Big next to little.  Little next to big.  The beauty of the stitch to me is that we get dots and we get these fun little unexpected shapes between them that remind me of the leaves.  It’s a win win.

Except you really have to love compensation.  There’s a lot of counting and recounting to work your way around the leaves.  This entertains me.  I know, it doesn’t take much some days.

If you are part of class you will have choices for your background.  You can stitch the crazy dots that I love so much, or a uniform pattern of dots or yet another pattern that is straight forward.  They all require compensation around the leaves.  Some more, some less.  Choose the one that suits your mood.  I promise they will all look great.

We added a hint of metallic to the tree branches for a little sparkle.  And some easy on the mind stitching.

For a pop of color we stitched and beaded the single lime green leaf hanging in the tree.

We’ve set the stage and now the fun can really begin.  Next up, more leaves and the big wonderful owl!