Blackwork project finished

Sometime last year I decided to try my hand at blackwork. I studied a few books and online tutorials, then I picked this tried and tested picture to start with.



I turned it into a grid using KG Chart LE for Cross Stitch and played around with a few designs. After a few trials I decided to use one continuous pattern building it up in layers instead of using different patterns. The picture had too many small corners to make this workable.



I made a sample grid to test the pattern first.



First I did the outline. I lost track of my counting a few times and had to undo. I must admit I found the Holbein stitch very slow-going, and the going back and forth added to the confusion.



Then I started to fill in the layers. The first two was relatively easy and hassle free,



but as the layers became more dense it was difficult to keep track of the outlines.



(Sorry about the blurry pic - I am still getting to grips with my camera's macro-function...)



With the last layer it was difficult to still see the little holes for the needle to go through, fortunately it was just a small area.



So, that's blackwork done. Now I am off to something new. (All the time while I was working on this I was asked 'why do you only do his face? When will you do mine? So I guess the next experiment will have a new face...)