Damask Design

I've been looking at ideas for my damask pick-up design: I used cross-stitch patterns as my starting point, since the woven design is based on a small square. But I only have a single tone on tone shading option for my weaving, whereas most cross-stitch patterns use a variety of colours. So I was looking for something that didn't rely too heavily on colour contrasts to build up the picture.

I started with the Rose design--I was thinking of traditional damask patterns. After losing count several times just in the process of transferring my design to graph paper, and realising that the rose would absolutely fill the design space of 48 x 60 squares, I decided to try something else.

The bird is more original. I used a cross-stitch pattern to get me started with the body and head, but then went a bit crazy on the tail plumage. I may yet need to simplify that a little. I also like the fact that the bird really emphasises the asymmetrical aspect. It's not often I get to be way off centre with my weaving, so I may as well revel in it.