80 rows x 72 stitchesI started this piece sometime in late 2013 and thought I would be finished by the beginning of the New Year. Unfortunately, the flu and two bouts of bronchitis kept me from completing it until now. During that sick time, I simply didn’t feel like crocheting, but for some reason I wasn’t averse to knitting. Go figure!

This finished piece measures 17″ x 19″ and will make a nice wall hanging once I stretch it on stretcher bars.

A Fantastic Photo to Work From

One of the things that makes this piece so striking is the photo on which it is based. It’s one I found on Flickr and has creative commons license. These licenses let you use the photograph for free, including commercial use, as long as you attribute it to the photographer, which I’ve done in the caption above and on the pattern’s cover page.

I mention elsewhere on this blog that I only use photos with creative commons licenses, photos that are in the public domain, or photos which the photographer has given me permission to use. Using anything else would be committing copyright infringement, and I don’t want to chance getting a cease and desist order or being subject to harsher legal action. It’s just not worth it.

But back to the photo itself. I found this photo some time back in October of 2013, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would make a great crochet portrait. One of the challenges in creating these patterns is to find the perfect photo, and it often takes a lot of searching, especially since I’m not using copyrighted photos. And once I’ve found a good candidate, I spend a considerable amount of time editing it so that it renders well as a pattern.

An Experimental Brown Scale Palette

One of the main purposes for creating this piece was to experiment with nine colors instead of the usual eight colors in the brown scale palette. I thought I might get better shading if I added a color.

I selected Vanna’s Choice Beige as my ninth color because I thought the gap between the Red Heart Aran and Buff was too wide. I wish I could have found a slightly darker shade than the VC Beige, but there are no Michaels or AC Moore’s in Hawaii where I probably could have found more shades of beige to choose from.

In any event, I’m not sure if the addition of the ninth color made a difference. But I’ve included it in the published pattern which you can purchase HERE.

Tweaking the Nostril

Once I was finished with the piece, I didn’t like how the mother’s nostril turned out. So I added a couple of strands of Vanna’s Choice Chocolate to fill it in a bit.

Single crochet stitches don’t stack exactly on top of each other, but slant a bit to the left or right, depending on whether you are right- or left-handed respectively. As a result, the finished piece is more akin to an impressionist painting rather than an exact match to the original photo. Think of an oil painting: the closer you stand to it, the more you can see the individual brush strokes (stitches). A clear image emerges the farther back you stand from the painting.

This is the first time I’ve had to embroider over a portion of a finished piece, but I don’t expect to need to do it often.

If you’d like to find out more about my crochet photo patterns, check out my blog. I can make custom patterns  based on your personal photos or create a piece on commission if crochet isn’t your thing or you just don’t have the time.