Valley of Shadow – Framed

I chose a rustic wood frame to give the piece warmth.

Valley of Shadow – Framed, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Father, I hold them up to You for the rest of their lives.

Valley of Shadow – Stitched!

And here it is completely stitched!

Valley of Shadow – Stitched!, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Father, I pray that You stay with them and grant them peace and healing without end.

Valley of Shadow – Sky Fibers

I blended two threads of variegated fiber with four solid DMC cotton fibers to make the fibers for the sky.  This will liven the sky up and make it look more real and interesting.

Valley of Shadow – Sky Fibers, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Father, let Your light shine into the valley and bring them hope.

Valley of Shadow – Garibaldi’s Hand-dyed Cotton Floss

As you may know, I LOVE variegated thread!  For this project, I found some hand-dyed cotton floss on eBay!

Garibaldi’s Hand-dyed Cotton Floss, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Father, I pray for little joys and beauties in their lives!

Valley of Shadow – Far Hills

Here are the far hills, completely stitched.

Valley of Shadow – Far Hills, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Father, lift up their eyes to the hills, where Thy help comes from…

 

Valley of Shadow – Flat Horizontal Stitching

To make the flat, split texture, I have to begin a column on the left and add stitches always on the right.  To stop myself from having to start and end threads too often, I need to keep several colors threaded at once.  Tricky!

Valley of Shadow – Flat Horizontal Stitching, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Making it through the valley is not straightforward.  Healing can be painful, draining, challenging.  Father, give them the strength to heal!

 

Valley of Shadow – Under Haze

The hills on the far side of the valley are seen through streaky haze.  To give this impression, I’ve gone with horizontal stitches making a fairly flat texture.

Prayer: Beyond the valley there is land, land which is green and growing.  Although it seems far away, and maybe even inaccessible while they are in the valley.  Father, I pray that they find their way out of the valley into the life beyond.

Valley of Shadow – The Valley

Here I have stitched the valley and its walls.  Somehow when we are in the valley, it seems like there’s no possible way out.  So I stitched the wall using parallel vertical strokes to give that feeling of being trapped beneath cliffs.

The Valley, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Father, when they feel trapped in the valley, trapped in their grief, help them to remember that You are there with them.  Help them to walk with You and trust that You can lead them out.

Valley of Shadow – Treeline

To stitch the treeline at the front of the valley, I chose to use a primarily vertical stitch of varying lengths.  This gives the look of dense pine forest.

Valley of Shadow – Treeline, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

Prayer: Father, in their darkest moments, help them remember that You are with them.  Help them to feel you love and accept your comfort.

Valley of Shadow – Stitching the Words

The words are designed to be stitched using the “standard” needlepoint stitch – tent stitch.  Here I have stitched the words first.

Valley of Shadow – For Thou…, a photo by Carmen CS on Flickr.

I pray, “Father, be a light for them in their grief.  Be with them, and help them to know that.”