Evil Eye Mandala 5

 

Yesterday I finished the fifth, and last, of the Evil Eye mandalas I bought through Etsy. I have really enjoyed stitching them. 

The centre of this one, where I began, gave me a bit more trouble than the others. I worked again in a spiral arc of satin stitch, but made the arc a bit small so had trouble getting coverage. I ended up using most of the thread and only just had enough to finish the other area.

I’m not sure if the oval shape surrounded by the first layer of beads is intentionally wonky, but it seems to add interest - perhaps another devise to divert the Evil Eye from its target!

I love the way each round of embroidery is not only different in stitching, but in colour, and transforms the look.

Beading is not my favourite technique, mainly because of the care required to keep the hoop perfectly horizontal so the beads don’t spill and the tedium of spearing and securing them one at a time. In this case, with two colours and shapes of beads, I did two rounds. The placement was marked, so few decisions required.

Once again, on the outer layer, I used buttonhole stitch rather than a stem stitch edge with straight stitch. I think a perle thread might have been better than stranded but I went with the kit provision.

There was enough of the Japanese fabric I used last  time within reach, so I took the easy backing option.

This is, at the moment, my favourite of the five, but perhaps I tend towards the most recent! 

These were stitched to illustrate a talk I am scheduled to give in May on The Evil Eye in Embroidery. It will be interesting to hear what the group has to say about them.