Shading patience

Working in the three tones of light-medium-dark, it's usually possible to get good results without being too tedious to plan, acquire yarns (oh, the omnipresent worry about tag-end leftovers), and stitch. Four tones probably would be even better,...More......but even my patience has its limits.

Furthermore, the colors of Paternayan are grouped in small batches of 5, and, at the light end of the tones, the difference may seem visible on the color card, or even when laying hanks next to each other, while stitched may "disappear" discouragingly, after all that work (though the differences, not consciously perceived, still may contribute to enlivening the design).

Similarly, at the dark end of the tones, the difference between the 4th and the 5th color may not seem startling, but might turn into an eye-popper once stitched. I encountered the first situation in the skin tones of my Justinian and Theodora needlepoints (my second ever projects), while the second is evidenced in the mantle of Justinian (http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2010/06/adopting-images-in-mosaics-surprisingly.html).

Though the finished product is still good, working the designs always is an excellent way to learn new lessons, to refine sensibilities. Especially if the project is going to be large and costly, it's a good idea to work good-sized test patches of the color combinations, first.