Project 2, Stage 6, creating texture continued, review

Today I spend most of my time working on this embroidery sample. I started out with 2 pieces of handdyed fabric and on those pieces I did my embroidery. With white pearl cotton I made the spider webs and the French knots, with 2 colors of yellow/brownish I made the interlaced running stitch and the roving was held in place with irregular herringbone stitches. Also in between the roving I used these stitched. And finally with the dark green I used the feather stitch. Although it took me many hours I like the result:

On this strip of cardboard you can see the colors I used:

Here is my review for this project:
- Do you feel happy with the work?
Yes, I like the result I got. It is not an exact copy of the picture which inspired me, but that is not necessary.
- Do you prefer working with stitch to drawing? Can you begin to see the relationship between the two?
Yes, I do like it. As a quilter I have been doing this for years but I have to admit that I work mainly with my machines. Especially with thin lines stitching is essential to duplicate these lines. Bigger areas can be done with pieced fabric, but with lines that is practically not possible. I have not much experience with hand stitching/embroidery, but I really see where that can come in useful.
- Having worked through Stage 2, were you then able to choose stiches which expressed the marks and lines of your drawings?
Yes, I was. If I had more experience with hand embroidery I would have been able to use more different stitches, but the ones I knew - or could find - were useable for my marks and lines.
- Do you think your sample works well irrespective of the drawing? Or do you think your sample is just a good interpretation of your drawing and nothing more?
Yes, my sample works well. It is not an exact copy of the texture in my picture, but the effect of the different textures shows in the sample.
- Which of the activities did you prefer - working with stitch to create textures or working with yarns to make textures? Which worked best for you and why?
For this question I have 2 answers. If I work with my machine I prefer working with stitch. Machine embroidery is limited to certain thinner threads as my machine does not like bobbin work. If I want to create really thick texture I would have to do this by hand.
- Make some comments on individual techniques and sample pieces. Did you experiment enough? Did you feel inhibited in any way?
As I mentioned earlier on, my experience with handstitching is limited. No doubt that there are many more stitching which I simply do not know now. This is the reason that I signed up for an online embroidery class which starts coming month. With this class my experimentation will continue. And so will my collection of different types of yarn/thread :-).
- How do you prefer to work? From drawing or by playing with materials and yarns to create effects? Which method produced the most interesting work?
I love to play and experiment and see where this leads to. Okay, sometimes the result is not great, but very often I find very intesting combinations.
- Are there other techniques you would like to try? Are there any samples you would like to do in a different way?
I would like to play more with texture and also use different materials with that. I am thinking along the line of strips of fabric instead of yarn and adding gesso and paint to make it much more dimensional.
- Is there anything you would like to change in your work? If so, try to think out why and make notes for future reference.
I want to have a bigger stash of different types of yarn/thread. This is something I am working on as it takes time to find the stuff I want. With the samples - especially the ones in the beginning - I was really held back because of the limited material I had here. Now some of the threads I have ordered have arrived.