Tree Progress

I've been making some progress with my tree project.  I'm quite pleased with the leaves, but as suspected getting the shading right on the branches and trunk is difficult.  I've tried to fill based on the shading in the photo, but it almost doesn't work if that makes any sense.  Its not just colouring in.  What I've done is that once I've 'coloured in' based on the photo, I've gone back and put in some of the darker thread in between the lighter colours.  Not extra split stitches, but just some straight stitches in between the rows of split stitches.  This (to me) seems to have made the lighter areas not so overpowering (I hope).  Here's a close up of what I mean.  You can just see a few of the darker threads in amongst the lighter areas.  

I think being able to draw/paint would definitely help with a project like this.  But you gotta give it a go, right?

TAST - Crested Chain

I'm running behind on this weeks TAST stitch - Crested Chain.  I thought it would make a great set of dinosaur 'spikes'.  Not a chicken I know.  But I was going to do a chicken in a dinosaur costume.  But I couldn't get the image to look right.  Then I was going to do chicks with Punk hair, but when I tried it that looked awful, so now I've changed it to a banner, but I'm running behind.  So you'll have to wait and see that one :-)