Karla wanted to force herself to work with a color that she didn't like, instead of always designing pieces in the blue/green/red/purple areas of the spectrum. It's so easy to get into a color 'rut'! In Karla's case, orange is a color that she doesn't much care for, so it became the focus of the piece. The piece became a color study, and an exercise in balancing a strong, advancing color like orange with its complement (blue) so that the orange was not overly dominant.

Karla also wanted to design a piece that had the look, texture, and 'heft' of a piece of metalwork/jewelry. Needlepoint is a truly unique medium because it offers the possibility of using color, design, and texture in a way not possible in other media. She is always interested in using needleart in ways that 'push the envelope' of possibility for it as a medium.

Karla cautions other stitchers: Don't do anything using this much DMC gold floss and a laying tool unless you are truly brave of heart!