Waving Snowman in the Snow

He is waving at somebody. Once this is on the wall that somebody is whoever comes through the door, which is a strange and rather pleasant thing to arrange for yourself over five weeks of evenings.

The raised hand is in a red mitten, the pair to the one at his side. He is dressed for the weather in a teal knit hat and matching scarf, with a small silver bell hanging at his side and a sprig of holly berries near his shoulder. Behind him the snow goes on in silvery whites and cold blues, unbroken, so there is nothing in the frame to look at except him and the gesture.

Twenty-three DMC colors, 161 through 3865, and most of that range gets spent on the background. That is the right decision. An unbroken field of snow is the hardest thing on a canvas to keep interesting, and it stays interesting only if the whites have somewhere to go.

The details

• 45 x 60 cm (approx. 18 x 24 in)
• Full coverage, round drills
• 23 DMC colors, DMC 161 to DMC 3865
• Adhesive canvas with printed symbols and color legend
• Sealed, numbered, DMC color-coded drill packets
• Stylus pen, grooved tray, wax refill and tweezers included
• Kit only, no frame included

Straight talk

Roughly 30 to 35 hours, and be honest with yourself about the snow. Most of this canvas is background, and background is slower than it looks because the symbols shift so gradually. Place the snowman first if you want the momentum, or grind the snow out early if you would rather finish on the good part. Round drills, full coverage, ships rolled, no frame. The adhesive stays tackier if you keep the film over everything you are not working on.

Then he waves at the room, and at everyone in it, indefinitely.