As we in California appear to be heading into a drought year, I wanted to stitch a little "rain dance" of sorts. I had noticed the droplets and steam on the shower door, and expanded the concept, still wanting to work with only shades of gray, and black and white. While I stitched, I heard Prince's "Purple Rain" in my head, so I knew the box had to be a kind of homage to him as well and wrapped the box in purple book cloth.The inner top and bottom are lined with hand-dyed purple velvet. This box also has a black frame around the needlepoint like a window.
The regular tent stitch / half stitch / continental stitch / basket stitch just wasn't working for the look I wanted, and here is where a different stitch was the answer. From The Needlepoint Book I found the Double Hungarian Ground Stitch, which emphasized the verticals. I improvised a little, adding longer and shorter metallic silver threads for the rain.
