Spooky Ole Owl

Fierce, isn't he? (also tilted...) Well, I stitched him a long, long time ago. If I remember correctly, this is a pattern from the book, Brazilian Embroidery Instructions by Barbara Demke Johnson.
     I was stitching him onto dark green Trigger cloth and needed to see the lines better, so I went to JoAnn's and bought some lightweight Solvy by Sulky. What NOT to do: trace the pattern with a Sharpie pen.  I did. 
     See what happened:

Except for his face and feet, I used white floss - Bouclé and Nova. The Sharpie ink rubbed off onto the white floss and he has an eerie green glow in his tummy parts as though he has ingested an ecologically-sensitive, environmentally-compromised, irradiated munchie. (I like adjectives...)
      Because of this "experimental" stitching a few years ago, I have since used pens that won't smear when I make a mark on the Solvy transfer film. I like metal-tip pens like Uni-Ball and Roller-Ball that are available anywhere. I think a Micron Pigma pen would also work.   However ...

I like to save my Micron Pigma pens (I prefer light brown) for signing and dating my embroidery. I'll usually use the pen to write one time and then go over the letters a second time. If you hold the Micron Pigma pen right next to the fabric (not pushing too hard), the ink will wick from the pen to the fabric and the tip will last longer.

There's an interesting discussion about various products at the Yahoo group hosted by Sherry Johnson. It's a great way to learn a lot more about Brazilian embroidery and has easy signup.  Visit the BDEIG_Online_Chapter  by double-clicking this link.

By the way, I have saved this Spooky Ole Owl in my "Oops" Box.