Happy Holidays...

I finished the pinks.

I was determined to finish the stitching before Christmas and the last few stitches went in only a few minutes ago... about the time it takes to snap a few pictures.

There was a bit of 'reverse stitching' involved towards the end but I am really, really happy with how this turned out.

The left hand flower spray is stitched to mirror the one on the lower left, only the choice of stitches vary. 

The pair of leaves in the middle were next. It took a little bit of experimentation, but the end result was worth a bit of restitching. 

I was happy with the way the double blanket stitch worked for one half of the leaf, but had at first stitched the other side with blanket stitch veins and knots (French or colonial, I can't remember).

Looking at it, I felt it had ended up looking too busy, so I ripped that out and filled it with satin stitch instead. I like these and I am pretty sure I will be using this stitch combination for future projects

The last thing to finish was the right hand flower - the one that is paisley shaped.

I had a pretty good idea of what to do about the flower itself. Satin stitch for the 'seedpods', grading from light to dark pink. I wanted a really smooth look for the band along the left hand side and ended up with close rows of stem stitch. I worked a small trellis for the curled under tip and added seed stitch around the seed pods. I now have seed stitch in all three flowers, which makes a nice visual similarity between the three. 

Then came the leaves... ???

... I really wasn't sure how to go about them. I had drawn them up as more 'solid' shapes, with no detail other than the wide centre vein. At first I started filling them in with long and short stitch, thinking it might be nice to grade the shades but it just didn't look right. 

The I remembered that the leaves on my Purple Grace were similar, lobed shapes to I embroidered these ones in a similar way. It works. Dainty and pretty. 

I guess there is no need to reinvent the wheel if something works, LOL.

So, really it was finished, except...

... the keen observer would have noticed a change since I last showed you the project. The blue is gone.

With everything else complete, the teeny, weeny bit of turquoise suddenly looked out of place. I have restitched that in other colour; dark pink for the three little leaves and a soft green along the stem. 

I really didn't expect to finish this piece before Christmas, and it is really nice to have it done. The notes are well under way, so I am planning to have it available as a kit early in the new year. I will be calling it SWEET REPOSE.. What do you think? 

For now, I am going to have a little break. I have decided to take a bit of time out, between Christmas and New Year (shock, horror) - I might stitch if I feel like it, and I may not.. 

Thank you so much for your support and interest in what I stitch, and for your comments and encouragement along the way. It really means a lot!!!

For now, I wish you all a happy and hopefully relaxed Holiday Season, in company of family and friends. If you travel - stay safe.

Best Stitches 

Anna XX