I finished stitching my welcome motif from the Home Sweet Home embroidery pattern.
I used a variety of stitches. Stem Stitch, Double Knot Stitch, French Knots, Lazy Daisy Stitch, Long and Short Stitch and of course, Back Stitch:
Oh and I almost forgot - the Fishbone Stitch! I used that for the biggest purple and blue flowers:
You might remember when I started this project I had quite the color palette planned.
As it turned out, I did the majority of the project using these beautiful colors:
and didn't use any of the black, gray or charcoal!
I think there is a nice balanced combination of colors and nothing stands out too much:
Here are the floss numbers of the colors I used:
This is the Crossed Blanket Stitch. It is a variation on one of my favorite go-to stitches - the Blanket Stitch. I am sure this variation will also be a favorite. There are so many places to use the blanket stitch, it will be nice to have such a beautiful variation to use as well.
I am adding this stitch to my 100 Stitches plus journey.
I found this stitch to be easier to do if I made myself some guidelines. Much like the Blanket Stitch, this one requires even spacing to look its best!
My first step was to draw the guidelines. I drew two parallel lines. Mine are 1/2" apart - fairly wide and just for my demonstration - it is easier to see my steps. I think 3/8" would be a better, neater looking size for this stitch.
I worked this stitch from left to right. The first step is to come up through the fabric on the bottom line:
Pull all the way through:
Next I went back into the fabric on the top guideline, a bit to the right of where my floss emerged:
I came back out of the fabric on the bottom guideline and right next to the spot where the floss first emerged. Notice the needle is at a slant and that the tip of the needle is passing over the working floss:
Pull all the way through:
Next I brought the needle around to the top guideline and went back into the fabric a little to the left of where I first went in on the top guideline:
I came out on the bottom guideline - notice the needle is at a slant and the tip of the needle is again going over the working floss:
Pull all the way through:
That is the first stitch - notice it forms an "x". I just continued those same steps
At the end of the bottom guideline, I went back into the fabric to end the line of stitching:
Here is a look at the underside of this stitch:
When I was finished, I did this again with guidelines that were 3/8" apart. I washed out the guidelines and here is the result. I think the stitching looks better being a bit smaller:
Here is a close up view:
This beautiful stitch is from the book Embroidery Stitches by Mary Webb.
I have a bit of progress to show on my welcome motif from the Home Sweet Home pattern.
You may remember when I started this stitching, I chose an unusual color palette. Here are the colors:
So far, I like the way they are working together. I still need to introduce the brown and black. I think my favorite color is the green I used for the house. I just love it with the purple:
I am keeping the red in small doses:
I still have quite a few flowers to complete and finish up the windows:
When I finish, I will be back with a post detailing the stitches used and floss color numbers!
