Le Chat Stitching Details and a Work-In-Progress

After introducing the Le Chat pattern set on my last blog post {here},  I wanted to share some of the stitching details on this particular project. 

I used Stem Stitch on the woman's skirt, legs and shoe straps.  For her shoes, I used the Split Stitch.  I also used the Stem Stitch for the wrought-iron fencing and the Satin Stitch for the fence finials.   

For the cat's leash, I used the Stem Stitch in metallic cord.  It worked really well:

The cat is outlined in Stem Stitch, with two rows on back of his legs and tail to give a little more weight and emphasis.  His fancy collar is all Satin Stitch. 

For the cat's eye, I used Satin Stitch and I combined blending filament with the floss to add sparkle.  His nose is also stitched in Satin Stitch.  For the planter, I used Stem Stitch.  The leaves are Fishbone Stitch and the flower is Long and Short Stitch with a French Knot Center.

The curb is done in Back Stitch and the road edge is in Stem Stitch.

For all the floss I used, here are the color numbers:

Now onto my work-in-progress.  It is the cat sitting in a bicycle shopping basket.  I am selecting my colors and experimenting with which stitches to use!

I will be sure to post my progress!

Easter Egg Part Two

I am posting a progress report on my Easter egg project.  I have completed the ribbon and most of the decorative stitching on the egg.

Now I am starting on the flowers at the bottom of the egg.   First I am outlining the flower in the back stitch and then filling them in with the long and short stitch:

I am using two floss colors for each flower:

Now I need to fill in the flower centers and add all the decorative French knots!

100 Stitches - long and short stitch

This sunflower features the new stitch I have just learned on the 100 Stitches project. The stitch is called the long and short stitch. This is such an easy stitch! To demonstrate I am using six strands of dmc #907 floss, a #24 chenille needle, and 100% cotton quilting weight fabric. I transferred this little sunflower embellishment from the Peep-Peep-Peep Embroidery Pattern Packet:
To start, you bring your needle up through the fabric
and then back down, forming a simple stitch. I made this stitch a little long so it is the long stitch of "long and short" stitch:

Now come back up through the fabric next to your long stitch

and take a smaller "short" stitch!

Now come back up

and make another long stitch

You just continue doing this in stitches of varying lengths

until you fill in the shape! According to 100 Stitches, this is an excellent filling stitch and is sometimes referred to as a form of the satin stitch.

100 Stitches also mentioned that this is a good stitch to use to achieve a shaded effect which is what I have done on the sunflower petals:

Really a fun stitch to do and so quick to learn! This stitch is #9 and is in the flat stitches section of 100 Stitches.