One of the perks of my job is visiting Melissa Shirley's studio.  It's like a visit to the candy store, Christmas morning, and my birthday all mixed together.  While one would think the canvases would keep me busy enough to overstay my welcome, I'm also fascinated by the stitched samples.  I'm always on the lookout for new stitches to integrate into my stitch work or this blog.

Today's #smallspacesunday comes to you from Melissa's studio.  These are some really clever stitches for small leaves that I absolutely fell in adoration with.  They were part of a lovely purse from Melissa's collection.

The first is a really simple addition to plain needlepoint.

The first step is to fill the section with Plain Needlepoint.  The second step is to add beads in every other hole where any two stitches meet.  The key to success here is to bring the beading needle up and down in the same hole, centering the bead on the intersection.  The stitched sample is on Instagram.

The next leaf is what I consider a universal small space stitch.  I never thought of it for a leaf and I love the idea.

Depending on your mood, or the leaf direction, you can do the alternating rows on the horizontal or vertical.  The stitched sample on Instagram is on the vertical (and corresponds to the above diagram).

The last adorable leaf is a series of Lazy Daisies shaped into a leaf with an extra little something something.

The photo on Instagram shows how charming the addition of beads is.  The beads are simply strung from the base to below the tip of the leaf.  I love this idea.

In other news, thank you for participating in State of the Whimsical Union survey.  Current survey findings can be found here.  Survey is still open, if you would like to add your voice.  Visit the survey here.

These stitch diagrams, along with other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on www.pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday.  

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If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides for Melissa Shirley and Zecca designs.  22 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!