When one gets THE call that finishing is in and that finishing is Christmas ornaments, it does not matter that Thanksgiving hasn’t arrived yet. You whip out the faux tree and fill it with Christmas ornaments. What makes it even better is one of the ornaments had a great background I could share with you!

Today’s stitched sample (center photo) is a cute little cat ornament honoring my never-ending love for orange cats. It’s from so long ago I don’t even remember stitching it, so I’m going to give you my best guesses on the threads. The background is stitched with two plies of Impressions (black lines) and Flair (yellow lines). This is clearly from my “no naked canvas” years, so I’m guessing the late 90’s. (The cat is stitched with a single strand wool of the day, probably Appleton.) The current orange king of the household is Max, so here we are honoring Sir Max of Legallet (one of my vet’s many nicknames for him).

I’m thrilled to discover this overtly diagonal stitch because they are not my go-to stitches. As you can see, it makes a great background. It will also work well for a rug or bedspread with a single strand silk such as Pepper Pot Silk or Vineyard Silk (black lines) and a mild metallic such as Silk Lame (yellow lines). It will also be a very pretty coat or skirt with a silk floss and a size 8 Kreinik. It will also work well for slightly rough water with two shades of metallics, such as Petite Silk Lame or Kreiniks.

I’m going to play with it for a future project by leaving a single empty row between the yellow and black blocks to see what that adds to the equation. I suspect that could make a pretty hillside or field. And, if it doesn’t work, I will fill those empty rows with tent stitches for an even more elegant version of today’s stitch.

These stitch diagrams, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here. Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

IIf you like what you see on this blog, there's more: Mary’s Whimsical Stitches Volume 1 is a contemporary how-to collection of more than 250 stitches for stitchers regardless of skill level. The book includes updated and sequenced diagrams from this blog, all-new stitches, and a chapter on the basics of needlepoint; Mary’s Whimsical Stitches Volume 2 features chapters on Balanced, Beading, Diagonal, Layered, Oblique, Small, and Straight stitches.

Also, you can download for free the first chapter from my first book which covers basic needlepoint stitches and stitch compensation techniques along with new top-line information on needlepoint materials and tools, how to handle threads, and other helpful needlepoint resources.

whimsicalstitch.com also sells Stitch Guides and Stitch Concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, Sandra Gilmore, Purple Palm, Maggie, and Penny MacLeod, and many more. Click here to see the newest guides and click here to see the entire collection.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Please enjoy! Have a wonderful #whimsicalwednesday!

A Note about Diagrams
I use color in diagrams to make them as clear as possible. The primary function of different colored lines is to illustrate a stitch sequence. For example, layering of colors demonstrates you add them in that order. They can also provide ideas on how to integrate additional threads (one line for each color). Or, you can use the same thread for all color lines. That's where I encourage you to use your imagination for the space you are stitching!

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