Traveling is great for the soul and for stitch inspiration. Today’s post includes two great stitches I saw while in Atlanta recently. 

The first stitch is another great one from Marci at the Nimble Needle. It’s one of the advent ornaments on the darling Rachel Donley gingerbread house club from the Nimble Needle in Atlanta. (For more insight on the club, visit here.) The stitched sample uses Planet Earth overdyed silk floss (black lines) and a ThreadWorx Kreinik (size 8) (aqua lines). It’s a great combo for an adorable ornament. Full disclosure. Do not let this simple stitch mess with you. I think it’s best to stitch it in columns, as the small oblique crosses (aqua lines) can be a little challenging to follow on the stitched sample.

This stitch will make a great roof on a tiny house or cabin wall with silk floss (black lines) and Rainbow Linen (aqua lines). Consider rotating it 90° for a tree trunk with overdyed silk floss (black lines) and a solid silk floss (aqua lines).

As promised last week, there is a second stitch today. This one is from one of my favorite stitchers, Sue. I was so excited to come across it while visiting with her as this stitch has been on my to-do list for a bit. And now we have a beautiful stitched sample to go with it!

The stitched sample is a lovely surprise, Presencia Perle Finca 16 (not a typo) on 18M. I love the subtle direction this stitch offers and how the shading shows through so beautifully with the light weight of the size 16 perle. It’s exquisite.

This stitch is perfect for water with a size 4 or 8 Kreinik on 18M or a size 8 on 13M. ThreadWorx Kreinik is also another great choice for water. I’m also looking forward to using it for a green field with a couple plies of Soie D'Alger or Soie Cristale.

As you are auditioning stitches (from any stitch source), count the number of canvas threads on the diagram that match your mesh size. And there you have what an inch of the stitch will look like. Evaluate that against the area where you plan to use the stitch and make your final decision. If you start integrating this step into your stitch selection process, you may be surprised at how many stitches you think are large are much smaller than you realize. (Or, in today’s case, the stitch is much larger than it looks.)

By (sometimes) including this step in my own process, I find I am now integrating much longer stitches than I ever thought I would. I used to think a stitch six rows long was super big. I have very much changed my tune, which has helped me expand my creativity, especially for large-space stitches.

Today’s stitch diagram, 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.

If you like what you see on this blog, there's more. Mary’s Whimsical Stitches is a series of three books offering contemporary how-to collections of more than 250 stitches (in each volume) for all stitchers, regardless of skill level. All books include updated and sequenced diagrams from this blog plus a collection of all-new stitches from private lessons and other class projects. Visit here to find a needlepoint retailer that carries my books.

New to needlepoint or looking for a refresher? Please download a handy how-to guide covering 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, the layering of colors demonstrates you add them in that order.  They can also provide ideas on integrating 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!