Sugar Plum Fairies

Only in our little world of needlepoint does working on Christmas ornaments over Memorial Day weekend make sense. I may have missed a few clues in the murder mystery I was watching on Monday night because I was kinda captivated by today’s stitch.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

The stitch is nothing more than a patterned skip tent on the background of Sugar Plums by the Plum Stitchery. The blocks alternate between two plies of Soie d’Alger and a lightweight Kreinik on 18M. I wanted something simple and elegant because I want the tutus to stand out. And y’all know I’m a sucker for any open stitch.

This stitch will be gorgeous for water with two colors of lightweight metallics. I look forward to using it as a sky with a single color of blue, or perhaps a subtle overdyed silk floss. Another idea floating around my head using a light and a dark hue of the same color in a silk floss for a floor.

This 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.

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!

It's Valentine's Day AND Christmas

Heart shaped stitches are filling my social feeds quite a bit these days. And I would have sworn I didn’t have any in my stash. Well, today’s stitch proves I would have been delightfully wrong.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Like a lot of us these days, I’m using my extra time at home re-organizing. I was surprised and thrilled to stumble across this adorable ornament in the back of a drawer in a chest I use for my thread stash. The stitched sample uses nothing more than DMC Perle Cotton on 18-mesh. (Bonus links: the stitch for the dress can be found here and the stitch for the wings is here.)

It’s an easy and scalable stitch. Create the heart in vertical straight stitches from top to bottom so they have crisp, wrapped top edges. When you get to the far side of the heart, bring your needle across the back to one hole below the center thread in the heart and add a single, long running stitch to the top of the next heart, and repeat. In the stitched sample, the running stitch is 16 rows high. If you want more hearts in your background, make shorter running stitches. But take the time to count it out so the hearts is subsequent vertical columns are centered against the running stitch on its side. Or not, it’s up to you.

This stitch is a great template for any kind of theme oriented background. Select your thematic element and you are off to the races. I’ve seen these columns with small pumpkins instead of hearts. You could do a bat instead of a heart for a Halloween piece. I’ve used single tiny snowflakes for the repeated element and I’ve seen dramatic single snowflakes as the element (on pinterest.com). The possibilities are virtually endless.

This 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, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com has a book for you! Mary’s Whimsical Stitches 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. For more information, visit here.

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!

Procrastination Squared

I need to rip out a section on a current needlepoint project. Naturally, the solution is to post the blog I intended to post last Sunday. I am confident my kitchen cabinet will be reorganized before I finish ripping out the stitching. Okay, before I even start.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

A stitching friend shared this stitch (without the beads) with me a while ago. I immediately forgot about it (#middleagedbrain) and went on my merry way. While looking for a small stitch for a wing, I stumbled across it in my photo stream, added some beads, and voila!

The stitched sample comes from Joanna at the Plum Stitchery. It’s from 4 Colly Birds, part of the Twelvetide Club hosted by the Wool & the Willow in Cleveland Heights. It uses two plies of Needlepoint Inc. silk floss and a size 14 Sundance Bead (on 18-mesh).

This stitch would be perfect for water with a lightweight metallic (Kreinik size 4 or size 8, ThreadWorx size 4 or size 8, Petite Silk Lame, or Flair) and a seed bead. (Great seed bead resources include Bead Dazzle, Caravan Beads, Sundance Designs, or S&J Designs.) This stitch will make an adorable jacket for an elf or a doll dress with Petite Very Velvet and a size 11 seed bead. Consider alternating matte and metallic threads by horizontal row. A suggested thread combo is 4 plies of silk floss for the matte with Silk Lame (18-count) for the metallic with a seed bead or a Swarovski round crystal for the bead accent.

Why 4-ply when you used 2-ply in the stitched sample? It’s all a matter of taste, the thread combos, and what your are trying to accomplish. I used two plies for the birds because I wanted the shading on the chest to show through. I recommended four plies for the alternating example because I needed the weight of the matte thread to be similar to the weight of the metallic thread. Otherwise, the metallic thread would overpower the area.

Technically, today is a two-fer as you can eliminate the beads for a more straightforward small space stitch. You could also add two small beads in each intersection for a truly glamorous stitch. (Stitch diagrams are never truly to scale, so please trust me that this will work.) You could also add the beads over three holes, instead of two as illustrated, for even more possibilities.

This 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, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells Stitch Guides and Stitch Concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, Sandra Gilmore, Purple Palm, Maggie, and Patience Brewster, and many more. Click here to see the newest guides and click here to see the entire collection.

hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!  Happy #smallspacesunday!

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!