It's a (Small) Brick House

Today's stitch is a small version of the Cashmere stitch.  The Alternating Cashmere stitch simply alternates 4X2 rectangles, leaving one intersection available for an accent.

It's great for small houses, as illustrated by the stitched sample on Instagram.  Other ideas for areas include backgrounds for small pieces (ornaments, box inserts, eyeglass cases, etc), clothing in smaller areas (especially pants), boots (for any size boots), rooftops, or ground cover.    

So, a funny thing happened on the way to the accent stitch (the yellow lines).  While I charted it to be distinctly different, whether through contrasting color or contrasting thread type, when I stitch, I've been using the same thread as the remainder of the area for a really subtle end result. 

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

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 for seasonal Melissa Shirley designs.  22 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy! 

Small Skies Part 2

We wrap up the month of sky stitches with a #smallspacesunday.  I've named today's stitch "Small Trellis" because it reminds me of a trellis, I can't find a real name for it, and you may know by now that names aren't essential to me.  Seriously.  When we chat about stitches at my local needlepoint store, it goes like this:

Needlepoint Friend*:  "Does anyone have an idea for how I can stitch this area?"

Me:  "Oh, sure.  Do 1-2-1-2-1 with the thing in the center.  So and so did it on the flower center in the Zecca piece."

Needlepoint Friend:  "Oh!  I know exactly what you're talking about.  Sounds great.  Thanks."

*  Clearly, we've been doing this together for a while and have that shorthand.

This stitch would probably be called the "2-1-2 Diamond and don't worry about the centers."

This stitch is adaptable to so many spaces.  What makes it work for a sky is leaving the centers, both the square and the diamond shaped centers, empty.  For most other spaces, I would fill in one or both, but the simplicity of this makes it perfect for a sky.

I prefer this stitch with a lightweight matte thread.  Elegance or Grandeur are my go to threads here.  The stitched sample on Instagram uses Elegance on 18-mesh.

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

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 for seasonal Melissa Shirley designs.  22 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy! 

Old Glass

If you are looking for a more vintage window, look no further.  The pattern is a series of small bursts giving the area a slightly pinched look, similar to antique glass.

The pattern is a tiny 2X2 square with four single stitches.  The diagram provides two alternatives.  The first is square shaped and the second is diamond shaped.

The heart of this stitch is very simple and straightforward.  Canvas is left exposed to highlight the content of the windows.  If this is too much open space for you, consider adding an accent.

The accent is in a different color to make the diagram easier to understand.  

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

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 for seasonal Melissa Shirley designs.  20 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!