A New Flower Collage!

A while ago I was telling you how I was in the mood to get some projects finished that were languishing in my "TO DO" pile. One of the designs that had been buried for the longest time was this MAGNOLIA COLLAGE.


Initially, I thought it was going to be a breeze to stitch this up, but when I started stitching the original patterned squares, I didn't like the way they looked and was stumped as to how exactly to proceed. Frustrated by this design impasse, I set the project aside and went on to other things. Months later, I pulled it out again, ripped out the offending patterns and started fresh. And immediately fell in love with the redesigned stitch patterns - their colors, textures and ease of layering got me so jazzed I continued to whip right through this design. Here are close-ups of the two pattern squares:



And of course, there are a couple of frothy ribbons to stitch:


And the centerpiece, the magnolia flower (stitched in DMC floss):


One of my favorite things about this design is the variegated thread I used (Watercolours 153 - "Distant Hills") because it seems a rather unexpected choice. But it has rich blues, greens the color of glossy magnolia leaves, and a surprising twist of apple green...and it resonates perfectly with the old gold metallics I wanted to use for this elegant southern beauty. And the whole palette really does glow against the sagey grey-green canvas (good old Santa Fe green).

Anyway, I'm delighted to have finished this floral collage and suspect it's going to be very popular with stitchers all over the country!

Please visit my website to see more information on this MAGNOLIA COLLAGE or to order this pattern.