Mini Mystery Monday, #7 part 1

Time to start another mini mystery project... and because it's finally Spring, I decided we needed to create a sweet little floral piece to celebrate.  Does that sound fun to you, too?  Good!  Let's get started....

You'll need a handful of springy threads, like these:
   -  a variegated thread like Watercolours (I chose something like 003 - "Meadow" because it has pink, blue and lavender in it. Another favorite of mine is 088 - "Mountain Meadow", because it's a lighter pastel mix, with pink, blue, lavender and yellow as well);

  -  two green DMC #5 pearl cotton colors - one dark, and one medium or light (I chose DMC 367 & 368);

  -  two DMC #5 pearl cottons that can will be your "flower" colors (I chose DMC 760 & 209);

  -  one metallic ribbon-type thread for your "sparkle" accent (I chose Ribbon Floss 148-021, soft gold);

  -  a piece of 8" x 8" 18 ct. canvas in whatever color you prefer (I chose my "fav" sage green canvas).

And here's the first part of the design for you to start stitching, using this graph:

The overall thread count of this piece is 76 x 76 threads.  Which makes it 4.25" by 4.25" on 18 ct. canvas.  If you want to stitch yours on 24 ct. Congress Cloth, the piece will end up being apprx. 3.5" by 3.5" in size.  (And of course, with a smaller canvas, you'll need to use finer threads as well!)

To begin: from the center point of your canvas, count out or up to start working the "lattice" pattern.  Use 1 ply of the 3-ply variegated Watercolours to stitch your whole lattice area, leaving a nice big diamond-shaped opening that we'll fill later on...  This lattice pattern is one of my favorites, because it's so fun to fill with so many different types of stitches. 

Then stitch the outer scalloped border - skipping two canvas threads beyond your lattice work - with 1 strand of your dark green DMC pearl cotton color.

I'll see you back here next Monday with the second part of this sweet piece.... Until then, happy stitching!