Mini Mystery Monday:a diamond-shaped ornament

It's been totally crazy around here trying to get patterns printed and models shipped to various stores; orders mailed to stitchers around the country; getting ready for my next cyber class; working on my new pattern for August; scribbling down ideas for other new projects.... and somewhere in all that, planning a new mystery piece for you Monday stitchers.  Yikes!

This time, instead of making a square design, I've decided to create a diamond-shaped ornament that will be 6" x 6" on 18 ct. canvas... It will be  something really fun, fast and elegant to stitch -- and I know you'll enjoy making a few of these in different color combinations, so let's get to it....

Grab a handful of threads:
--  one variegated #5 pearl cotton (like Watercolours or Overture, or any other variegated thread)
--  one dark #5 pearl cotton (for the outer final border, so make it dark enough to stand out)
--  one bright accent color #5 pearl cotton
--  one bright color metallic ribbon
--  one base metal (gold, silver, copper) finer metallic thread  ( I like Kreinik #8 Braid)

I'm starting to think about fall colors, so maybe grab some fall colored threads... or maybe some Halloweeny type threads (purples and golds), to get you ready for that season...

And mount a piece of canvas (colored or not): for 18 ct. canvas, cut an 8" x 8" piece.
(If you want to use 24 ct. Congress Cloth, your finished size with be 4.5" x 4.5" and you can cut a 7" x 7" piece of canvas. Also, choose finer threads to fit your finer canvas...)

And here's the first graph for you to follow:

I'm just giving you a quarter graph to follow, since each quadrant is the same.  Center your cross-shaped box on the center point of your canvas (where the dotted lines on the graph meet). then work your zig zag rows outward from there. 

Use 1 ply of your 3-ply variegated Watercolours thread to work the above stitches.  This zig zag pattern is one of my favorites, because it's simple, yet very eye-catching and creates so much movement.  And there's lots of different ways to change the elements in the box openings, so that makes it fun as well.  Anyway, here's a closeup of the zig zag stitch pattern for you to study:

 

And, as the red arrow shows, your zig zag stitches will share that hole when they meet.  Sometimes, you can leave a canvas thread (or two) between the rows and later fill it with a cross stitch or bead.  We're not doing that here, but keep it in mind for future projects!

I'll be back next Monday with the next installment, so Happy Stitching until then!