Mini Mystery Monday: October Treat

'Tis the season for falling leaves and other surprises, so I thought I'd treat you to a new little mystery that will be perfect for this month.

Grab a handful of threads that have a fall colorway, so you have on hand:
-  a variegated #5 pearl cotton (try finding one with fall colors, and you'll only need 1-2 strands)
-  a dark solid color #5 pearl cotton, for the outer borders (think dark green or brown)
-  a bright solid color or variegated #5 pearl cotton (think autumn leaf color of oranges or reds)
-  a metallic ribbon thread (or braid) in gold or copper
-  and then cut a piece of 8" x 8" 18 ct. mono canvas, in eggshell, sandstone ,tan, or sage green
-  you might also want to grab some matching beads, two sizes, for finishing touches at the end!

Now here's your first graph to follow:

It's not a complete graph, because I'm trying to keep the graphs as small as I can so they are easier for you to see.  You should be able to work the remaining areas using the stitches shown above.  Also note that this is NOT the finished size of the piece; there's still a few more borders coming up along the outer edges....

Anyway, find the center of your canvas and count outward to stitch the four variegated diamond shapes, using just 1 ply of your 3-ply Watercolours (or whatever thread you choose). [FYI: this is the only place you'll be using the variegated thread.] I've included a few of the metallic stitches in this first graph, so you can use them to connect your four diamond shapes. Here are those stitches up-close, and please use 1 strand of your metallic ribbon or braid to create these:

Then move on to stitch the easy narrow border that surrounds your variegated diamonds - straight stitches over 3 canvas threads -  using 1 strand of your dark solid color pearl cotton.

Once you get these elements stitched, you'll be all set to do the next set of borders that I'll share with you next week.  Have fun stitching this up, and I'll see you again next Monday!