A New Old-Fashioned Valentine!

It's been awhile since I released a ribbon sampler, so I thought it was time to unveil this new piece, called VICTORIAN BOUQUET. 

It's a 10" by 10" design, done on 18 ct. brown canvas, and features one of my favorite variegated threads, Watercolours 047, "Camouflage."  I've chosen a rich palette of dark reds and golds that evoke the feel of an old-fashioned valentine. Other threads include a handful of #5 pearl cottons, a handful of metallics, and even one Very Velvet thread for the edges of each ribbon.  (You can, of course, select another color palette; the pattern tells you what threads you need to get if you want to create a different colorway.)

The four different ribbon patterns are built up with a combination of stitches.  Here's a closeup of two of the ribbons:

 Those fat roses, by the way, are done with a rather fun "wrapped rose" stitch that is the opposite of the "wrapped spider web" stitch, if you've ever done any of those unique stitches.

And of course, in the center is the "Victorian Bouquet" that gives this piece its name:

 You can see that it's a yummy combination of  freeform stitches that are not hard, but require a bit of concentration to work them all together -- and yes, that's a big bullion rose in the center!!  If you don't want to create my bouquet in the center, I think a large monogram would look really lovely (go looking through some graphed cross stitch alphabets for examples).  Or perhaps you'd prefer to cluster some beads and a few antique buttons in your center area... or a large, lovely cameo that can be found on ebay or etsy would look very elegant in the center, don't you think? ..... or how about those little fabric roses you can get at craft stores? 

In any event, if you're in the mood to stitch some really rich overlapping ribbons, please visit my website for more information on ordering this new VICTORIAN BOUQUET design.