A Fiery New Design for Autumn

It's been a while since I've been in the mood to create a geometric design, but recently I pulled out a handful of threads in vibrant fall colors and began to play with various layouts and stitches.  Little by little, stitch by stitch, I got more and more enthused about this new creation and couldn't wait to see what the final result would look like.  And here it is, my new "AUTUMN TRAILS":

If any of you stitchers have worked on my "JEWEL BOX" or "NORTHERN LIGHTS" you'll see the similarity to this new piece, except this time around I've used rich autumnal colors.  It's a 10" x 10" design stitched on sandstone mono canvas, using a handful of #5 pearl cotton colors, a few shimmery metallic Ribbon Flosses, and of course a variegated Watercolours thread (120 - "Forest Fire") that ties all the colors together... A few gold beads, and a large diamond-shaped jewel add extra sparkle and shine!

As complex as this design looks at first glance, I must tell you that only the simplest of stitches are actually used -- which I confess makes this a very fun piece to stitch!  Below are two up-close photos to show you some of the details.  The first one shows those fun variegated "flying geese" triangles that I just LOVE to stitch....

And the second photo shows you some of the details around the central diamond block:

And I must tell you, as I was in the final stages of getting this pattern graphed, written and printed,
I went outside last Wednesday evening around 11:30pm and saw this heart-stopping sight to the east of where I live in Cloverdale, CA, at the northern edge of Sonoma County:

This is a shot of the beginning of the horrific Kincade Fire in Sonoma and Lake Counties.  I stood mesmerized, the only person on the street at midnight, watching this fiery cloud show light up the eastern horizon.  I called my sister, who lives on the other side of this fire in Healdsburg, and we talked about what to do if fire approached.  Ultimately, she and her daughter, two dogs and a cat evacuated south (since Hwy 101 to the north was closed), waiting for the fire to be contained.  I stayed in my home, like most of my neighbors, waiting to see if the winds would shift and move the fire in our direction.  We were incredibly lucky, as the winds never moved towards us.... and the next morning, this was the same fiery view:

For the next five days we lived without power, heat or internet service.  No stores, gas, restaurants available, but plenty of smoky air!  Here's what last Friday looked like, when all that smoke was blowing to the south and east, so that the San Francisco Bay Area got it's share of the fire smoke:

During the daytime I was able to sit and stitch in the afternoon sunshine.  In the evenings, I sat in my kitchen nook with lots of candlelight and crocheted while listening to audiobooks.  You can see Mellie in her bed under the table, my constant companion..... Cozy but slightly creepy at the same time, as it was totally pitch black outside!  Needless to say, we went to bed early each night, and woke up to check the skies and wind direction each morning...

As I write this, the power is restored in most of northern California, the fire is still being battled by thousands of very brave firefighters from all over the West, and MOST OF ALL, we are all truly grateful that the high winds have died down, this fire is starting to be contained, and Sonoma County residents are being allowed to return to their homes.

As for my new "AUTUMN TRAILS" in fiery reds and golds and teals, if you're interested in starting a fun fall design, please leap on over to my website and see the ordering information for this vibrant new geometric pattern!