This week, I needed something calming to stitch while watching the horrors of war unfolding in Ukraine. I pulled out my UKRAINIAN EGGS pattern and took one of the individual eggs and regraphed it using blue and gold threads I had in my stash. I used #5 pearl cottons on a small piece of 18 ct. eggshell canvas. These individual eggs are approximately 2" wide by 2.75" tall, and while they use basic stitches, they are stuffed into a tiny area, so you need to count and stitch carefully!
Below is the pattern I used to stitch both of the above eggs. I started with the blue version first, and that's what the graph shows below. But then I created the second golden version by switching around all the blue and gold sections, just to see how different it might look.
I'm offering this ornament design here as a free pattern for any stitcher who wants to make their own version of these traditional Ukrainian eggs.
Please print out this blog post to use it for your pattern. OR you can take a screenshot of the graph image above using your smart phone or tablet - those are both good ways to capture the image and have it handy to use for stitching. Cut a small piece of canvas and grab a handful of blue and gold threads in your stash....
By the way, I'm planning to make both of these eggs into small ornaments that I can hang in my house, to remind me to send prayers to all the brave men and women fighting for Ukrainian freedom. I hope these small ornaments will help you do the same, since this week has shown that as our world gets smaller and more interconnected, we are truly ALL Ukrainians!
