Now that you have your woven border in place, let's move on to filling in the blank squares between your zig zag rows. I've used three different elements that are very simple to stitch, and you can mix and match them to your heart's content. Here are the three different elements that I've chosen for this piece, and they all fit within a 5x5 space:
The "DIMPLED" MOSAIC SQUARE is a plain mosaic square, except a space is left empty in the center, so you can plop a bead (or french knot) in later.
The RHODES SQUARE is an easy peasy stitch that adds lots of texture to any piece, and when you make them out of metallic ribbon, you have instant glamour.
And the TIED TRIPLE CROSS starts with a plain cross stitch, then adds two more "skinny" crosses on top, and using a thin metallic thread for the top crosses definitely adds a bit of glitz to the humble cross stitch.
Here's the graph that shows you where to place those three elements in your upper right-hand quadrant:
The red arrow pointing to the center cross ties is just a reminder to add them LATER, after you've stitched all the other sections of your piece, so they'll fit on top of the bottom cross stitches....
And after you've stitched JUST THE UPPER RIGHT QUADRANT -- STOP!!
Because you now have a creative decision to make for your ornament.
Here's the thing: You can continue to stitch the remaining three sections of your piece exactly like the first one (above)
OR.......
You can change the stitches slightly on your second quadrant so you can have a "harlequin" ornament that has opposing color sections, which creates a bit more complexity and interest for your ornament.... and is, let's face it, a bit more fun for you to stitch!
So here's a graph of the second quadrant (the upper left section) that you may decide to use:
Notice that the triangle row next to the outer woven border is now purple, not orange (like in the first graph). And there are more Rhodes Squares in the other rows, as opposed to the "Dimple" Mosaic Squares placed in the first graph. The Tied Triple Crosses also have a different foundation cross stitch underneath - using the orange symbol, instead of the purple symbol.
Either way, this ornament has plenty of movement and metallic sparkle.....
So, at this point, it's totally up to you which version you'd like to stitch. And you might also consider stitching another version later, using an alternate layout. You can also try mixing up the different stitch elements to create totally different ornaments. How about using just the Rhodes Squares throughout the whole piece, only changing the thread colors or types? (I can see a pastel ornament with gum drop colored Rhodes Squares making a fun Easter ornament!) Or you can alternate the "Dimpled" Squares, so the stitch color and direction change, leaving you lots of places to add beads at the end!
Well, have fun playing with all your stitch elements this week..... Next Monday we'll finish with a few final metallic touches, as well as adding a few beads. See you next time!
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