More Autumn Flowers...

 

I think all I need to do to finish my embroidery is to add the silk ribbon flourishes on the left side of my strawberry. I'm calling the floral section "complete". It's possible to overwork a piece, and I want to avoid that.

 

Notice the little critter I added to this one? A wooly bear! Based on the width of its center section, this wooly says it's going to be a mild winter. That's hard to believe since today it was in the 20s and started blowing as the sun set. It's not even December yet, and I'm crying "uncle!". At this rate, I'm going to get a lot of needle dancing done this winter!

Here's an angled view of the embroidery, so you can see how I added a little more dimension to this piece. I added dried hydrangeas to the rusty orange flowers, the fuzzy yellow blossoms, and my wooly bear is truly wooly - thanks to the turkey stitch I used. I'm going to be adding more wooly bears in the future. I loved doing this one!

I'm going to get my hair trimmed this morning at Wendi's, and then I'll be home to complete my work on the this so I can assemble it into a strawberry. I can't wait to show you the finished piece. I'll share the completed goldwork frog scissors fob, too! I'd better go so I can get to my appointment on time. Results of this piece and the frog tomorrow. See you then.

Seashells and Hydrangeas...

Twenty years ago, we used to receive shell-encrusted gifts from Handsome's Florida aunt, Eula. I really liked getting those shell gifts, but we always used to giggle about them. "Silly Aunt Eula sent something seashell again!"

After we moved here, I saw the appeal of those pieces, but I also thought it might be fun to create my own. So I went hunting for the perfect basket for my transformation and found this one already in one of our other rooms.
It had a slightly domed, large lid which I determined would withstand the weight of all those shells. Of course, I'd require seashells, too. I found the types and sizes I was going to need and then sorted them.
I had assembled an assortment of shell types and then separated them according to size and type. It didn't take all day to make this, either. I actually completed in a few hours.
I secured them to the basket with Golden matte gel medium and it worked really well. I began in the center and worked my way out, just gluing as a went. The final pieces were the center shell and starfish. I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

The hydrangeas have a special beauty that reminds me of Nantucket. These are artificial, but hey! I can just spray them and they sorta smell like real flowers! Both of these creations sit on shelves in our living room, so I can see them whenever I walk to or through the room. They make me very happy.

What makes you happy? Have fun leaving - and then reading - other people's color issue.