Snowball Swap with Donna July/August 2015

Last week, I finished up the "snowball" I made for Donna through the Crazy Quilting International Snowball Swap. 

This was the Halloween themed snowball that Donna made for me. I just love it!

Donna requested a snowball with a flower/garden theme or an under the sea theme. In case you did not notice (I am typing with a giggle), I have worked on a few under the sea themed blocks lately. So, I chose the flower/garden theme.

After stitching the fence (with a stem stitch and perle cotton), I added a tiny little line of buttonhole stitches (with 2 strands of green DMC floss.) These were the stems for tiny dandelions growing along the fence line. Using the same floss, I added a straight stitch to each side of the stems to create little leaves. A tiny French knot (using 2 strands of yellow DMC floss) topped each flower. To give you a bit of size perspective, the fence is about 3/8-inch tall. The little dandelions are 1/8-inch tall.

I had a hard time deciding what to do next. Then I saw a sketch of a tree from the book Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection by Aimee Ray. (My mother-in-law gave the book to me for Christmas a couple of years ago and the trees are my favorites.) I used brown Anchor size 8 perle cotton and a stem stitch to outline the tree and fill in the trunk. (Had I planned better, I would not have had to stitch over part of the fence and a dandelion. Thankfully, you cannot tell looking at the finished piece!)

Next, I added English daisies following directions in Embroidery for all Seasons by Diana Lampe. (This is one of my favorite embroidery books.)

Using the same book, I added English bluebells (which I still need to practice) and forget-me-nots.

Tiny chain stitched leaves on the tree, a small purple butterfly and a small white butterfly completed the piece.

I just love embroidery! I am happy to say Donna likes her snowball and it is on its way to her now.

About the books I used: the following links should take you to them at Amazon.com. I am always curious about what books and resources other people use, so I thought I would add these. Disclaimer: I am not associated with the books, but I do receive a small credit with Amazon if you visit their website through my blog and make a purchase. Doodle Stitching is here and Embroidery for all Seasons is here. 

For readers new to my blog, Crazy Quilting International (CQI) is a crazy quilting group I discovered on the Yahoo groups several years ago through their blog. CQI also meets on Facebook now (as Crazy Quilt International.) The snowball swap is a friendship swap that is open to all members in the group. 

I am linking this post with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #18 at Super Mom - No Cape! If you stitch and have a blog, I encourage you to link up. If you do not stitch or have a blog, I still encourage you to check out what others have been up to this week. There is always a free embroidery pattern too.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee