Good morning, my friends! Today, just a quick update on my Jacobean Sea embroidery project. It’s been a while since our last update. And yes, you’d think I’d have it finished…

It definitely should have been finished by now, and, while I’ve managed the last two large “leaves,” I still have two small ones to go!

I’m not necessarily completely finished with these two large leaves, either. The base leaf is ok – I think I’ll probably leave it – but the side leaf is awaiting one more color of thread, and I’m not quite sure I’m satisfied with it. We shall see!

So here’s a very quick update just to show you where I am.

I’ll start with an overview.

This is not the orientation of the design in the frame. I often situate my frame sideways in my table stand, so I can manage stitching certain areas or in certain directions better.

The base leaf on the design is worked in satin stitch in the center, long and short stitch shading at the base, and stem stitch on the top part of the leave. I left white space in the leave (mirroring the other large leaf) because it keeps things from looking to stodgy and thick.

Well, that was the plan, anyway!

The line of coral delica beads across the base was actually an afterthought, but I like it, so I think I’ll add it to the design.

This leaf… well, I put it in and took it out about six times, trying different stitch combinations with the colors I wanted to work with. If I stick with this version, there’s one more color I need to add in the lower section of the leaf.

I’ll try that today, and see if it is worth keeping.

This leaf is a combination of a whipped chain stitch, stem stitch, and straight stitch worked as a kind of alternating-color satin stitch, but I’ve shortened some of the stitches because I’m going to split them with another color. We’ll see!

In the meantime, I’ve been writhing with a jolly toothache, so until I get to the dentist today, I don’t know that my head can handle tackling the rest of this. Just two small leaves to go, but I know if I run into any frustrating bits, I won’t handle them well. Funny how a bad toothache can muddle one’s thinking, isn’t it?

In any case, I hope you have a wonderful Monday! I’ll be back and hearty-hale on Wednesday!

Looking for More?

If you’d like to read more about this project and see it develop step-by-step, you can find previous articles listed here under the tag Jacobean Embroidery.