Hearts class

In 2004 Needle Nicely had a Princess and Me trunk show.  In that show was a canvas intended to be a purse insert (or a box insert--hard to tell from the photo).  I decided I wanted to use it to teach a class so over the next year or so I accumulated 8 copies.  The summer of 2005 I started stitching the prototype, following the stitch instructions that came with the canvas.  Along came Hurricane Wilma and in the uproar following the roof's going off and our subsequent rapid move, I managed to lose the partially stitched canvas.  The other canvases I discovered this past summer in the proverbial "safe place".  So, once again I am stitching it for a class this February.  This time I'm coming up with my own stitches. 

 The background checkerboard is being stitched in alternating Scotch stitch, the white in DMC perle 5 and the black in silk lame braid.  If I were stitching this for myself and not a class, I think I would use white splendor or DMC embroidery floss.  It looks so much smoother but requires careful laying.  Many of my students just want to learn a few stitches and aren't necessarily interested in all the niceties of stitching, like grooming fibers.  I figure my job is to seek their comfort level and teach them stitches.  And let's face it, perle 5 is a lot easier to stitch with! 

I'm stitching the hearts with silk lame braid..  The first one is done in the Nobuko stitch; the second in a combination of basketweave and slanted gobelin.  The trick to doing the latter is to do the basketweave from top to bottom and then do the slanted gobelin back up to the top; repeat. 

This is my nightly home stitching project.  However, I have discovered that it is really difficult to see the black.  So, one day a week I'm taking it to the shop to stitch the black "under the bright lights" of Needle Nicely.  First I do the white Scotch stitches and later add the black, rather than doing the black first. 

NOTE:  This canvas is no longer listed on the Princess and Me price list, but I'm pretty sure they'll fill special orders if you're interested.