Gone fishin'

Last weekend, I needed to paint a cylindrical ornament canvas to fill an order. With 98 different charts to sort through, it took a while to find the right one--and as luck would have it, it was toward the bottom of the stack. Stuck in with the cylindrical charts was a little fish, which I designed several years ago as a gift to a friend. I had never stitched it up as a model, but decided that its time had come. The colors of thread I found in my stash seemed particularly appealing as we await a full-blown spring on the Cape.

The design is six inches square on 18 ct. canvas including the border. I'm not yet sure how I'll have it finished--as an insert for a box lid or pillow or framed to hang on a wall for a little spot of color. After I drew the outline on canvas, I realized that the pattern for the border would require an even number of stitches--that's why the gray lines on the top and right side aren't painted over with blue. The exact colors of the fish have yet to be determined, too, but I promise they won't be timid! I'm planning on using different colors and stitches for the various parts of the body, and perhaps a little metallic thread, too, just to give the little fish some bling.

I'll begin with the border and--slowly but surely--make my way to the center. So stay tuned!