Off to a good start

Where do you begin stitching on a new canvas?  There are plenty of choices with Nutcracker Christmas.  If you believe in "taking it from the top," you'd start in with the canopy above the nutcracker. Or maybe you just can't resist all the little details that comprise the nutcracker's uniform.

 I've started with the dark green background behind the nutcracker.  This is a fairly large area, and I know if I left it for later, I'd get too bogged down.  So far, the right side has been stitched with Impressions #5060 in basketweave, covering the random leaf-like motif.  I'm working from my stash, and want to get a better idea of the additional threads I'll need in the next trip to my LNS.

Working with the dark thread on the dark background by day, I switch to the swirl area of the canopy at night, working it in basketweave with Vineyard Silk Classic Natural.  When I reached the top of the striped area, I treated myself by starting the nutcracker's face, using four strands of DMC cotton floss.

Time to scroll back to the top of the canvas to work the left side of the background!