Getting ahead of myself

This isn't the first time I've kept stitching and stitching without stopping to take a progress, and it probably won't be my last, either.  The little unicorn ornament is ready for the finisher!

The white was worked in encroaching Gobelin with two strands of Burmilana 3601 accented with gray shading and tent-stitched black eye.  I changed the green in its mane to pink with Vineyard Silk Classic Peppermint Pink.  The lavender portions of the mane are Vineyard Silk Classic Haze.  Both silk threads are shaded with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid.  The unicorn's horn was stitched in Kreinik #12 braid 002 and the sky was dotted with Kreinik #12 braid 001.

 Green Impressions in a satin stitch formed the sprig of holly and French knots of DMC cotton floss provided the berries.

Not much going on....

...but you have to start somewhere!  The background has been stitched in basketweave with four strands of DMC cotton floss.

Next up....

Besides being a symbol of good luck, the unicorn has a special significance in our family.  It seems you can find a Halloween costume of almost anything for fairly little people!  And subsequently the unicorn provided the theme for Baby Unicorn's first birthday party.  So what better canvas could there be for me to stitch for a Christmas tree?!

This is a design by Rebecca Wood, one of my favorite NP people.  It's four inches wide, so should stitch up fairly quickly.

And we have a finish!

The London travel round was a fun little project.  Other than the Silk Lame Braid for 18 ct. used in the background, the rest of the stitching was done with DMC floss.  Budget-friendly and stash-busting all in one!

I changed out the gold with which Big Ben was painted for more stone-like colors.  I would expect a British company like Kirk & Bradley to be proud of such an icon, but one thing Big Ben isn't is metallic gold!  After googling the telephone booth, I changed it a little, too, but otherwise kept to the original design as painted.

A little bling

What to do when there's not much space between design elements?  Add a little bling instead of a decorative stitch!

On this Kirk & Bradley travel round, I used Silk Lame Braid for 18 ct. in basketweave for the background.  It's a neutral color but with a hint of twinkle.

The cap at the top of the ornament was worked in a woven stitch with Kreinik #12 braid 002.

It's been a long, long time!

I frankly was shocked to discover that the last time I blogged was back in November of 2018.  Good grief!  I must try to remedy the situation!

One of the reasons I haven't blogged is because I didn't have anything to talk about.  All the pieces I was working on were magazine-related, and I didn't want to show them until the particular issue was published.  But I do have one little ornament canvas to work on:  a Kirk & Bradley "travel round" of London to stitch for someone who made the trip across the pond earlier this year.  It's my first canvas by this designer, so I'm anxious to try it out.  There are a lot of little motifs in a fairly small space, so I'm not expecting a lot of fancy stitches on this one.  Perhaps I'll be able to spice it up by adding a little texture.

We shall see--stay tuned!