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Lazy Holiday Stitching




Last weekend was beautiful and I was able to spend time in the shade stitching.  I worked on this simple little bookmark - the stitching equivalent of a good beach novel.

It wasn't quite as simple as it appears as the front is the same as the back.  I'm not going to use the "r" word to keep people from looking for that to find this post.



It took some work to figure out the technique.  But then I was able to zoom through it.  After the first heart, I didn't even need to consult the pattern.



If you look at the border it's not 100% the same on the back.  The Nun's stitch looks good from both sides, but it's not the same.

On the second bookmark I have shown the hearts in different stages of completion.  The hearts are stitched in two passes.  The top heart has the first half of the first pass completed.  The second heart has the first pass completed.  The next heart has some of the second pass done and the final heart is complete.

The reason I'm making two bookmarks is that the scrap of aida cloth was just big enough for two.  It was left over from another project and last fall, when I was kool-aid dyeing some wool, I tossed it in see if it would change color.  The experts are correct.  Kool-aid does not dye cotton as well as it does wool.  The wool turned a bright red and cotton turned a faded pink.

I'll have to finish up the second bookmark and then I'll be able to move on to some more serious summer projects.  Hopefully the shade will still be out there on the patio waiting for me.


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