Lilly of the Valley Group Instructions

Drawn Thread Group Projects
Hi everyone!!! Here's another project from the Drawn Thread BB ladies. You can always check back here to find all the wonderful help from the Drawn Thread Fans Bulletin Board

This project is Lilly of the Valley. The leader is Mary Cohen - NC.

Hi, LOVers -

I thought I’d introduce myself with this first posting. My name is Mary Cohn and I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was born here and, except for seven years living in New York after college, have lived here all my life. I have been stitching since Junior High age, when my aunt introduced me to needlepoint. I gave that up long ago as being too expensive and took up cross stitch which I love...and, need I add, am addicted to. Within the last few years I have become increasingly interested in samplers and stitches other than the "X". This is my first time leading a group, so please be gentle.

I thought this first posting would be concerned with getting ready. From the postings I have read on this board, I am going to assume that we are all familiar with working on evenweave. But you know what happens when you assume, so if this is not the case, by all means let me know. I want everyone to be comfortable. Also, I will be writing this in the first person, as in "I did this/I did that", with which I’m more comfortable.

PREPARING YOUR LINEN: The material I got in my kit is 9.25" X 16.75" approx. After ironing it, I squared it up by pulling the first full length thread from each side in order to remove it from the fabric. After removing the thread, I cut the fabric in the space created. This gave me my squared up fabric. (Those of you who work in hand might want to overcast your edges at this point.) I then folded the fabric in half and creased the fold at the top and bottom. This gave me the vertical mid point. With a sewing thread that would easily be seen on the olive green linen, I basted a running stitch (under 2-over 2) down this mid point. Then from the mid point, I counted 24 stitches (approx. 1.5") to the left and repeated the running stitch. (I made sure that if I started the center running stitch by going down in the fabric, that I did the same on the left side. This way my stitches would match and my eye would more easily be able to follow across the linen.) This left-side running stitch will be your starting point for all the bands and verse parts. The mid point will be helpful in Band 15, the first instructions of which are "Go to the middle of Band 14." I did not put a line of running stitches down the right-hand border.

The design size (on our 32 ct) is 3" X 9.5". Since the first stitch is not in the topmost left-hand corner, I wanted to mark the top of the design as a reference. I measured down 3" from the top of the fabric and with a short piece of thread intersected the left-hand border at that point, like so:

I stitched the fabric to my scroll bars and was ready to go.

PROJECT PLAN:
Week One - Bands 1-6 (verse parts included)
Week Two - Bands 7-10(verse parts included)
Week Three - Bands 11-14(verse parts included)
Week Four - Verse Part 5 - Band 18

This seems to be working up quickly. It took me two nights of stitching in front of the TV to complete Week One. Hopefully a week between sections will take care of any unforeseen stitching interruptions.

Always feel free to e-mail me with any questions or suggestions.

Take care, Mary

Lily of the Valley
Week One
A few more things before we start:

1. First of all, I want to thank Marj for her invaluable help in teaching me how to add pictures to these postings, and for suggesting this: The first stitch and all subsequent regular stitches should begin at a vertical thread. Why? The vertical threads (as shown) act as little goal posts holding up the understitch. At the intersection where the vertical thread lays on top of the horizontal thread, come up at the lower left hole (1), and go down in the upper right hole (2). Starting at a vertical thread acts as an early warning system, also. Should a regular stitch suddenly begin at a horizontal thread, it is a sign that threads have been counted incorrectly.

2. I have an insert in my kit that is a correction to the illustration for Band 9. I bought my kit in 1997, so maybe some of the more recently published versions don’t contain the insert.

3. I told you how I had taken a few stitches across the left-hand border to indicate the topmost corner of the chart. Well, I also made an "X" on the chart in the corresponding upper left-hand corner as a reference.

4. Recently, I started using an away waste knot . This is especially helpful on band samplers because there is not always the opportunity to hide the thread on the back of the material when starting a new band , motif, or lettering. Knot your thread and go down outside the border about a needle’s length and a half from your starting point. Come up at your starting point and proceed with stitching. When finished with the band, and after ending off the working thread, clip your away waste knot, thread your needle and conceal the thread on the back of your work by weaving it under stitches. (Alternative ways of ending threads will be discussed later.) Okay, let’s go.

BAND ONE

I threaded up my needle with one ply of med. green (292) and knotted one end. I inserted my away waste knot (as described above) and counted ten (10) stitches down from the upper left-hand corner of the design. The tenth stitch is your starting point. Following the chart, I cross-stitched all the leaves using the medium green (292) and the dark green (294). After the initial away waste knot, I was able to begin new threads by hiding them on the back. However, I started each new set of leaves with an away waste knot (AWK), just so there would not be threads carried across the back. Then using one ply of white (991), I worked the lazy daisy (LD) stitches. These are really tiny lazy daisies but Cynthia’s illustrations throughout are excellent. It took me a few tries until I finally had them the way I wanted them. I thought I’d do the middle LD last, but that didn’t look good at all. I found that working them in sequence (top/middle/bottom or bottom/middle/top) gave a better look. Again I started each flower grouping with an AWK. I did the stems a little differently. Cynthia says to backstitch the stems and stalks, but I did them in double running (or Holbein) stitch. I did this because, not only do I prefer that stitch to backstitch, but it will get me back to the bottom of the stem in order to start whipping it. Here’s how: The starting point is the bottom of the flower stalk - come up there. Then alternately go over and under two threads, just as you did if you basted your middle and left-hand reference guides. Until you get the hang of double running (DR), counting is essential. When you go down, that will be stitch 1. When you come up two threads away, that will be stitch 2. When you go down again, two threads away, that will be stitch 3, and so on. Counting this way, follow the chart for stitch placement. Only do the vertical stalks, you’ll get the flower connectors on the way back down. Your last stitch will be the flower connector at the top, then just "fill in the blanks" coming back down. When you get to a point on the chart where a flower connector appears, just make that stitch and return to the stalk to continue your journey down. Your last stitch will go into the fabric at the top of stitch 1. Then come out again at the starting point to begin whipping the flower stalk. But before you start wrapping, turn your work over. If you did the DR correctly, your work should look the same on the back as it does on the front (another reason I like this stitch). Now to the whipping. I’d never done this stitch before , so I just followed Cynthia’s illustration. I had no problem doing this stitch. Like I said, her illustrations are excellent throughout. Two things to bear in mind: this stitch does not pierce the fabric, only slides under the stitch on top, and only whip the stalk, not the flower connectors.

BAND 2 (illustration above) Make an AWK with one ply of dark green (294) and come up at the starting point for this band. NOTE: The starting point is the upper left-hand corner of the stitch. Following the illustration for Band 2, continue this stitch across. There will be 24 stitches to the mid basting line and 24 stitches beyond it to the end. Be sure to note in the illustration how to end this row and, as a reference, the band should end directly below the last med. green stitch in the last leaf. I found that one ply of the dark green made it almost to the end. So I want to tell you how to begin and end threads when doing this stitch. Please try and follow my feeble attempt at an illustration...I have used the same numbers as in the instructions, which are easier to see. (The numbers are used only as a reference to the place in the rhythm of the stitch where the action should be performed.)

When you see that you are getting low on thread come up at 7 and remove the thread from you needle. The thread (indicated in blue) will be laying on the front of your work. Thread your needle with a new ply. Weave this new thread (indicated in pink) under the stitches on top of your work, but not piercing your fabric, entering a few stitches away from where you ended. Now take the needle and thread to the back of the work at 6 and come back up at 7. Go down at 8 and continue stitching following the illustration in the instructions. When you have finished the row (stitch 18), come back up at 16 and weave your thread under three or four stitches on top of your work. Then bring your thread out and cut it close to where it emerged. Now for the AWK. Cut the knot and re-thread your needle. Come up at 3 and weave the thread under three or four stitches and finish off as you did at the end of the row. Lastly, thread the ply laying on top of your work into your needle and weave it under the threads on top of your fabric in the same manner as above. If you have never done this stitch before, turn your work over and you will see why it is better to end your threads on the front of your work. You should have two parallel lines running across your fabric and a short vertical stitch at either end. No place to hide threads there!

Verse Part 1 Starting with an AWK (one ply of 294, dark green) backstitch the verse. I found that one ply made it all the way across . End by weaving your threads through stitches on the back of your work.

Band 3

This is a very straight forward band. Nothing tricky here. "Desert Dawn" is an absolutely beautiful color and these silks are so luscious to the touch. Anyway, don’t want to get off track here. Thread your needle with one ply of this gorgeous stuff and make your knot. Place your AWK and, following the chart and illustration, make your row of Jerusalem crosses. End by weaving your thread through stitches on the back of your work. One ply will be more than enough for this band. Now thread up your needle with one ply of dark green (294) and make your knot. Place your AWK and start with the cross stitch against the left-hand border and continue across the band with the backstitch, completing the cross stitches along the way. End your stitches on the back of your work. One ply will get you all the way across.

Band Four

This is another straight forward band. It is almost all cross stitch except for a little backstitching (or DR, if you want) and french knots. I am going to hold off beading until the end because I work on scroll rods. Just follow the chart and instructions for your placement of stitches. NOTE: The second flower has a stitch missing in the lower leaf, at least on my chart. Fill it in or leave it out, your choice. Once again I started each flower with an AWK and started subsequent threads by weaving them under stitches on the back of the work. Just a word about french knots. I don’t use them anymore. I use the colonial knot instead. I find that it gives a more consistent knot. I also find it’s almost impossible to explain. So I did the next best thing...no, I’m not going to scare you with another of my "illustrations". :-) I went to the book Elegant Stitches by Judith Baker Montano.. On page 69 is the following illustration:

Come up at A and holding the working thread down and toward you in your left hand, bring the tip of the needle under the thread, going from left to right. Now bring the thread in your left hand over the needle and under the tip (as in the illustration). You should see a figure 8 form. Insert the needle close to where it first emerged and tighten the tension around your needle as you would with a french knot. Keep the tension on the thread as you bring the needle to the back of the fabric. I have heard that because the thread is looping around the needle in opposite directions (the figure 8), it is less likely to pull through the fabric. It also gives a plumper knot. This takes a bit of trying (and cursing) to understand, believe me. But once you get it, it feels natural and, like I said, I don’t use the french knot anymore.

Band 5
Work this as you did Band 3. I started the Jerusalem crosses with the thread I had left over from Band 3. This way my crosses were different colors going across.

Verse Part 2
Work this in the same manner as Verse Part 1. Again, one ply was all it took.

Band 6

The alternating backstitch is worked the same as Band 2, with a twist. Thread up your needle with one ply of dark green (294) and make your knot. Place your AWK and come up at 1, the upper left-hand corner of the stitch. Again, Cynthia’s illustration of this stitch is excellent. Just follow her illustration and proceed across the band. You will need to begin and end your threads as in Band 2. Just make sure you begin and end your threads within the more solid sections of the stitch. Also, end your last stitch as you did in Band 2 and weave your ending and beginning threads in the same manner as Band 2. Again, if you’ve never done this stitch before, turn your work over and see what you’ve got. You should have the same pattern on the back as you do on the front. Well, you’ve got a week’s worth of stitching ahead of you. The stitching actually goes quite quickly...takes less time to stitch than to explain. ;-D Have a wonderful time and stroke those silks. They’re wonderful! Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or suggestions. Happy Stitching!!

Lily of the Valley
Week Two
Bands 6-10

I hope this posting finds everyone in good health and enjoying pleasant weather. From the posts last week, it sounds like some of you could use both. This second section took me two nights in front of the TV, and a lunch hour or two at work, but overall I’m pleased with how fast this is going. I did do more frogging in this section - but more on that later. Let’s get started...

BAND SEVEN

I’ll tell you right off that the illustration for Band 7 and the way the satin stitch is charted don’t match. Look at the top row of satin stitches in the illustration. Going from left to right, the first six stitches are in a straight line. Now look at the same top row of any of the daffodils on the chart. Notice that only the first FIVE stitches are in a straight line. The sixth stitch drops down ONE THREAD. Follow the CHARTED version for both rows of satin stitch. I followed the illustration on the first daffodil and when I finished the flower trumpet, I found I was one thread off. Instead of the top of the flower being one STITCH below the previous row, it was one THREAD below the previous row. So I frogged.

I worked the satin stitch from left to right and made my stitch from top to bottom. Cynthia didn’t number the satin stitches, but I have always preferred working them by coming out at the top and going down at the bottom of the stitch. Also, don’t pull this stitch - sometimes it’s tempting to do so to get it to look smooth. Just keep the tension even. If you have not yet used a laying tool, and have both hands free to work, this would be a good introduction to using one. Here’s how it works: Thread up your needle with the suggested color (two plies) and make your knot. Place your AWK and come out at the top of the first stitch. Take the largest needle you have and hold it between the thread and the fabric at the top of the stitch. Now complete the stitch, and run the "laying tool" up and down UNDER the thread as it is being carried to the back of the fabric. This "up and down" motion should ensure that the two plies lay side by side and don’t twist. This motion takes a little getting used to and may seem a little awkward at first, but my satin stitches do look more together since I started doing this. I also, from time to time, take my laying tool and stroke the stitch on top. (There are all sorts of laying tools, in all price ranges. I use one that is basically a metal guitar pick with a huge tapestry needle soldered to it. Got it at my LNS.) Proceed with the satin stitch across the row. I wove (is that a word?) my thread through the stitches on the back to the beginning of the row, carried my thread down and then started the bottom row of satin stitches, going from left to right. Then I stitched the yellow flower trumpet. I did the second flower blossom in the same manner and then the third. Next came the cross-stitched leaves and don’t forget those tiny yellow buds in the 2nd and 3rd flowers. :-)

BAND 8

Refer to the notes on Band 6/Week One.

Verse Part 3
Work this in the same manner as Verse Part 1 and 2/Week One. The only difference here is the little flower in the band.

BAND 9

NOTE: This is the Band that some of you may have a correction sheet for. The corrected version shows two THREADS between the upright arms of each buttonhole stitch.
Thread up your needle with the suggested color and make your knot. Place your AWK and following the chart placement, come up one THREAD inside the left-hand border (see scan above). This is #1 in the stitch illustration.

1. Go down one thread over and four threads up (#2) and come out four threads straight down (#3). (Your needle will emerge one thread to the right of where you came out at #1.) Pull, but not tightly. Should look like this:

2. Loop your working thread up and bring your needle down into the fabric two threads to the right of #3 and back out four threads up (#4). Like so:

3. Now gently pull your thread up and away from you like so:

and then down and gently to the left and back to the right until you get what looks like a "V".

4. Using the chart and illustration as placement guides, start your second set of stems (stitches #6 & #7). Your first stitch should look like this:

(You will, of course be doing the taller stem.) Pull your working thread (indicated by the arrow)

until you get the right angle (step 1 above). Then continue with stitch #8-#9 and complete your second set of stems. After three or four sets of stems you will get into the rhythm of this stitch. You should end up with a row that looks like this:

I did the small ray stitch from right to left. Working from right to left ensures the correct tension on the bottom leg of the last stitch in each group. Here is a picture of the sequence of the stitch. Come up at the odd number and always go down in the center. Notice that there will be some sharing of holes with this stitch.

When ending and beginning threads on this phase of the row, take care not to run a thread across the open space made by this stitch at the top of the stem.

Band Ten

This is a straight forward band. The stitching sequence is very clear. Just take note that each row begins one THREAD below the previous one. I thought it was one stitch, and when it wasn’t looking right, realized my mistake.

LOV gets more beautiful with each band. From the posts to the BB, it looks as if everyone is getting along fine with it. If anyone should have any questions, or I haven’t been clear on some procedure, please feel free to e-mail me. Happy Stitching!!

Lily of the Valley
Week Three
Bands 11-14

Well, time is really flying fast on this project. I can’t believe it’s week three already.

This week’s notes will be short because the bands are, for the most part, straight forward. I guess Cynthia’s giving us a break before the drawn thread/hem stitching part. (HINT: It’s not nearly as hard as I was anticipating. :-> ) Let’s get started...

BAND 11

This is the band that took me the longest. Not only do french knots (or colonial knots) take longer to do, but I kept having trouble figuring out where to put them. I tend to put a CK in the center hole of the "square". But when I finished one knot, I would have trouble determining the next center hole. After frogging a few times because my knots just didn’t look well placed and even, I decided on the solution pictured below. I outlined the area where the knots would go according to the chart using a running stitch. Once I did that, I had no trouble finding the center hole for each knot. The outline was my visual cue. Since I used a running stitch, only every other stitch shows on the fabric. I have indicated the stitch lying on the back side of the fabric in yellow. This gives you a complete picture of the area. Then I indicated the center hole of each "square" with a green dot.

After all the lilac flower heads are done, it’s just a matter of completing the row using backstitch and cross stitch following the chart.

Verse Part 4
Work this in the same manner as Verse Parts 1 and 2/Week One.

BAND 12

This band is straightforward. Thread up your needle with the suggested color (2 strands) and make your knot. Place your AWK and follow the illustration to make the Tied Cross Stitches across the row. One thing I found helpful was to "park" my thread on the front of the fabric at the end of each step of the Tied Cross Stitch. This is kind of like an AWK, only you don’t knot your thread. This is just a means of putting your thread on hold, so to speak. After completing each large cross stitch, which is the first step in this stitch, I would carry my thread to where the next stitch began and then complete it. When I got to the end of the row, there was really no place to weave my ending thread on the back, so I brought my thread to the front of the fabric at a place above the band and outside the border. Then I removed it from the needle, and it was "parked" there. Then I threaded my needle with the second color (1 strand), placed my AWK and completed the tying stitches across the row, again carrying my thread from stitch to stitch. I followed the same procedure to park the pale yellow thread. I now had two colors parked on the front.

Next I made the cross stitched leaves with dark green (1 strand). These stitches helped tie down the carried threads on the back of my fabric. When I got to the end of the row, I wove the dark green thread under the stitches on the back of the fabric. Now I threaded my needle with one of the parked threads. I took it to the back of the fabric and wove it in the stitches on the back. Then I did the same procedure with the thread left. I clipped my AWKs at the beginning of the row and wove them on the back in the same manner.

Band 13

This is another straight forward band. The only notes I have here are on the stitching sequence of the Double Cross Eyelet. My method of working this stitch was not too different from the Small Ray Stitch. Again, as with the small ray stitch, you want to keep the tension even on the bottom leg of each stitch. Below is a scan of Cynthia’s illustration to which I added my stitch sequence in each section (1-9). Always come up at the number and down in the center. As long as you come up at 1, you can start this stitch in any quadrant. I began each flower with an AWK. As with the small ray stitch, when ending and beginning threads here take care not to run a thread across the open space made by this stitch. Also, give a gentle tug on the thread each time you come up. This will pull the bottom leg ever so slightly and leave you with that nice little cross in the middle of the flower.

Band 14

This easy band completes the week’s work. Follow the instructions and illustration to do this row. Just be sure and count correctly so you will have room for the bead placement. As you can see from the scan above, I didn’t add the beading. I am going to do all the beading after I complete my stitching.

As you can see, this week’s stitching should go smoothly. If anyone should have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Love reading all the progress reports. Keep posting and happy Stitching!!

Lily of the Valley
Week Four
Bands 15-18

Week Four...I can’t believe this has gone by so quickly. But more importantly, I can’t believe I actually have a gift ready well before the event!! What a concept!! Of course, following my usual pattern, I probably won’t have it framed until the last minute.

This week’s segment contains the anxiously (need I say nervously) awaited drawn thread/hemstitched band. Never having done this kind of work before myself, I went through some anxious moments myself. But its bark is worse than its bite. So let’s get right to it.

BAND 15

My advice here is to thoroughly read the first paragraph of the instructions while having your work in front of you. I read that paragraph while my work was not near me and I couldn’t visualize what I was supposed to do for the life of me. When I took my work in my lap and reread the paragraph, I understood just where my threads were supposed to go. But first came the cutting.

Have you heard the carpenter’s old adage, "Measure twice, cut once"? Well, the stitcher’s must be, "Count 16 times, do your Lamaze breathing, and finally cut." I must have agonized over this for 20 minutes. Just when I thought I was ready to cut, I did the obsessive-compulsive thing and COUNTED AGAIN. I finally said to myself, "This is silly, I keep coming to the same point, so I MUST be right", and I cut. Sure enough, the whole project didn’t fall apart!! I unwove (there’s that word again!) the linen thread to one thread outside the running stitch border. Then I unwove the second thread to about ½ inch outside the running stitch border. In the scan below, the red line represents the running stitch, the blue represents the thread taken to the border, the yellow represents the thread taken to ½ inch beyond the border.

Thread your needle with the first thread and reweave it into your fabric in the space left when you unwove the second thread. Pay attention that you are following the weave pattern. Reweave back to the point where the second thread was unwoven, now go one (or two) threads beyond that and take your thread to the back of the fabric. Remove the thread from your needle. Thread your needle with the second thread and bring it to the back of the fabric. Make sure you take your threads to the back of the fabric after they have gone over a vertical thread. If you don’t do this a blank space will be left.

Repeat this process with the second set of cut threads on the left side of the design and the cut threads on the right side of the design. NOTE: You won’t have running stitches on the right side to refer to as a border, so just align the right edge of the drawn thread band with the "y" in "away" just above it.

I had enough ribbon in the kit to be able to choose the color gradation I wanted to use. After measuring (a few times) the ribbon section I wanted, I cut it and threaded my needle with it. Follow Cynthia’s instructions for laying it out. Take care that it lays flat. You might want to take a couple of straight pins and pin the ribbon ends in place so the ribbon doesn’t shift and the ends are out of the way.

Now thread your needle with the suggested thread and place your AWK. Make a note that this stitch is worked from the right to the left. This is also a pulled stitch. Don’t pull at every leg of the stitch, however. Normally, stitches are pulled when the thread is brought to the front of the fabric. On this stitch, pull at 3, 7, 9, 13, 15, and so on. You DON’T want to pull on the thread that is lying across the ribbon. Only the vertical threads should be pulled. Once you start this stitch, you’ll be surprised how fast the band goes.

Weave your thread under the threads on the back of the work. Cut your AWK, thread your needle and weave it under the threads on the back of the work. Now thread the ribbon ends in your needle and weave them under the threads on the back. Take care that the ribbon lies flat under those threads. Voilá!

BAND 16

This band is for your own personalization. I’ll show you what I did. This is for my daughter, so I charted her name using the verse lettering and centered it in the band area. Then I took the flower motif from the band, separated it, and put each section on either side of my text. I did all of this on graph paper before putting one stitch on the fabric. After it was stitched, I added the year to it, but after I had already scanned the band, that’s why you don’t see it above.

Band 17

Refer to the notes on Band 2/Week One. One thing I did differently from the chart was to drop this band down two STITCHES from Band 16 instead of one.

Band 18

Ah, the final band. I started at the center top of the basket handle and worked the cross stitches around to where I started. Then I worked the next three rows of cross stitches. Next I did the Half Rhodes stitches, working from right to left. Again, I did this in order to be able to maintain the correct tension on the last leg (9-10) of the stitch.

Next I did the Tied Cross Stitches. I placed my AWK and, mapping out my course, completed the stitches on one side of the basket, including the stitches from that side which fell inside the handle. After completing each step of the tied cross stitch (remember this is a two-step stitch) on one side of the basket, I parked my thread on the front of the fabric. I then threaded my needle with a new full length of thread (didn’t want to run out in the middle) and did the stitches on the other side of the basket. Again I parked my threads on the front after each step.

For the vines I used the double running stitch. I picked a starting point that would always bring me back to the basket. I made my first course out to a "flower" and on the return trip completed the cross stitched "leaves" along the vine. When I got to an intersection where another branch of the vine started, I would follow that course and complete the cross stitches on the return trip. When I had completed all the branches off my original vine and had made the return trip, I was back to where I had started. Look at the chart and try to follow a path out and back again, branching off as you get to intersections. As an example, on the left side of the basket at the top of the vertical portion of the handle is the beginning of a vine. Follow that up and over to the top-most flower. Now come back until you get to the first intersecting branch. Follow that line out to the cluster of leaves. Now come back, but on your way follow the branch that comes down from it to the next flower. Follow that back up and return to the original starting point. That’s the fun on double running for me. Figuring out a path and following it, no matter where it twists and turns, out and back to the starting point. Now I threaded the parked threads and wove them into the stitches left on the back of the fabric after completing the vines. Clip the AWK and weave those threads in also.

When you have completed the vines, you have completed the project...well, almost. I did my beading at this point. I used the light green thread for my beading thread since it closely matched the color of the fabric. I also held my beads on with a cross stitch so they would lie straight vertically. Next I stitched my initials using a tent stitch over one. I used the dark green and centered them under the basket. Now it’s ready to be framed!

A Personal Note
This has been a real pleasure for me. I want to thank all of you for the words of encouragement I received both by e-mail and on the BB. I’m glad I was able to help some of you get over those rough spots you’d not encountered before, and to offer a hint here and there that would make your stitching easier. I also want to thank those who helped me get over the rough spots I had not encountered in putting out my notes. I hope you have enjoyed doing this as much as I have. If you want to look at my finished product just click here. And, as always, if anyone should have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Take care everyone and happy stitching!!