Problem solving

One of my favorite things about embroidering on paper is when things go just slightly wrong and have to be fixed- not torn to pieces wrong, just slightly off. Maybe there’s a whole in not quite the right spot, maybe things look a little wonky.

Take the piece I am currently working on, for example. The crosses were just a little bit too long. I wanted them larger, and it just so happened this was the size of the graph paper I have on hand. But, I only have a few pieces of blank paper from this particular book to work with, so I didn’t want to just chuck the whole thing out. As hard as it is to do when I have a very clear idea in my head (I just want to Get. It. Out.), I walked away from the work for a whole evening. The solution came while I was sleeping, and it was simple and very obvious: just make the crosses into double crosses. Done.

And it looks a thousand times better.

I never know exactly how things are going to turn out, but I am pleasantly surprised more often than not. The second piece to go along with the first was finished much faster (now that there was a plan).

Here’s the whole thing, with photos from my proper DSLR.

I took a little bit of inspiration from the photo of my great-grandparents that I have sitting on my desk. Diamond shape at the top, chevron at the bottom.

Also, this piece needs a title. Ideas anyone?