Whole-Hearted

The whole heart is done - the right side in stem stitching, and I've also finished the ruby, which is couched red metallic thread.

I thought the ruby would be really quick to do, but I had to try out some different techniques before I settled on couching. At first I was going to do a simple back stitch, but the two layers of fabric just shredded the metallic thread too quickly. Then I tried a back stitch in a rayon red, with a plan to whip the metallic thread round, but I just couldn't get the backstitch to look as sharp or straight as I wanted. Then I remembered my lesson in lacemaking and decided to couch down the thread allowing me to get nice straight lines.

Close up of the couched ruby

I like the contrast of sheen and texture on the three pieces done so far, but it doesn't pick up too well in the picture. I need to start using my proper camera instead of my phone I think!

Next up are the monograms (duogram if there are two? stereogram?), which should be quick to stitch, I just need to decide on the final stitch design for them. Then finally I may add a date at the bottom of the heart but I'm going to wait until the whole thing is done before deciding on adding any more elements.