Progress in the Pillowcase

It's been a pretty busy weekend, so I haven't really had the chance to work on my pillowcase embroidery. Friends and family is really cutting into my crafting/hermit time.

I managed to set aside my Sunday morning for some coffee and embroidering, which was nice :-)
As evident in the amount of purple markings all over the fabric, I doodled a bunch before deciding to abandon embroidering a monogram, and chose to stitch some pretty flowers and greenery instead. That dark, inky green is one of my favorite colors of all time, but I chose to keep the flowers a light color so the deer can still stand out. I was going to add spots on the deer, but changed my mind because I really like its simplicity.

Stitching the decorative flowers is so much fun. I love the freedom to be able to stitch whatever feels and looks right - it's almost like doodling. I'm also not militant about having every petal and leaf stitched to look identical, I like the organic look it creates when they are slightly different sizes. I adore how french knots (notice the beaucoup french knots) add texture, and I love running my fingers over them. I am, however, a little bit nervous about stitching the other side of the deer. I am crazy about balancing things, so I'll probably try and mirror the other side as much as possible, which means less doodling and more paying attention. Bah...
I'm going to have to be careful about not adding any more details before I end up embroidering the entire pillowcase. I never know when to stop!

Hopefully, it'll turn out fine.

Now, I'm off to visit our local city art festival; a friend is working a stall there distributing info to people on how live in a more eco-friendly manner - yay, go friend! The weather is so crummy, I cannot believe I'm going to have a throw on a wooly coat and a thick scarf for a summer festival. Bah, again! On a happier note, if things go my way, I'll find a good pork shoulder at the store for dinner tonight. So...art festival and pork shoulder...a little bit of an adventure.