Tervelyon's Cap:Glittery leaves

The first leaf went very well, the second one... not so much. What happened in between the first and the second? I was tired. Not late at night tired, but middle of the day sleepy. I could tell (if I'd paid attention!) that I was tired because I got short tempered. I yelled at my stitching...things like "You stupid thread!...Come on needle, go where I point you!..." Did I stop? No, I did not. That old work ethic kicked in and I was determined to continue onward, no matter what.I'd decided to do the two large leaves in the center of the design in corded Brussels stitch using gold Japan thread for the cords and two shades of Mulberry silk for the body of the leaves, darker on the inside and lighter on the outside. I began by working chain stitch all around the outside of the shape and up the center vein of the leaf. I then put in the cords from the left side to the center and then from the right side to the center.I wanted to leave a channel for the gold passing thread that will go down the center, which is why I stitched two separate 'ladders' of gold thread.Next, I worked each side in corded Brussels stitch in the two different shades of green. (For a discussion on corded Brussels stitch and detached buttonhole stitch, please look at the wonderful new book by Jacqui Carey, Elizabethan stitches.) I was quite pleased with the result. The two ladders of gold cord gently curved upwards, making the leaf look more realistic.Because I'm working all of one panel before I do the others, the stitching that's already in was in danger of getting snagged at I did the leaf, so I covered it all with cloth to protect it while I stitched the second leaf. The stitching was OK after working the first leaf, but I didn't want to take any more chances.One thing I can see now, in the photo, that I didn't notice yesterday when I was stitching is that the drawing of the leaf is a bit wonky. The bottom left corner bulges out. As you will see later, that made a big difference in the finished leaf.Then I got tired and distracted. So I stitched the next leaf, forgetting to split the long cords in the middle. I stitched them straight across the leaf from left to right. It looks fine, but not nearly as nice as the first with the split cords and the center vein. I did lay gold thread down the middle so I could see how it will look when the center vein is put in and it looks fine. I won't do it again this way, but I don't want to take it all out as I afraid of damaging the fabric. Of course, if it drives me nuts, then I probably will take it out! The glitter of the gold peeking through the silk it just perfect for the design. I added gold on the blue flower at the bottom of the design as well. Although I liked the GST, the gold thread will be running all through the design so using it to couch over the blue pulls the whole thing together.The purple flowers are also done, now without the GST in the bottom petals. I used a little GST in the round bits at the bottom of the purple flowers, working satin stitch in the same way as the leaves for the strawberries.Today I'm going to the Fashioning Fashion exhibit! We decided to wait until after the first weekend it was open, hoping the crowds would be smaller so we could see better. It's going to be a good day!