Almost...so close...

All weekend I stitched and stitched  to get the first panel of the cap project finished. Other than stopping to plant 4 roses in huge pots on our terrace and to make enchiladas, all I did was stitch. I wanted so much to have the whole first panel finished in silk to show you today. Alas and alack, it's not finished. (Alas and alack: Used to express sorrow, regret - I always wanted to use that phrase!)Here's how the cap looked Monday afternoon when I got home and took photos in the sunshine. Can you see the changes and what I've added? The Tudor rose in the middle is slightly different (French knots in the middle), there are a few little leaves now stitched, the little blue flowers are done and the blueberries are half done. Part of a leaf is done next to the rose buds, but I had to stop last night when I couldn't hold the needle any longer!These little blue flowers, which are stitched in the color of blue columbines, were going to be miniature Tudor roses but I decided some blue in that area of the overall design was a better idea than red.

Here's the inspiration from real life. Isn't it just beautiful? I have a soft spot for all blue flowers; columbine, delphinium, bachelor buttons,balloon flowers, morning glories...if it's blue, really blue, I love it.These little green leaves just above the purple iris are stitched in green GST to connect with the green sepals. The Gilt Sylke Twist adds a bit of sparkle to the design and the extra olive green is a good balance for all the other bluer greens. The blueberries were the trickiest. I wanted them to be purple blueberries for the design but I know that blueberries, when they are ripe, are really dark blue. However, before they're ripe, they're purple and even green. I used three colors of purple and shaded each berry using straight stitches, alternating the shades of purple. The darker shade went in where the light would hit the berry the least, and the lightest shade where the light would strike the berry the most. They look delicious don't they?

Finally, here's the start of the next to the last leaf. Using fly stitch, I've created the center vein of the leaf. This is one of my favorite stitches for leaves.This evening I'm going to work some more and see how far I can get. We have school for two more days and then another long, four day weekend. Why? It's Pfingsten, or Pentecost, on Thursday. Friday is a 'bridge day', hence a four day weekend during which I can stitch and stitch!