The tree is growing beautifully! Stem stitch is one of my favourite stitches and I especially like doing it when I have to either taper the stitches to a thinner point or expand them to get thicker. I like the puzzle of working out where to have one row stop (or begin the additional row).The very ends of the two branches that curl were great fun to stitch. I had to plan when the various colors would "fade out" leaving just one single thread for the end of each curled branch.Below is a close up of the end where you can see how I've reduced the number of threads for each color. At the spot where the branch comes away from the trunk I've used three threads of the lightest brown, two of the golden brown, two of the medium brown and two of the dark brown. The lightest brown stays thick the longest since it would be the part of the branch where the sun shines and therefore the lightest. The dark brown stays at two threads until the very tip since that is the part of the branch which would be in the shade. The dark brown continues right to the end where it is completely shaded by the thicker part of the branch from above.Once I'd finished the trunk and these first branches, I wanted to do something that wasn't brown so I started on the ivy leaves. They're outlined in stem stitch with a stem stitch vein running down the middle. Straight stitches come off the vein, giving a hint of green to the leaf.Next time I'll be able to show you the leaves all stitched and the strawberries will be finished!