Oak Leaf on Felted Wool

I’m stepping out on my own with this piece, using the oak leaf as inspiration. I’ve used this design before here, so it feels like returning to an old friend.

I am using  two #8 Perle Cotton threads — both part of the Painters Threads Collection by Tentakulum — and beads on the hand-dyed felted wool that I purchased from Errin Rissberger and shared with you here. Click on an image for a larger view.

The thread on the bottom is “Van Gogh” while the thread on the top is “Georgia.” (Hmmm, does that bother anyone else besides me? I also bought their color named “Frida.”) And while I’m discussing inconsistency, why is this thread called Perle Cotton by one company and Pearl Cotton by another? But I digress. By any name, it’s wonderful thread to work with. And here is the beginning of the project. I have outlined the shape of the leaf using the Van Gogh thread and the back stitch.

Then I filled in the stem and vein structure using an outline stitch.

Here I switched to Georgia and stitched a very small chain stitch on the bottom edge of the vein structure.

I used a mixture of beads on the top edge of the vein structure.

I will be staying with just the two threads for this piece but there are many more decisions to be made. I have been making decisions as I go so I’m not clear on how much stitching and/or beading I will be doing. A bit of fun.

Apologies for the inconsistent coloring shown in the photographs. Again, I have taken these photos at different times of day with different lighting sources. Much more casual than my usual practice, but there it is. The actual color of this wool is best shown in the last photograph, above.

I hope that you are allowing yourself to be ‘more casual’ about some things in your life just now.

Be strong. Be patient. Be kind.