Think Spring while Stitching Fall (#3 Tutorial)

It's a great morning when I can wake up and not see it snowing outside. It's sunny out now and I'm actually scared to listen to the weather forecast just because I really don't want to hear when the next snow attack will happen. I just want to enjoy one day without snow.

This will be a quick posting to finish up the tutorial for ..... the "Scarecrow Jack in the Pumpkin Patch" wool candle mat. (Big thanks to the Ebayer friend who suggested that great name!)

This is where I finished up yesterday and really, it could be considered finished, if I took out the basted threads and attached the backing on this. Just keep that in mind if you purchase this pattern, because the extras add a nice touch but if you just don't feel putting any more time into this, you can see the candle mat looks wonderful without the extra details too.

But I love to put details in so we'll continue on .... I've used scraps of the tweed hat and the green shirt wools to stitch patches on his hat and shirt. I just used a primitive whip stitch to attach the patches.

With a chalk pencil, I drew in the lines for the sunflower stalk and then stem stitched the stalks.
With the stalks, I want to be really careful to make all the stalks the same height so I measure up from the bottom, draw my line and then put the hook at the top of that line. If they are diffferent heights, the center candle area will be off center.

All the stalks are completed so now I just add the sunflowers.....

I attached the sunflowers by stitching french knots in the center of each flower circle. I backstitched the leaves to the stems and the sunflowers are finished.

Finally, with a chalk pencil, I drew in the vine tendrils. The tendrils are stem stitched and now, except for the backing, I'm done with this candle mat!

For the beginning first steps of this tutorial go here: Think Spring while Stitching Fall (A Tutorial)

Once the backing is stitched on, I'll direct my attention to getting the pattern for this ready to print. I hope to have that finished and ready to sell by the beginning of next week.

This particular finished candle mat is already sold. If you're interested in purchasing a finished one from me, just let me know. I would really love to put this design away until say ... early August, when it's more fitting in the season, but I know some of you are anxious to get the pattern so it's my job to make all of you happy as best I can!

I'm hoping sometime this week to start up another blog that will just have my patterns and finished items for sale. My sidebar on this blog is starting to look like Big Lots ... good purchases but messy displays.

If time permits ....

I need a secretary and about 4 more hands attached to me. :)

Happy Day everyone!