Hand Stitched by Carolyn Trafford

I’m like a magpie, attracted to golden shiny things. One bright morning dog walk in October lead me to Hazelhurst lock keepers cottage on the Caldon Canal where the most beautiful tree stood in all its Autumn glory.

She had started to shed her golden locks and I couldn’t resist but to collect a few leaves for pressing.

I’ve used DMC variegated No 8 cotton perle, a change from my normal Anchor 6 stranded and its worked beautifully because the change in tones has been seamless. Its has also been a delight to work with because I haven’t had to separate the strands as I normally work with just 2 or 3 strands of the Anchor.

Layers of stem stitch to create the veins. It was a last minute decision to use seed stitch to colour fill because I though satin stitch would be too much and it has worked perfectly, mimicking the cellular structure within the leaf itself.

words & images copyright Carolyn Trafford (2020)

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