I am excited because after having almost no progress to show last week, I have finished both of the pieces I was working on.

First I tackled the memory thread on the heart pattern I was working on as part of a guild project:

I am very happy with how this turned out. Manipulating the memory thread and getting it to stay in place long enough to secure it to the fabric was tricky, but I got the hang of it. I’m not sure I am in a rush to use memory thread again, but I am glad I got out of my comfort zone and tried something new. I am deciding how I want to finish this piece. I am thinking about making a small decorative pillow, but we’ll see.

In the comments last week I mentioned that I stitched the heart in a random pattern, which is why the colors in the variegated thread are more patchy rather than striping. Before I started adding the memory thread, I took a photo of the backside of the piece so you could see how I stitched the heart:

I hope you can see how I worked the heart in blocks and even sometimes in vertical rather than horizontal rows. I just let my needle and thread go where it wanted to go and hoped for the best.

Next, I also completed the vase of flowers from The Prairie Schooler “Vintage Eggs” pattern series:

I love this series, but now I am itching to start finishing some of them, too. I want to turn them into flat ornaments, and I’d like to get that done before my next guild meeting in March so I can submit them for the guild’s spring exhibit at the local park district building where we meet. Fingers crossed that I can get them done in time!