In the last couple of weeks, I’ve taken a little break from my normal cross stitching life to work on a Hardanger piece. This is not my own design – it is called Garden Highlights by Satin Stitches, worked on 25 count linen with Perle #8. Sometimes, you just need to change things up, you know? While there is designing and planning going on behind the scenes for my next cross stitch pattern releases, I was just feeling the need to work on something *different*. It has been a long time since I did a Hardanger piece. I bought a couple of patterns from Donna Olson of Satin Stitches last year at Market because her work is just so beautiful. They’ve been sitting in a place that has taunted me from time to time over these months. And so it was time to work on one.
From this picture you can see that I have finished the main stitching on the top half and need to now work on finishing the bottom half. The main diamond shape is already stitched; I just need to do the left and right parts that make it into a square. When this main stitching is done, it will be time to take out my good scissors and begin the cutting part. The part that always makes people nervous to do, but with care and focus, it can all be right. Definitely not the part of Hardanger you work on when you are tired and nearly ready to turn in for the night! After the snipping of threads will come the wrapping of the bars
If you’ve never seen Hardanger before, it is well worth a google search to see all the loveliness out there. While it is traditional to work white on white, there are also beautiful pieces in color to be found.