Garden Gate Patchwork

I recently discovered the blog of Christine at Patchwork Allsorts and am drawn to her pretty embroidery. When I saw this beautiful stichery I decided I had to buy one of the double stitch patterns from Mountain Patchwork. During the month of September they have free shipping!

Christine has a stash of Tilda fabrics, which are gorgeous fabrics not readily available here in the States. I have to admit I'm envious of her stash. I started to buy a few pieces on Etsy, but in the end I decided to use some of the "unloved fabrics" that had been weeded out of my stash during The Purge a few weeks ago. They are batiks which attracted me initially, but I didn't love them anymore. However once they were cut and sewn together I loved them again.

I haven't hand sewn for a long time, and my stitches show it. Sewing a straight line is not as easy as it used to be, and my embroidery stitches look spidery to me. But I decided it adds to the charm. For the double stitch thread I used variegated Superior Rainbows with shades of lavender, sage green, and pink, and for embroidering the flowers, ribbons, and stems I used Cosmo thread.

I am working on re-purposing/refinishing a frame for it and will post a final picture. Thanks to Christine for answering my numerous questions about this project!