Some Minor Progress on the Garnet Purse

I've made a bit of progress on the Garnet Bag, but not much. Right now I'm working on the petals around the lower flower, using a double row of chain stitch.

After the second row is finished, the rows are given a raised center by whipping the two inner loops of the chain. I'm using a tapestry needle for this to keep from piercing the perlé cotton. Even if you never do any tapestry work, it's really useful to have these needles around.

Here I'm starting to whip the third petal. So far this is the fourth variation on a chain stitch in this design, and I know there is at least one more. All have a different look to them, adding a lot of interest to the overall design with all of the variations. The center is a whipped spider's web surrounded by buttonhole stitching with the inner circle facing out and the outer circle facing in. The spokes of the wheels just barely overlap each other, making it look almost like a straight line from afar.

Here is a shot of my progress to date. So far my favorite stitch is the wheat ear stitch in the interior of the large petals. Notice I used a Pigma pen to outline the darken the rest of the pattern. I just couldn't see with that pink pencil I had been using. This is so much better.

Thanks to Gail for pointing out my mistake on thinking Deerfield embroidery was from Michigan. As Gail mentions, Deerfield embroidery originated in Massachusetts, quite a bit further north and east in New England. What got me mixed up was that I kept thinking of Greenfield Village, which is in Dearborn, Michigan where my grandmother used to live. We would visit her when we lived in Ohio many years ago and occasionally would go to the Henry Ford museum which was located in, you guessed it, Greenfield Village, part of Dearborn. As it turns out there is also a village called Deerfield in Michigan, which only adds to the confusion.