I also tend to keep sections of thread that I have used but have finished off "parked" at the top of the canvas, out of the way so that I can easily pick up that thread again when needed. This, however, doesn't work if two threads are very close in color.  On this pattern, I have the background and the lightest peach which are very close in color and I find it very difficult to differentiate the two.  Therefore, I never park the lightest peach when working the pattern, preferring to end the thread and wind it back on the original floss bobbin. When working the first Katrianna, I mixed them up frequently and had to take out the incorrect color many times, so this time I am being more conscious of the two threads to prevent the same mistakes.

Have you ever seen a pattern you like but don't like the colors of it?  I know I have! It is very common and not insurmountable. Changing colors to ones you like better and match your own color scheme makes the design feel more like your own and can go a long way towards making your scene fit your own vision.

Several of my patterns include different color schemes, simply because I kept thinking of other colors that could work. But how do you go about making a pattern match your vision?

Recently, a fellow stitcher by the name of Martha S, chose one of the rugs that I have several schemes for, in yet another color scheme, showing that the pattern can be changed to almost anything to suit your own scheme. She has given me permission to discuss her journey into choosing colors to go with her vision. She chose the Sonja rug for her scene.  

Above is Martha's storyboard. On the storyboard, she has samples of the fabrics and wallpaper that she eventually ended up using.  There are 3 floss color cards that she has placed on the board. The one in the center shows the colors she chose for the smaller, French knot version of the rug she placed in the bedroom. The floss card showing the various shades of grey shows the colors she eventually chose for the larger version of the Sonja and the smaller floss card at the bottom right shows samples of threads she used in other stitching she placed around the room.

This gave Martha an excellent way of matching colors to her current color scheme. As you can see, the shades of grey floss that she chose complement the greys she has in her fabrics and wallpaper perfectly.  Martha asked another stitcher (Peggy B) to stitch the rug for her once she decided upon the colors and this is the finished product in place in Martha's dollhouse.

If you wish to change colors in one of my patterns, you could apply Martha's technique to help you decide upon colors.  Make note of the number of colors in the pattern and be sure to choose the same number of colors for your pattern.  You may decide to change only one or two colors to better match your scene, or you may decide to change all of them as Martha did.  Changing the colors doesn't have to be hard and you can let your imagination soar using this method.

If any of you have stitched one of my rugs and changed the color schemes, I would love to see them. It is always fun to see what everyone has done with my designs.  I hope this helped you and until my next post - happy stitching!

it in one go. As there isn't a lot of the palest peach, I also wait until I have a few flowers to fill in with that color before using it.  This has helped me tremendously and I am making less errors now.

Tip* Another thing of note with this rug is that although it is easier to stitch the darker colors first, it is not the best way to do it.  Dark colors show through the light colors if the light color is stitched over carried threads of darker colors. If you must stitch with a darker color first, make sure that no thread is carried across an empty space that will be filled in with a light color.  It will take a bit more thread but always run the thread back through already stitched areas of darker color on the back before proceeding to a new area.  If you have to cross an open area, park the thread (leave attached to your work and thread it into some holes away from the area you are working - this can be seen at the top of the photo above) then stitch the lighter color before picking up the thread again and crossing the area to get to the new dark area.

I am greatly looking forward to finishing the border and beginning the middle.  Hopefully by next week...

If you are unfamiliar with the Basketweave stitch there is a great description of it here: Basketweave . I have used Tent or Continental stitch for the border and have found that basketweave is a nice stitch to do when covering larger areas of stitching in the same color. It also helps keep my rug more square after I have blocked it.

the next before stitching the light color.  It doesn't show through if you stitch the light color first and carry the dark thread across.  However, just in case it did show through, I have stitched the light background first then started stitching the inner red line before I started the trees.  I placed the tree in the corner first and did not run my starting thread under the light background.  Once the tree was complete, I ran the green thread under the red stitching at the base of the tree then over the light stitches (not under them) to the next tree above it.  In this way, I don't carry the thread over the light color very much and it doesn't show through.  I am working my way up the left side of the rug in this fashion, first stitching the background, then the tree.

As you can also see, I once again, have not started in the middle of the pattern.  This is simply my preference and your rugs can be started in the middle if you prefer that.  When starting in a corner, I simply make sure my gauze is big enough to fit the frame and I choose a frame that has an opening that the rug will fit inside.  I have the inside measurements of the frame opening written on the top of each frame so that I may choose the correct one for my project. This one is 1/2" larger in both directions so that I know it will fit.  I start in a bottom corner and work my way outwards. Since I work my rugs this way, I do not have to make sure the center of my gauze is in the center of the fame opening.  My rug will always fit and I won't have to re-position my gauze if  I started in the middle and made a mistake finding the center.

To reduce counting, I work partway across and up then begin the background and motifs of the border.  This way, I work my way up and across using my motifs to count my way.  The largest stretch that I have to count in the border of this rug is 5 rows - a very easy number to follow.  Once I have made my way to the top left corner and the bottom right corner, I begin working across the top and up the right side until they meet at the top right corner.  As long as I have made no mistakes when counting out the border, everything should match up easily and the inner section of the rug will be easy to stitch.

on the frame.  I then trimmed the fabric so that approximately 1/8" or more remained, clipped the corners, then turned the pillows inside out so that the outsides of the pillows showed.  They were very easy to stitch together but it was a challenge getting the pillow turned and they are smaller than the others.  I will most likely make a braid using the colors in the pillows and put it onto them to make them appear larger.

The pillow on the left was finished by stitching a front and a back for it, then folding the trimmed edges back right to the stitching, ironing them then folding the pillow in half and stitching it together using a running stitch.  This one had much sharper corners, was easy to stitch together but because I used a running stitch, I can see a bit of the white threads of my silk gauze if I look closely.  For this reason, I will also be putting a braid around it to finish it off.

The pillow on the right was finished by stitching a front and back like I did for the pillow on the right but this time I folded the fabric back leaving one row visible just like I do for my rugs.  I folded the pillow in half then stitched it together using an overcast stitch just like I do on my rugs.  This pillow also ended up with nice, sharp corners but unlike the one on the left, I do not need to put a braid around it to finish it off.

All three methods of finishing have merit depending on what look you are going for in your finished pillows but the easiest one is the one on the right.  I will be writing a tutorial later that details each of the finishing techniques, along with photos so that you may also see clearly how I did each one.

This past week, I have been having a lot of fun working on the middle sections of the rug.  I have decided to work from the corners towards the center.  The main corner I am working is the bottom left, but if I have a lot of thread left in a color I won't be using close by, I have been ending the thread and working the opposite corner.  This is why the opposite corner has a lot less finished.

You will notice that there are a couple of threads that are still attached to the little motif on the left side near the halfway point of the side.  These threads lead upwards, away from my stitching and are placed outside the stitching area of the rug.  This method is called "parking" your thread and is used when you are going to be using that color again soon but don't wish to count to the next place you are going to use it.  I often make mistakes if I have to count too far without other stitches close by for reference, so I do this to save the thread until I have done some more stitching close by and can count easier.  It saves me having to end off my thread and start again. I keep the end of the thread far away from my stitching area so that I don't accidentally stitch the end in with my work. 

​Sometimes stitchers will leave the needle threaded with the color and "park" the needle on a magnet they have attached to the side of their frame (or if using foam core, they can poke it into the foam on the side).  This way, they have multiple needles in use and don't have to keep re-threading their needle when switching to different colors.

I will also "park" threads if I am using a dark color and have a light color to stitch between the dark color and the next dark area.  This is because if you carry the dark thread across before stitching the light color, it will show through.  If the dark color runs across the light area after the light area is stitched, it won't show through.  Ideally, it is best to run the dark thread under another equally dark thread to get to the next dark area, but sometimes this isn't possible.