here's my june lagoon, the june stitch club pattern, all stitched and finished and framed up!

i'm really happy with this one, especially since i didn't really have a clear idea going into this one about how i wanted to stitch it. i often have certain stitches in mind when i create my patterns, but many times i will just figure things out as i go. i think about how the different stitches will look when they're done, how heavy i want the lines to be, whether the shapes will be filled or left as linework... there are a lot of variables.

and sometimes just a small change -- or a single strand of floss -- can make a big difference.

here's an example:

at first, i outlined one of the blue corals with 3 rows of back stitch, using 3 strands of floss. (the lower one here, in this photo). but once it was done, i thought that it looked a little too thick, too heavy in conjunction with the rest of the shapes around it.

so on the other coral piece I used 2 strands, and 3 rows again, and i liked it so much better! it is still a nice, bold outline, but it doesn't overpower the rest of the stitching.

and for the purple spikey things, i added a tiny straight stitch to the end of each spike, using a single strand of red floss. again, a very tiny detail; but i feel like it adds a lot to the design.

so what do you think? can you spot the difference? it certainly wouldn't make or break this design if i hadn't added those details. but i really love the tiny details and i think they add so much character.

i find that taking the time (when i have it) to go back and un-broider and then re-stitch the weird parts makes me so much more satisfied with the end result. and while of course embroidery is not JUST about the end result, i do like it when all of my time and effort results in something that i am 100% happy with.