Project a Month: Finished Beginner Rose by Lolli and Grace

Yes, that's right, this month I stitched three roses from the Beginner Rose pattern by Lolli and Grace! It was refreshing to tackle a smaller project that stitched up so beautifully and so quickly.

In my last post I was well on my way to finishing my Beginner Rose in chain stitch, and I'd only been stitching off and on for a few days!

Here's a tip that really helped in my stitching process...

Stripping Your Threads

Something I learned from one of Anne's videos that helped my stitching immensely - after her suggestion, I began stripping my threads.

I had heard of it before, but it seemed so simple, I doubted it would make a difference - all you do is separate each strand, one by one, then put them back together. I thought it would take too much time and do nothing, but it makes a HUGE difference - my threads used to tangle constantly, now they hardly ever tangles.

Threads also lay a lot flatter for satin stitching, so I highly suggest giving this very simple trick a try!

Here's my finished chain stitch version of the Beginner Rose - isn't she a beauty?

I absolutely LOVE the vivid colors in this pattern, take my word that they are even more lush and vivid in person - it was a joy seeing these colors each time I sat down with this pattern.

Blanket Stitch Rose

I decided I also wanted to try the blanket stitch version, so I tackled that next:

I used 2 strands of floss, instead of 3 as the pattern called for - this resulted in a very thin, sketchlike quality to my stitches that I really enjoyed.

I was amazed at the neatness of the back on the blanket stitch version - through no special effort of my own, this is just what the reverse of a blanket stitch looks like!

Here's my finished blanket stitch rose - I was absolutely shocked at how quickly this stitched up! 1 night of stitching, that's all! If you're looking for a quick project, this is definitely the stitch and pattern to try.

Washing my roses

Once again I washed my projects using a little dish soap. I soaked them for 20 minutes, and can attest that the lines from my Aunt Martha's pencil and DMC water erasable pen came out completely.

I turned them over on a towel to iron while still wet, to press out all the wrinkles, then put them in their hoops to dry.

Here are my two lovely roses, finished in record time, and since I had plenty of time, I tried another!

Blanket stitch rose on teal linen

Once again I pulled out the DMC water erasable pen that DMC sent me recently (thank you, DMC!) I thought it might not show up on my teal linen since the ink is a similar color, but surprisingly, it worked just fine!

I used a chunky #5 DMC perle cotton in white, with DMC embroidery needles (thanks again, DMC!) I don't use perle cotton often, but it created a really fun texture for this. Once again, I was done in one solid morning of stitching!

Here are all the DMC threads and colors I used in this piece:
#5 DMC perle cotton in white, DMC Etoile in Ecru, DMC 3813, 501, and 924.

I love the ghostly, monotone mood of this piece, and how different it is from the beautiful color versions.

And here they all are, one last time:

So, 2 months of stitching Lolli and Grace has me confident that I could spend an entire year happily stitching her patterns. Not only do I recommend her beautiful patterns and store, Anne is a wonderful, kind, teacher and encouraging person - you won't regret a visit to her Etsy store!

More on Lolli and Grace

You can find the Beginner Rose pattern in the Lolli and Grace store. Follow Anne @lolliandgrace.

All my Lolli and Grace Project a Month posts:
Project a Month - One Meaningful Word by Lolli and Grace
Project a Month: Wrap up - One Meaningful Word by Lolli and Grace
Project a Month - Beginner Rose by Lolli and Grace

Project a Month - Beginner Rose by Lolli and Grace

We are well into April so I chose a smaller design this month, the Beginner Rose pattern by Lolli and Grace. The colors are gorgeous, and I like the idea of being able to finish quickly.

It's only fair to feature Lolli and Grace 2 months out of 12 this year, as I've been wanting to stitch up at least half her store! :) A few of the colors in this pattern are the same as the ones I used for the previous One Meaningful Word pattern, an added bonus for anyone wanting to stitch both patterns! This pattern can be purchased as either a PDF pattern or a kit in Anne's store.

I like that Anne suggests stitching this pattern 3 ways:

From left to right - split stitch, chain stitch, and buttonhole or blanket stitch.

I loved the buttonhole stitch and I do want to try that one later, but for now I settled on chain stitch:

I am using 3 strands of floss, as Anne recommends in her pattern, and all the same colors she asks for. I am stitching on a very light blue quilting cotton, so light it barely registers as blue.

I absolutely love these colors in the daylight - so bright and vivid!

When I transferred my image, I reversed it, so the petals are not in the same color order - but I like this because it makes it more unique. I don't like to copy things too exactly.

Only 3 days of on again off again stitching and I am almost done! Can't beat that for a quick stitch! I highly recommend this pattern to any beginner, or to anyone looking to practice a specific stitch. I'm also thinking this will be a lovely Mother's day gift...

If you'd like to join in this very quick project, head over to the Lolli and Grace shop on Etsy to buy the Beginner Rose pattern!