For all you stitchers deep in the heart of Winter, here's a new project that's sure to lift your spirits after months and months of cold, grey weather. The finished size of this springy piece is 8.75" x 8.75" on eggshell 18 ct. mono canvas, and it's called "SPRING PATCHWORK": Well, YUM! I've been busy stitching it up this winter so I can offer it as a Springtime Cyber Class, beginning in May. Once it was stitched, I had even more fun picking out additional luscious spring colorways to tempt you! It was tough to limit the colors on this one (since it would look good in just about any color), but ultimately, the other colorways I've chosen for this piece are all soft spring flower colors that I hope will bring a smile to your face as you stitch: This piece is designed to showcase how a variegated silk thread can be easily manipulated to alter the look of a design - which, ahem, is one of my all-time favorite things to do! All four quadrants of this design use the same exact stitches; but I've swapped the solid color and variegated sections in the alternating quadrants to create a subtle and rather serendipitous change of colors over the whole piece. (See the dark pink swatches in the upper right and lower left quarters? Those become paler variegated sections in the upper left and lower right quarters.) Here's a look at one of the "patchwork" sections up-close: The stitch patterns themselves are actually very easy - nothing difficult or mysterious, as you can see. And the outer green borders are fun to work, too, with just a bit of bright color peeking out of the woven border pattern. So once you count and stitch the outline rows, you're free to fill in all the segments in different mixes of variegated and solid color threads. Stitchers, I must confess: This is a Very Serene Stitching Project!! So if you need a new project to celebrate the coming of Spring in your neck of the woods, please skip on over to my website and read all about my new May cyber class, SPRING PATCHWORK!