It’s pretty rare that I’m truly stitching for myself these days. I’m usually busy with stitch guides and projects for Needlepoint.Com. But, with Christmas deadlines looming, I was determined to get a piece in for myself done! It’s so nice to stitch without having to keep accountability of thread colors and quantities.
When we were at the Spring Needlepoint Show, I picked up this sweet little running fox from Pip and Roo Needleworks. Tarra is a newer designer, based out of Vermont. I absolutely LOVE her things!
The fox himself is stitched in Bella Lusso. The wool worked perfectly for both his body and his tail. The paws are done in Petite Very Velvet and I beaded his eyes and nose. I’m planning on having him finished into a Christmas ornament.
His big fluffy tail is done in Traditional Turkey Work. I used 4 strands of Bella Lusso this time. It’s really packed in there, but it needed to be to get it to look as full and fluffy as it does. Sometimes I wait until the canvas is back from the finisher to trim Turkey Work, but I was dying to see what it looked like, so I went ahead and trimmed it now! Below I’ve included a diagram for how to do the stitch. And an added tip! Work in horizontal rows from the bottom upwards, rather than the top down. It’s a million times easier to lay the stitches on top of each other, rather than struggle to place them underneath the other loops.
If you’re looking for a project, you can find the canvas online here. Needlepoint.Com has a project planner with the stitches and threads I used for the fox. Simply select “pick your favorites” at checkout to have it kitted the same way mine is!
