This project was started while reckoning with the injustice of systemic racism and processing a family tragedy. For a few days all I could do was stitch tiny black circles and hold space for grief.
Pattern: Blackwork Gradient by Purple Rose Embroidery
New skills: Blackwork embroidery, finishing embroidery on hoops.
Lessons: Stitch using a hoop 1 inch larger than the pattern calls for, and then transfer the finished work to a the recommended hoop size, to ensure clean borders. This was the first time I’ve left a finished embroidery piece on the hoop, and this tutorial was an excellent resource on how to trim and hide the cross stitch canvas.
This was also the first time I used Anchor embroidery floss. It worked well enough but it seemed to be fuzzier than DMC floss, so for future projects I’ll use DMC.
What I’d do differently: Next time I’ll start stitching from the middle of the pattern so that I end up with symmetrical edges—my design is slightly off center.
Because this piece was going to stay on the hoop I wasn’t very diligent about minimizing knots on the back of the work. I didn’t encounter any problems with this, but I’d like to work on the habit of weaving in the beginning/end of threads.
