Words . . .

I was inspired by "A Handbook of Lettering for Stitchers" to make something using different colours and stitches. So I decided to use some words that are meaningful to me . . .

I started by typing the words and playing with different fonts. Then I just arranged the words until they looked OK to me. Using a light box I traced the words onto a piece of linen that I had and set about choosing colours . . .

I really enjoyed the "freedom" of the different stitch and colour combinations. I like the various textures created by the different stitches and changing the number of strands of thread . . .

I was a bit undecided about what to do with this once I'd finished stitching. In the end I decided to frame it. I trimmed up the linen using large (7mm) scalloped fabric shears. And then added a freeform border, mixing some short running stitch and long straight stitches.

And the words?

Happy - happy with what I have, what I do, who I am
Healthy - in good health - balanced physically and mentally
Wealthy - having what I need, when I need it (which for me is very different to just having lots of stuff or money)
Worthy - remembering that I am worthy of living a good life
Wise - for me is about knowing myself well, therefore being better able to understand others and make sound choices
Kind - to myself and to others . . . always

Fabric: Linen
Threads: DMC 3340, 726, 316, 793, 326, 3766