Ribbon Embroidery

When I was living out west and belong to the Creative Woman Kit of the Month Club (CWKMC), I'd received a very small ribbon embroidery kit.  It had simple stitches and a few size 8 beads.  I remember having been intimidated by it but after it was done, I realized that I really enjoyed it.  

I was surprised to receive a way more elaborate kit from CWKMC this time around.  This one utilized quite a few different stitches in all kinds of colours.  There was floss for the branches, thin ribbons for the detail work and large ribbon for the bigger flowers & large leaves, and size 11 beads.  It came with a pretty gold tassled box and the stitching was to be placed on the top of the box.  Intimidated?  Oh yeah, just a tad.  When Russell is home, I try to find small crafts to do in the livingroom so that we can spend the time together, so I grabbed this one day and started working on it, doing the easiest stitches first.

It took one afternoon of fairly steady work, and then the next morning I added the final bits.  It was hard and when I was done, I was distrssed at the show-through pattern lines.  I found instructions online on how to wash it without harming the ribbons, so I painstakingly and carefully hand washed it till the lines came out.  Gave it a nice ironing after it was dry and completed the project.

I also had to add the braided ribbon on the top, but the tassle came w/ the box.  I'm pretty happy with the end results.  Just what I need, another dust collector!!