Cross-pollinating

I love reading other stitchers blogs ... it expands my stitching horizons, it delights my eye, it creates my stitching community. But most of all, there is a certain creative cross-pollinating going on. I get so many ideas that serve as jumping off points for my own forays into the needlearts. Sometimes, the germ of an idea becomes a full blown project. An example: seeing small plastic rings couched with satin stitches on the Pin Tangle blog became my Fertile Circles project. And at other times, seeing a fiber used differently by another stitcher solves a nagging little problem of my own. An example, in a recent post on Mainely Stitching, Barbara showed a lovely little pillow finish trimmed with some eyelash knitting yarn ... which I don't have but can duplicate with multiple strands of Rainbow Gallery Faux Fur from my stash ... just the thing to brighten my drab little Heartstrings Santa with a Heart Christmas ornament. I wasn't really happy with the plain mini-pillow finish, it looked a little lumpy and the whip stitches are always evident to my eye ... no matter how small or neat I try to make them.

So here are the before and after pictures. :

The photo on the left is my lumpy little pillow ornament. And the photo on the right is the new improved version, using some ecru Rainbow Gallery Faux Fur to soften the lumpy edges and conceal the whipstitching at the bottom. I also added two little buttons in coordinating colors at the top to eliminate some of the excess negative space. I usually trim my ornaments more closely ... don't know what I was thinking this time.

Thank you, Barbara ... you are my problem solving hero!