February Twinchy Challenge — Happy Hearts

If you go into the stores these days, you are bombarded by Valentines. Every time I got shopping I’m glad I don’t have to find Valentines and candy for each of my kids for every person in each class. Talk about candy overload!

But I also bought an adorable set of stickers recently which had 42 hearts, each different, in bright, cheery colors. The patterns were simple geometrics, with stripes, squiggles, polka dots, and squares.

But they just looked happy and I couldn’t resist them.

They have also inspired this month’s Twinchy challenge. Just trace a heart outline (I’ll be giving you four) into the 2″ square, find colors and patterns which make you happy and stitch away.

The heart pictured above uses one of the very first Watercolours, Sunset. Sunset then had undyed parts, sunset now does not. I love this set of colors as I like the way the undyed thread tempers the intense, somewhat clashing colors.

The zigzag pattern is modified from a Kaffe Fassett knitting pattern and made smaller. Then one stripe is done in the Watercolours and the others in solid threads in colors taken from this Watercolour. I used orange Kreinik from the gourmet collection a pink velour thread and blue-violet Elegance. The background uses Dinky-Dyes in a more intense version of the red-violet in the overdye.

One note of caution, if you are going to pick a color similar to the overdye for the background, be sure to pick one which does not appear on the edges of the foreground. My first two ideas for backgrounds, cream and dark green were discarded because of this. Against one of these colors parts of the heart will “melt” into the background.

I’m also doing as a sampler. It has eight hearts and each will be different. I’m hoping to have the whole thing done and in the Twinchy Gallery at the end of the month.

Tuesday I’ll post all four outlines and give you some details about the Twinchy Hearts Sampler on Tuesday.