The Floral Lace series is nearly finished. Only one more model to stitch to complete the dozen-and-a-half. At least one person is waiting for number 18 in order to plan a Floral Lace afghan. So why, after stitching the other 17 in relatively quick succession without anything in between except the November and December speciality SAL versions, did I decide to stitch a variation first?

It was not something I’d only just come up with, this variation. I charted it, with its tightly pulled Algerian eyes instead of four-sided stitch, some time ago; in fact, back when Floral Lace consisted of only three or four designs. At first it was meant simply as a slightly different take on the designs for my own use, but then as the series grew I thought it would be a nice bonus for people buying the whole series. And that meant it would be nice to have a stitched model of it.

Logically I would have left it until after finishing 9b (Holly); but I finished 9a (Thistle) while visiting family in the Netherlands, just before we were leaving for home. I wanted to start a new project, but A) not too complicated and B) something where it didn’t matter too much if I made a mistake – after all, some of the stitching might be done on the ferry, and the crossing was predicted to be a choppy one. The Variation, planned on 22ct Hardanger instead of 25ct Lugana, using one of the simpler floral motifs, and meant only as an illustration, not a Proper Model, fitted the bill perfectly. As it happens I didn’t stitch on the boat at all, but by that time I’d started it so I thought I’d better finish it.

So here it is, with a diamond of round pulled holes instead of square four-sided stitches. It’s a surprisingly different look, quite lacy, and I’ll definitely use it again!

The bonus chart pack with stitch diagrams and descriptions for working the designs using Algerian eye stitch or eight-armed eyelets is now finished, complete with picture of stitched model. And an additional stitch diagram for Rhodes stitch. After all, that too occupies a square the same size as four-sided stitch, and it offers a completely different texture again, like in the Floral Tiles borders. I don’t think I’ll be doing a stitched model for that one any time soon though; I’ll leave it to stitchers’ imagination for the time being, and get Holly finished at last!