Maybe I Should Leaf It Alone

This is what I get when I try to design patterns before I completely understand the craft. This leaf is the pattern I have couched down, and as I think about the stitches I want to use, I suspect the lower left section is going to be difficult to fill.

I put in that pretty little point with a sweet curve, and now I realize it's going to give me trouble. I'm sure someone is laughing at me now. Well, I'm going to try, anyway.

If I start on the vein that goes to the edge of the leaf, I might be able to space it out so I can negotiate the curve and the point.



This is the sketch I started with. When I got it scanned, I thought the upper triangles were too small for my skill set. Now that I look at it, I like the way the veins lay in the lower part. If I try another oak leaf, I will use the lower half of this one.




This is a little mulberry leaf I picked up on a dog walk one afternoon. I like the shape, and it is a good size, not huge. If I want to use this for needle lace, I'll have to do away with the serrated edges. But what about the little lobes on the bottom?

I'm afraid my skills are not up to filling this shape properly. I'll keep looking for more leaves, something more interesting than those bland ovals. I have a grape vine that grows on my fence, and maybe some weeds would yield an interesting shape if I look around with the proper perspective.

By the way, feel free to copy, paste and use these leaves if you want to give it a go. Of course, you'll need to resize them to get them to a manageable size. I'd love to see your efforts!