Biscornu Exchange

I recently participated in the Biscornu Exchange on the SBE BB. It was my first biscornu and for a rookie I think it turned out pretty well. I stitched for Tessa. I chose "Flowers on the Square" by Elizabeth's Designs. I like the combination of the pastel threads, specialty stitches and dark beads. For the bottom I used a piece of Nearly Spring Green R&R fabric and stitched a border design from Better Homes & Gardens "2001 Cross Stitch Designs" with the Needle Necessities that was used on the front of the design. Here are a few pictures:

The front -














The side -














The bottom -















As a first-time biscornu stitcher, here are a few observations:

• Sewing the buttons in the middle isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Mostly I was worried about ending the thread, but it turned out to be pretty easy.
• If you think you've added enough stuffing, try adding some more. (Tessa mentioned in her blog that she likes the look of a well-stuffed biscornu, so I stuffed it pretty firmly.)
• When backstitching around the top and bottom, be sure to use a contrasting thread. My thread color blended into the fabric colors and made it difficult to whip stitch the pieces together. (I kept accidentally catching fabric threads.) I used the same coordinating thread for backstitching and whipstitching...it was a bit of a nightmare!
• Because the edging threads were so hard to see, I often found myself approaching a corner that didn't exactly match up. I was able to take compensating whipstitches and ease in the fullness to hide the mistake.
• Pay attention when adding beads along the side. I was concentrating so hard on stitching the sides together that I kept forgetting to add beads. As you can see in the pictures, the spacing could be better in places!
• I originally sewed buttons in the corners of the green fabric but I didn't place them close enough to the point of the corner. Once it was stitched together the placement looked really stupid so I cut them off.
• Next time I want to try tassels. I know how to make a tassel, I'm just not convinced I can anchor it securely in the corners. Maybe it will be as easy as sewing the buttons in the middle? I need to give it a try.

I think I have the correct name of the R&R fabric I used for the bottom, but I do not see the name listed at Norden. Maybe it was Almost Spring Green, but that isn't listed either. I suppose it might be a discontinued color. I hope not, because it is a color I use pretty frequently! Hope I have plenty in my fabric stash...

Anyway, I think I did an ok job for a first effort. Tessa says she likes it, and that is good enough for me!

Ana stitched a biscornu for me and it is a beauty! The colors are very "me" and I love what she did with the paper flower on the back. I would have never thought of that - very clever!

Along with the biscornu, Ana sent a skein of beautiful overdyed French thread and a lovely piece of green ribbon. Am I lucky or what?

It was a fantastic exchange. I've had nothing but good exchanges on the SBE BB, however this was my last exchange there. I have many other things I want to stitch right now, so I'm putting exchanges on the back burner. The board has a limited membership and there is a waiting list for stitchers wanting to participate. Time for me to get out of their way! Thank you to Becky for the opportunity to join the board in the first place. Thanks to all of the moderators of the exchanges I participated in. Special thanks to the stitchers who stitched for me. I love everything I received in those exchanges!

Last night I made some progress on my Snapperville Main Street. I need to stitch the roof of the schoolhouse and the star in the sky - then I can move on to Town Hall. I'm participating in the Stitch-A-Thon on the Friends Gather BB, and Snapperville is my focus project for the weekend. Here is my "before" picture.

I'll post another picture when the Stitch-A-Thon ends Sunday night. So far my favorite parts of this project are Pumpkin Farm and Main Street. The colors are great and the designs are really cute.