Part 2 of the Stitch Along has arrived! How is everyone doing? Foreword First of all, here's the first part for those who missed it. I received feedback from some of you in the letters, on Instagram, and in the comments. Thank you to everyone who shared their progress! You are all doing great! I felt very happy seeing your results and it warmed my heart seeing your enjoyment :) Keep it up! Today we will start with the green leaves, working which incorporates long and short stitching. So, if you are not familiar with how this technique works here is a lesson I recommend checking out beforehand: Long and short stitch lesson You can also check out first two stitch alongs for more visual understanding: Pansies starting from part 2 and Cecelia Rose part 2. I will mention some basics for the first leaf, but will not go in too much detail and will omit the basics for the latter cases to avoid repeating myself. So, yeah, please check out the links above if you are not sure how long and short stitching works. Also, I would like to remind that I'm merely reporting my way of working the design which you can rely on in case you are confused. However, these are not the “canon” instructions. If you see that I placed a color like that, but what you see in the original work looks different to you– don't hesitate to adjust it to your liking. Lastly, if you are a beginner with long and short stitching and things seem too hard for you, feel free to simplify them for yourself. What I mean is, if there are like 5 colors used in one leaf and you feel like it is too complicated for you to tackle right now, then reduce it to 2-3 colors if you want. Naturally, the result will look different, but I think it is okay to take your time with needlepainting. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know. Green Leaves Part 1 For the green leaves, we need threads A, B, C, D, E, F. We will work the leaves clockwise starting from the right corner. I will give some personal insight for the first leaf and show it in more detail. But later on, I will focus more on the order of work. Leaf #1 1. As I approach each leaf, I mark the “patches” of color and the direction of future stitches (I do it with a simple pencil). I am more comfortable with doing it for each leaf separately. 2. Now it's turn for the outlining in split stitch. I used E color here. 3. Making the guiding stitches that help to not swerve from the right angle of stitches and filling in the gaps between them. 4. Your first row of stitches should be rather long so that the second row of long and short stitches could have a nice variety in length. Meaning that the “short” stitches could be shorter and the “long” stitches could be longer. 5. Next, we make the second row of long and short stitches in F thread, completing one side of the leaf. Try to keep your stitches slanted in the same angle as the first row. They should be the continuation of the previously laid stitches. 6. On the left side, the leaf has two patches of E color, so I laid them first. 7. Then completed the first row with D color, making the stitches rather long. The second row is worked in C thread 8. And closer to the center we have the third row of stitches in the A thread. Leaf #2 1. After making an outline in thread D I laid this color on both sides where it is present. On the left side, it was primarily satin stitch until closer to the tip of the leaf. On the right side, it was satin stitch at the tip of the leaf and then a bit of long and short stitching. 2. Adding thread E on the left side... 3. … and on the right side. 4. Finishing the right side with the darkest color F. Leaf #3 1. The first row of stitches was laid in thread C. Stitches are rather long, as you see, so that there is more space to create the difference between long and short stitches for the second row, which is in color D. 2. Laying the lower half of the first row in thread E. 3. Adding the darkest thread F. Here's a bit of personal insight. When there are patches of color in one row, I usually first complete the row, because it helps to keep the stitches slanted under the same angle. 4. And then I lay the second row of stitches over the previously made ones. Leaf #4 1. Starting with the corner first. It requires thread B and because the direction of stitches changes quite drastically here, I prefer to use a lot of guiding stitches. 2. Filling in the gaps. 3. Throwing in thread C. You can see some stitches are actually covering the first row completely. I don't know, that's what I saw in the close-ups, so I did it here as well. 4. Completing this side with color D. In the corner you can see the little arrows. I just forgot to take a picture of this step, although I feel I should have... In this place, it is better to make few guiding stitches like the arrows show, and then fill in the gaps between them. 5. Working the other side of the leaf. Here we have a patch of color D. 6. Next is color C. Be mindful of the direction of stitches and make the stitches long enough so that it is more convenient to lay the next row. 7. Then color B and finally, the last row of stitches in color A. You will need fewer stitches close to the center, because of the angles. 8. The result. I cheated a little and used a picture from when I already worked the veins. But it doesn't really matter as long as you can see the stitches, right? Phew, that's all. How was that? I tried to balance it out so that one part doesn't get too overwhelming. You already warmed up in the first part, so now aim at one leaf per day and, hopefully, you will finish in time by the next part :) Looking forward to your results! Don't forget that you can post your progress on Instagram with the #magnoliastitchalong (and tag me @stitch_floral so that I don't miss it). P.S. If you didn't get an update letter in your inbox, please check your spam folder. Also, if I didn't reply to your message, please try sending using another mail address. The replies can't be sent to some mail services. Part 3 Part 4 Part 5