I just finished another sampler. This one's a gift. The squares are a bit smaller...only about 1". This was a bit of a challenge but it really helped me keep the stitches more delicate and fine. I had this Marie Antoinette idea in my head for a while...I just kept making french knots on top of french knots making her hair-do comically tall. I was thinking it would be fun to do a sampler of all sorts of funny hair-do's....maybe next. I used a beautiful, delicate piece of lace which I stitched over. I thought a couple of little birdies would like to call this prettiness home. I really love making fat french knots....sometimes I wound them up 6 or 7 times. I tried once to do 10 but it made a big fat mess. I really love the 3-d quality of the cupcake frosting. yum. Hey! I didn't even notice that little bit of black thread that is peeking out of the border... a sweet little springtime hat. My favorite of all. Metallic thread can be so hard to work with because it separates and knots easily but I really like the effect of it. This itty bitty cakestand looks so sweet in person. I like how this little pink house turned out...I did a little loopy thing with the treads along the roofline to make a scallop. Tah-dah!