Beginning a Project

I have been working on an 18 inch pillow embroidery project. Don't get too excited, there aren't any cool pictures yet. I thought I'd bring you in on the ground floor.

I am attempting to make my own design. I found some amazing patterns at Mary Corbet's Needle and Thread. I especially liked the Spring Garden Corner and I also wanted to incorporate a monogram if possible.

I worked quite a while on the arrangment and came up with this (sorry about the photo quality. The design is very light on Needle and Thread but isn't it pretty!?):



I want the colors to match the curtains but be more of a summer color scheme. The fabric I am using is cream colored ducking and I especially want to use some orange and green. Here are the curtains I am matching:

The thing is that it is actually really hard to figure out what colors to put next to one another. I guess the embroidery pattern makers are actually artists! Who knew?! Also, that pattern was going to take FOREVER.

So I gave up on that pattern and was cruising the internet for some other ideas. While I was looking for some inspiration I saw the pillow on the header of The Lettered Cottage. It is so pretty and the design is more free formed. I am going to try to make a pattern that incorporates the free form design of The Lettered Cottage pillow and the design of the Needle and Thread garden corner and includes some butterflies. No more monogram. It would just be too hard to make that cute.

Too hard for my level of artistic ability anyway.