Woodland Spring by Joyce Feucht

When I was a girl I would roam through the woods because of my love of nature, especially the flowers in spring. It was only natural to continue this love in designing my artistic needlework that is self taught.

Prior to sketching this original design, much research was done to select Ohio flowers that bloom together in the spring. Those chosen were: dogwood blossoms, jack-in-the-pulpits, trilliums, lady's-slippers, violets and mushrooms. Next came the final design on paper where placement and proportion were crucial. Fibers and colors were selected of cotton floss, variegated cotton, silk and metallic. Stitches include: bullion knots, long and short, open and closed fly, stem, split, straight, buttonhole and detached buttonhole, stab, overcast, and couching. Embellishments are pearls and beads. The ground fabric is cotton batik. The most challenging aspect was the hood on Jack's pulpit that truly taxed my ingenuity.