a february finish

Pattern: February Cottage, Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: stitched over 2 on 35 count linen from Wichelt - lambswool
Floss: DMC and Crescent Colors

   The February Cottage is finished!  I put the last stitches in this yesterday and am pretty happy with the results.  I made a few changes and all of them were intended this time!  First of all, I used Crescent Colors Pink Posy and Pink Champagne as called for, but subbed the DMC color recommended by the pattern for Poblano.  I left off the floating hearts surrounding 'February' as it seemed too busy to me.  These hearts also had a border of a different color surrounding them that made it a bit over the top for me.  I love the simple hearts of the border and plants and didn't feel the need to overcomplicate things and throw more hearts at it.  I also added a pop of blue on the birds (which were originally white) using DMC 3766.  

 

   I had some issues with the bright, Pink Champagne floss running when I pre-soaked my skeins.  I think I lost a lot of color when the stuff would. not. stop. bleeding. so my bright pink is not as bright as I'd hoped.    

   Overall, I'm happy with this cottage, and for the moment I'm not too disappointed in my January mishap.  

In the meantime, the March Cottage is ready to go.