Scratchin' Eggstravaganza: Easter Egg!

New FREE Pattern - Chicken Scratch Easter Egg!!!

(PDF. Pattern via Dropbox - need Adobe Reader? Get it for free!)

Oh, I'm so excited to share this with you!!! You ever have ideas that don't work out? Most of mine don't, but every now and again they do. Which is great. But you know what's absolutely wonderful?! When they completely exceed your expectations, like this little Easter Egg did! And I had so much fun stitching it up that I had to share :)

Now, I know it's a little late in the game. Easter is only next weekend (?!). I have no idea how that happened, but that's what I realized today. But this project really is super quick to stitch and finish, and can easily be completed in an afternoon or two. It took me three, but I was designing (and re-designing, LOL) as I went along!

The materials - 11 count white Aida, a size 20 tapestry needle and DMC Prism Craft Thread - are the same as I used for my Chicken Scratch Sampler. And the finishing technique - the Chain Stitch and Whip Stitch Edging - and ornament assembly are the same as my Blackwork Poinsettia Christmas Ornament (with photo tutorial).

Along with the patterns for the Front of the Easter Egg - with the Floral Medallion (which I first designed in red as a Poinsettia for family ornaments this Christmas) - and the Back with the "Happy Easter!" greeting - I've included a few photo tutorials for some of the stitches and other information that I hope will be useful :)

Next to the Flower, I'm happiest with my "Egg Stitch" - an elongated version of the traditional Circle Stitch that ended up looking like a nice little row of mini eggs:

As you can see, it follows exactly the same movements as the Circle Stitch, it's the adjustment to the foundation stitches that makes it oval. The completed row is in the middle. I had lots of fun working each one in different colours!

My stitching is a little wonky in the progress pictures because I was working it in hand instead of a hoop. My Aida cloth was a looser weave and the stitches pulled it badly. It's okay though because it all worked out with some gentle stretching and a little rest, and it actually made the woven stitches - like the eggs - so much easier:

As you can see, I could bend the fabric and make the foundation stitches stand off from the fabric a little bit so it was super fast to slip the weaving thread under. So if it happens to you, worry not ;) I hope this Easter Egg will entice you to try Scratchin', and inspire some new variations! Here's a close-up of the edging:

I think I'm getting a little better at this everytime I try it, and it's really fun with the Craft Thread because you don't have to worry about not catching all the strands of floss. I like including a seasonal Sentiment, and it helps me actually final-finish things faster because I'm not waiting to find the perfect backing fabric and trims :)

Speaking of Chicken Scratch, Mary Corbet at Needle N' Thread recently posted her own floral variation on gingham, and may be offering some patterns soon.

And speaking of Easter, Jo at Serendipitious Stitching is having her wonderful Easter Blog Hop again this year! Click this very handsome Mr. Bunny for more info:

I was hoping to sign up to be a Hop Host, but I think I've run out of time for this year. The Chicken Scratch Easter Egg is actually the first thing I've ever stitched for that holiday though, so I'm doing pretty good :) I'm looking forward to Hopping along the Bunny Trail for the Mystery Phrase on Easter! Jo's Hops are always great fun.

While you're visiting, why not congratulate Jo on three great years of blogging and enter to win a fabulous yet-to-be-final-finished Alice in Wonderland gift?!

As for me, I wish you a Wonderful Spring and a Very Happy Easter!

P.S. I'm entering this project at Dream A Little Bigger's Link Party:

P.P.S. I just got the most wonderfully amazing news!! I'm trying to catch up with my blog feed this weekend, and to my absolute astonishment and delight, I discovered my Chicken Scratch Sampler featured on the DMC Threads website!!! *so excited*

The article was published yesterday and features "Creative Samplers" - there are three other beautiful and inspiring projects profiled that are well worth seeing :) 

Here's a little preview:

Thanks very much to Emma for the feature, and to all ES readers! It is so great to see that there is new interest in Chicken Scratch, and I hope it comes back in a BIG way ;)