Ladybug

I originally planned to make today's piece on Wednesday. Then I reminded myself of the negative space French knot project from last month that I did on a Wednesday, and decided to move it to today instead. Some pieces need more time and less "I was at work all day and my brain hurts" energy. This little ladybug is one of those pieces. 

Keely (my cat for those reading for the first time) has been watching the cicadas fly around outside. It's his new favorite thing to do. Every now and then, one will land on our balcony and he gets so excited about it. The only other bug that has ever held his attention is the ladybug. Ladybugs are the only insect he won't kill. If a ladybug finds its way into our house, Keely just watches it and lets it do its ladybug thing. I don't know why he does this, but I think it's adorable. 

Watching cicadas

Anyway, I was thinking about his love of ladybugs while planning some of the days for June, and decided to include a ladybug this month. Originally, I was only going to stitch the bug, but then I got this idea that she should be on a leaf, so I added a leaf. Then I decided I wanted to do a raised ladybug because it would look better on the leaf. I used a felt oval to create the raised bug by attaching it to the leaf with a satin stitch, and then stitched the details over the oval. She's a little wonky, but I'm not mad about it.  

Original sketch

Details:
Stitches: satin and back stitches, fishbone stitch, French knots
Thread palette: DMC 310 (2, 3, 6 strands), 817 (3 strands), 905 (3 strands), 
Other supplies: black felt oval (you can use any color if you want to use felt to create the raised shape) - this piece took about 3 hours to complete.