The Pomegranate Mirror

 Here is the project that I have announced you and that I have embroidered during the last Spring and Summer time. Was for A Mirror To My Art Needleprint competition.
It is stitched on a dark cream Italian silk Duchesse, using Devere  silk floss and 2% real gold metal threads, including the surrounding three ply twist which is in real gold too.
I decided to go with real gold threads as I have given to this project a certain importance as was for the competition.
On the back of the work there is an old look mirror, mounted with the same surrounding silk gimp and fine gold twist you can see in the front.
The most difficult thing on this embroidery was working in such a small space as the whole project is not wider than 10 cm so everything needed to be in scale and also the shading effect is not easy to achieve when the size is so small.
The raised part of The Pomegranate is worked in raised stem stitch over string padding, the centre in laid silk threads and Elizabethan Twist, the outer part of the fruit, leafs and petals in long and short stitch shading and the central part of the flowers is made covering the padding with couched Elizabethan twist.
You can also see the hand drawings in shaded pencils and watercolour made to explain the project, stitches and materials; this work was inspired to the Tudor Era and also  the front writing title is hand made.
The embroidery has winned  the third prize of the Needleprint competition together with the work of another Lady.