2026 Mini-Pillow Stitch Along - Lisa's February Pillow

I've really enjoyed stitching the February block.  This design was inspired by Deja Vu, one of Freda's older designs.  It's a really lovely piece!

Interestingly, I did not repeat one thread from the January pillow!  I do have some threads that "mirror" the colours in the January pillow.  

Here is my list of threads for the February Pillow.  I had more selected, but I wanted this pillow to have more purple in it.

Caron Wildflowers - 235 Tanzanite

Rainbow Gallery Silk Lame Braid - SL14

DMC Perle #5 - 823

Kreinik #8 braid - 006

Rainbow Gallery Entice - 226

DMC Perle #5 - 517

Mill Hill Glass Seed Beads - 02009

It is entirely possible that the Caron overdyed/variegated threads are my favourite series of threads.  I found Wildflowers Tanzanite 235 in my stash and it became the perfect colour to start this block!  Wildflowers has a similar weight to a perle #8 and I just love how the colours flow in this thread!  

  

Then I found this partially used card of Rainbow Gallery Thread in a dark royal blue (SL14).  It blends very well with the Waterlilies thread, has shimmer and also gives depth to the stitch..... maybe this is my most favourite thread!  It's lovely to work with and looks gorgeous!  I am sad that I used up most of the card.

To keep things interesting, I added some dark navy - DMC Perle #5 - 823.  This colour frames the center so nicely and it pulls from the dark purple I used in the January mini-pillow.  

Now for some sparkle - I have a partial spool of Kreinik #8 braid - 006 which is turquoise with some purple undertones.  It looks great.  I checked the Kreinik website and it looks like this colour is still available.  Hopefully Rainbow Gallery's issues with supply will be over soon and this colour (and all others) will be easy to find once again. 

Here's a llink to the list of discontinued metallic threads from the Kreinik website.  VERY HANDY!   Discontinued Kreinik Metallic Colours

 

Sadly there wasn't quite enough to complete the next step of the mini-pillow so I found some lovely purple Rainbow Gallery Entice in my stash (226).  I really like the lighter corners.   Entice is virtually interchangeable with Silk Lame Braid - it's the same weight and there are lots of colours to choose from.

And last but not least, the border and the beads.  I chose a mid-royal DMC Perle #5 (517) which pulls nicely from the Wildflowers variegated thread.  Beads I went light purple to match the purple corners - Mill Hill Glass Seed Beads #02009

 

Now that the first two mini-pillows are finished, I'm going to go back and add a row of backstitch on each so that they will be ready for assembly.  I think I will make 6 little pillows which I can place in a nice little bowl.  More on that later - it's time to think ahead to the March pillow!

Yours in stitching, 

Lisa