A heart of flowers

A heart built up from wild flowers, wheat ears, butterflies and bees, drawn by Marjolein Bastin in her familiar botanical style. It is worked in counted cross stitch from a large-square chart that stays readable even where the shading is dense, with a few details, such as the whiskers of the wheat, in long stitch.

The evenweave fabric is stitched over two threads for each cross, and the threads come ready sorted on the organizer, so there is nothing to prepare before you begin. A hoop or frame and small scissors are needed but not included, and neither is the frame shown in the photo: once finished, the heart suits a generous frame with a pale mount.