The distinctive facet of this Bargello needlepoint pattern is the saw-tooth design that results from the 4-1 step repeat after the main flame stitches. When I was making the initial outline, I mistakenly used a 4-2 step, which wasn’t half as pretty; nor did it show the saw-tooth pattern. Of course, I promptly ripped it out and started all over again with the correct step sequence.
This pattern, taken from pages 48-49 of Bargello: An Explosion In Color by Margaret Boyles, was quite common in the colonial American period.
I had a lot of fun with this design by only using two colored silks: a variegated and solid color dark blue green. The variegated silk has pink, grey, taupe as well as dark blue green. Using two colors made it easier to focus on the 4-1 step; which at times became quite challenging (my fingers continually wanted to stitch the more common 4-2 step).
[...] Day 8 [...]