strawberry mini tapestry, in process #3

With my design transferred to fabric, my next step in the tapestry process was to pick colors. I chose a selection of reds for the strawberries, greens for the stems and leaves, cream and yellow for the flowers, brown and tan for the roots, and a chestnut brown for the lettering.

Colors in hand, I put my wool in the front and my muslin with the design on the back, and put it all in an embroidery hoop. As you can see, leaving them in the hoop shows, so I'm trying to get better about de-hooping the fabrics when I am not working. The transfer process happens from the back, using a stem stitch that creates an outline on the front of the design. I'm almost done with this step, and just need to fill in the additional leaves and stems once I get more light green thread.

I couldn't wait to try the actual embroidery stitches I practiced weeks ago, so I have worked on one little strawberry flower. I filled in the white petals with a Bayeux point stitch, divided them using a pale yellow, edged the petals with a whipping stitch, and filled in the center with French knots in a medium yellow. It is a pretty cute flower, although I'm not sure if it is as flat as it should be.