lula said

An embroidered fan design would be very elegant!

LOL -- not the way I'd do it unless I bite the bullet and buy some fancy
threads.

Similare to you, I've been drawn more and more towards embroidery as a
means of being able to draw more expressive designs, where I can stitch
more details and make real curved lines!

Kits do a better job with details than I do. They also provide the thread or
wool, usually 3 colors, to provide what I call 'richness' When I modify a cross
stitch design or use a coloring book or transfer pattern, I can't 'see' the
colors like an artist would that could be used to add depth of field or
shading. To compensate and add visual interest, I tend to use a lot of what
might be unrelated colors when filling in the 'blanks.'

I'm also not very good at figuring out the direction for stitching pieces/parts
sigh.

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