What a thrill to put in that “last” stitch on any canvas!

To finish Noël, I added two red beads to make the diaeresis over the e.

I read that the word diaeresis is from ancient Greek, meaning division or separation. It indicates that a vowel should be pronounced apart from the letter that precedes it. Without it, noël would have one syllable and sound like nole, instead of having 2 syllables.

Below is a close up of the red beaded sections. I stitched alternate rows of tent, and then filled in with hex beads. I had tried at first to use only beads, but it looked too crowded, and then French knots and beads, but it didn’t look right either. The tent/beads turned out to be a much more successful and elegant approach.

In Houston, we rarely experience snow during the holidays, but with this canvas I can pretend that I am looking at ice and snow.

Wishing a very happy and peaceful new year to all, Joan