You + Me = Home: TAST 44-49

Towards the end of last year I fell quite behind with the TAST challenge.  I meant to catch up by stitching individual samplers for each stitch, and I did do a couple, but in the end I decided to do one ensemble piece that included all the stitches I had missed.  Incidentally, the TAST format has changed a little for 2013.  Stitches are now listed by number rather than by week, the featured work item will be less regular than last year and will feature work that shows any of the TAST stitches, not just the stitch of the week, and there will be a design challenge every 4-6 weeks.  For full details head over to the TAST FAQ page on Pin Tangle.

Inspired by these cute house ornaments I saw on Pinterest I thought it would be nice to try an embroidered version. "You + me = Home" popped into my head and I thought it would be nice to combine the words "you" and "me" within the word "home".  Originally I was thinking that the word "home" would somehow make up the outline of the house, but this is what I ended up with:

I've used arrowhead stitch (45) for the roof, Portuguese border stitch (44) for the window and door frames, knotted cable chain stitch (48) for the door, buttonhole eyelet flowers (46) on the right and knotted feather stitch (49) with berry stitch (47) for the flowers on the left.  I also had my first attempt at stem stitch (14 - needs practice!) and split stitch. Phew!

I like how it's turned out, but if I were to do it again, I think I'd be a little more adventurous with the backing fabric.  I'm also thinking about printing the picture on to the front of as greetings card. What do you think?