Lovely, delicious red

These shades of red are so beautiful that every stitch has been a pleasure. They're pale without being dull and dark without being muddy. They are quickly becoming my favorite color in the Marriage Pillowe.They're Appleton Wool "Bright Terra Cotta" Range No. 220.The Marriage Pillowe uses # 224, 225, 226 and 227.Phillipa Turnbull has used these reds for the small berries in padded satin stitch and the petals of the large flower on the right side of the Marriage Pillow, done in Long and Short Shading.  She also added a thin line of #226 on the right side of the flower stem, which looks brilliant. It doesn't look red until you get quite close to it but it does make a gorgeous shadow on the stem.Long and short shading is a dream to do with this wool when the wool is evenly spun. To quote Phillipa, "The soft Appleton`s wools are perfect for Long and short "soft shading". In my view others wools make this stitch difficult. The thinner wools are good for outline, buttonhole and bullion stitches, etc, but Appleton`s are good for all except bullions which were often stitched in silk."The first layer (or outside edge) of the long and short shading is done with a double thread. I really like the effect this technique has on the finished look of the long and short shading. The double thread makes a soft, deep layer into which the next layers sink or melt. When I stitch the next bit of long and short shading on the Royal Persian Blossom project I'm going to use a double thread for the first layer and see how it works out. (And of course I'll let you all know too!)As you can see, the shades of red are mixed in the petals. Each petal has two shades of Bright Terra Cotta but no adjacent petals use the same two shades.  The effect of this color placement is very natural looking.The combination of the terra cotta red and the soft green and gold is just perfect. The stem uses the same colors as the French knots in the center of the flower so the colors draw your eye along the stem to the flower. The large flower that isn't yet stitched will be in shades of blue. I can't wait to get to work on that!What colors do you love to stitch with? Do you find yourself stitching with your favorites over and over or do you make an attempt to expand your color range?