In the end it turned out more Echinacea than Helenium and the satin stitch gave way to straight stitch, but it was always going to be 'interpretation' rather than 'representation' and I rather like it!
The background colouring is done with fabric paints, the flowers are sketched in with a fine-nibbed fabric pen and the stranded threads are from a selection of autumn colours that I found in my stash.
You can tell I'm pleased with it because I've mounted it tidily in my samples book. Pieces I'm not happy with tend to end up stuck in a drawer somewhere.
