I’m not usually very keen on embroidering insects. After all, they’re, well….INSECTS!!! Yuck!! But somehow ladybirds don’t seem to be quite so ‘insect-like’, so I’m OK with embroidering them, which is just as well, really, as Carolyn Pearce loves to scatter ladybirds among her designs. This one shown below features on the back of the needlebook which forms part of the Home Sweet Home Workbox etui set (described in Carolyn’s book).
To make this specimen (which is only about half an inch across in real life), I first worked split stitch around the edge of the round body shape. Then I worked two layers of satin stitch padding (each layer at right angles to the one beneath), then finished with a final layer of satin stitch – all worked in Gloriana silk. The head is four straight stitches. The legs are straight stitches too. I think I made these a little bit too long for a ladybird, but never mind. The little dots on the ladybird’s back are tiny seed stitches.
The ladybird hovers above wild flowers worked in granitos stitch for the blue flower at far left, lazy daisy stitches for the daisies, raised cross stitch for the anemones, French knots for the blue flower buds and straight stitches for the grass.
This is the whole needlebook panel (front and back), with the main embroidery finished.
To complete the embroidery, I worked a border of chain stitch in dark green Anchor stranded cotton (two strands). Carolyn explains that to have the chains going in the right direction, you need to start at the bottom left corner and work along the bottom and up the right hand side, then start again at the bottom left and work up the left hand side and along the top to the right hand corner again. She recommends whipping the chain stitches, but I didn’t bother to do that bit. Finally, I edged the chain stitch with stem stitch worked in Kreinik Very Fine Braid.
I’m really pleased with this so far. Now I just need to assemble the needlebook.
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Janet Granger's Blog 
Oh this is looking promising! It’s going to be a very pretty needlebook when it’s made up. 🙂
Perhaps you should abandon the word insect and instead adopt the modern term” minibeast”?
So pretty. I love the right side of the needlebook with the tall green plant with the pea pod.