heart doodling

i'm finding pleasure in stitching my latest doodle cloth, provisionally "heart thoughts"

i'll be building up the stitching on the central image as the mood takes me ( nothing new there then!), doodling around and within it - not sure whether to emphasise the central motif further or try to integrate it more ......?

i've been wanting to incorporate some ginko leaves into my work for ages, the shape of them seems just right for this piece, they seem to echo heart shapes (in the right orientation) - but also ginkgo is said to have benefits for the circulatory system as well as having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties - prompted by the leaves i picked up during our recent visit to Nottingham a i have used their outlines and tried to have them as a light presence - i've really enjoyed doing these 

now i'll be filling in some of the spaces with some simple rhythmic, repetitive stitch while i drift off into my own mind and just let the stitches build

got a nasty shock when i openedd  up my stock of ecodyed threads - the moths have been, so some of it is shredded - i wonder if it would have been so tasty if it had been dyed with synthetic colours? i think i'll have to keep some lavender in with these in future, in the hope of detering the little beasties!