I have always wanted to have a go at embroidering a snail but shied away from the challenge. Finally I managed to get a photo that I thought would work well:

I know that snails aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but I couldn’t resist that little face! I have named him Solomon.

First the sketch:

And then the embroidery:

The stitch direction proved to be difficult, getting the curves to go the right way to give a three dimensional image caused a reasonable amount of unpicking.

But finally he is finished:

Measuring 8x8cm he is my most ambitious piece to date and I am quite proud of him. But just to show the not so pretty side here is a gratuitous #Hoopbutt shot: