Leisurely Sunday Morning

It was lovely to 'pad' downstairs for the morning 'hit' of caffeine to find two ducks on the wall patiently waiting for breakfast. 

A little bit later I shared the crumbs from the breakfast croissant with the garden birds. The offering is expected and it is usually the robin who gets there first.  

After breakfast I started to pack for a trip to London. Crossedpaws did his best to prevent me by sitting on my bag.

I'm not getting much time to sew at the moment but here is the update on my progress that I promised. I did all of this before I started my new job.  

I think it is going to be a while before I get some serious stitching time now. I've got a few days off over Easter but I'll be decorating and gardening...

Sneak Peak - Morning Berries

I've just started stitching a sweet little pattern called 'Morning Berries' by LHN. I've tweaked the colour scheme - you know me by now, less blues and more pinks and reds. I also intend to add some more berries. 

Here's a sneak peak of my progress.

I'm using 32 count cream linen and DMC threads. 

I'm planning to make a stitching companion to carry stitching essentials when I'm travelling. 

Sadly I'm not getting much stitching time at the moment but I do hope to show you some more progress soon. 

Furry Helper?!

Regular readers will know that I couldn't do very much stitching last year due to a hand injury. This year I am ignoring medical advice and stitching again. It hurts but it does bring other benefits. Stitching is good for the soul. I find it is the best way to unwind at the end of the day. 

It took CrossedPaws a while to get back into the routine. Now it is as though I never stopped stitching. He appears as soon as dinner is over and I sit down. He waits patiently whilst I get myself organised. He jumps up when I start stitching. 

As you can see he is really a bit too big to sit there - he usually ends up spilling over onto my lap! His weight means that the stand is very stable but I do worry that he will get stabbed by a needle. 

All is well unless the door goes or I've forgotten to put the TV remote by my side! 

Little Felt Bag

Today I have a pretty little felt bag to show you. It is made of black felt with multicolour applique in felt on the front. I've blanket stitched the edges in vivid pink. 

A few years ago I did a google search for free cross stitch patterns. This was retrieved under the heading Traditional Chinese Cross Stitch. The pattern is called Chinese Wedding2. It is actually based on traditional Chinese art - papercut. This is what made me use it for applique.

I understand that the Mandarin Ducks are a symbol for a loving couple. I think they mate for life like Swans. 

Baby, It's cold outside

I woke up this morning to find hungry birds (nothing unusual there) and a frozen canal. 

As I looked out of the window the lead swan forced his way forward through the ice and made a little channel for his mate to follow him to the bank. 

As soon as the ducks saw me they flew to the bank to be fed. 

This is my favourite duck couple. They are invariably seen together. I'm told that they are quite old - see the colour of his beak? It is more blue than yellow. 

We call her the 'the lady with the bad leg' - see the way she is holding it? She limps quite badly and instantly recognisable. 

When I went outside to feed them I found another visitor at the gate. This is a lovely surprise. The geese usually prefer the grassy slopes that surround the local lakes. There is often a huge flock of geese in the local field. We often hear them flying over the house but they are infrequent visitors. 

Stay safe little ones!

Step-by-Step  Successful Stitching Every Time

Tip 1: Choose the pattern carefully

There is nothing worse than spending hours stitching something to find that you dislike the result. If you have doubts about a pattern or a colour scheme - don't be afraid to make changes! 

Go with your gut! 

The chances are that if you have doubts going in, you won't like the end result.

Tip 2: Choose the right material

You've chosen the pattern and accepted (or tweaked the colour scheme to your liking). How do you choose the right material?

Consider what are you making and your ability level. Are you going to sew on paper, plastic, aida, linen or other? Which do you prefer? What does the designer recommend? What 'look' are you after? 

Many cross stitch books helpfully show the same pattern on linen and aida, making the choice much easier. 

If you are trying a fabric for the first time, choose a small design! 

Tip 3: Make sure you have enough fabric
Make sure that the pattern fits comfortably on your fabric - don't forget to leave enough fabric around the pattern to permit edging and finishing.


There are free apps out there that do all of the hard work for you. Simply enter the fabric count (holes per inch) and the number of stitches required (most patterns will tell you the number of stitches required) and the app will calculate the amount of fabric you need for the pattern.

Tip 4: Position the pattern on the material

The easiest way to position the pattern on the fabric is to find the centre of the pattern and the centre of the fabric. 

Most patterns mark the centre of the pattern so that you can easily count out from the middle to the end of the stitching. Look for a little arrow or a triangle shown in the border or within the first row of the pattern at the top or bottom and the sides.

The easiest way to find the centre of the fabric, unless you are using paper, is to fold the material in half and then into quarters. Finger press the folds and then when you unfold the material you'll see the centre. 

Using the centre of the fabric and the centre of the pattern count out the number of stitches in each direction. This is really easy if you are using Aida because each square is equivalent to one stitch. It is a little harder with linens and other fabrics. I'll share some tricks in a later post. 

Count once, insert counting pin to mark the last stitch in the pattern in all directions. Then, count again! 

A counting pin is a blunt pin decorated with beads that is held in place with a little plug in the same way as some ear rings. If you don't have counting pins, use safety pins. Normal pins are likely to slip out. 

Tip 5: Avoid fraying edges

Stop the edges of linen and aida from fraying by machine stitching around the edge or blanket stitching by hand. It is a bit of a chore but it ensures a good strong edge that can withstand handling and washing. 

I prefer to hand stitch using a cotton that is the same colour as the fabric. On high count fabrics I blanket stitch over two squares rather than one. It is almost invisible when done and well worth the effort. 

Tip 6: Organise your thread
Make sure that you have the coloured threads that you need and the right size needle. 

Get your threads organised and ready on numbered bobbins or a thread organiser. This is especially important if you are using a number of similar shades or creating colours by mixing different coloured threads together. 

It is really easy to pick up the wrong coloured thread when you are working with similar shades in artificial light. You may not spot an error until the morning. Such errors are really frustrating. They also waste precious stitching time and costly silks. 

You can buy thread organisers in all materials, shapes and sizes or you can make them.  

One of the easiest and quickest ways to make a thread organiser is to take a strip of card and make holes in the card. Make one hole for each colour. Put the thread through the hole and draw the symbol that the pattern uses for the colour next to the hole. Errors are now much less likely! 

Tip 7: Enjoy your stitching. 

Start stitching in the centre and work outwards. 

Don't start your sewing with a knot. Master the loop start. See earlier Step-by-Step post on keeping the back of your sewing neat for instructions on how to do this.

Stitching is good for the soul. 

It should be relaxing and it can be really therapeutic at the end of a difficult day. 

The moment that you begin to make more errors than correct stitches or you find yourself getting annoyed with threads that keep tangling, take a break. 

Enjoy your stitching. Don't make it into a chore!

Finished - Home Of A Needleworker Too

Here is a picture of the finished pattern (with my tweaks). 

I adore the pattern and I'm really pleased with it. 

I used DMC threads and I incorporated more red than the recommended blue - the swirls under the wording. I also stitched the top and bottom pattern in dark green rather than brown. 

I didn't intend to make any other changes but as I was stitching I tweaked the 'H' slightly and made the little house with the red door. I also changed the front door of the big house to make all of the windows more prominent.