About this sort of time every year, I seem to make a seasonally appropriate card festooned with snowdrops. I like snowdrops and the way they grow in little clumps here and there. We’re currently waiting for our potted Polar Bear variety to bloom. We’ve probably got a bit of time to wait: as I recall… Continue reading Signs of Spring: Snowdrops
Category: Cross-stitch
Rediscovering Forgotten Craft Supplies
According to the ante-natal class I attended a month or so ago, one of the early signs of labour (or perhaps just of imminent labour) is an irresistible desire to clean and tidy. Quite honestly, it’s getting hard enough to just get up off the sofa, so I can’t imagine being able to manage a… Continue reading Rediscovering Forgotten Craft Supplies
Stitch by Stitch: Sunshine on the Sea
About this time last year, and after making such good progress, I had to pack away my cross-stitch project because of a move. I’ve only just managed to get around to starting again. I did get it out of the box back in January or February, but the ability to concentrate just hasn’t been there,… Continue reading Stitch by Stitch: Sunshine on the Sea
Previous Projects: Butterflies and Rosebuds
When I was young, I used to like collecting caterpillars and mullion leaves and keeping them in old ice cream tubs with netting over the top until they turned into butterflies (cabbage whites, I think most of them were). I think I was trying to watch for the exact moment when the butterfly hatched from the chrysalis,… Continue reading Previous Projects: Butterflies and Rosebuds
Card of the Week: Springtime Bird
Now that days are beginning to brighten again – it’s so nice to start and finish working in daylight, even with early starts and late finishes – the world begins to look more colourful again. Of course, the return of greenery and more days with sunshine helps with that. And it's fun to make cheerful… Continue reading Card of the Week: Springtime Bird
Stitch by Stitch: Where In The World Am I?
Back in – July, was it? – I packed away my big cross-stich project of a world map because of a move. I’ve only just unpacked it. I’d done so well in the first half of 2021, doing some each month, feeling like it was possible to finish. Like it might be finished by now.… Continue reading Stitch by Stitch: Where In The World Am I?
Card of the Week: The Christmas Stocking Mouse
Last year, I finally got around to stitching a few Hobbycraft Christmas cross-stitch kits. A couple were from the previous year, which I'd put off because of the dreaded fractionals, and the others were new. The intention was to use them for Christmas cards. Naturally, that didn’t happen, then. They've been hanging around my craft… Continue reading Card of the Week: The Christmas Stocking Mouse
Card of the Week: The First Christmas Card
Back about Easter-time, I thought I’d be all prepared and start my Christmas cards, since the summer is sparse for birthdays. Of course, beyond a few demos, that never happened and instead I made the autumn birthday cards. Now, however, I have begun the Christmas cards, with this lovely freebie kit from The World of… Continue reading Card of the Week: The First Christmas Card
Stitch By Stitch: Sailing By
Ten to one in the morning used to be a good time for falling asleep. Radio 4 had Sailing By followed by the Shipping Forecast. I’d normally be asleep by the time the Shipping Forecast was relevant for me, not that it really made much sense. It just has a soporific sort of rhythm to… Continue reading Stitch By Stitch: Sailing By
A Stitch in Time: The Peacock Cushion
With an imminent move coming up, I had thought to write about what I am calling my Capsule Craft Room. But that isn’t ready yet, so will have to keep for a later date. Instead, and like the Remembering Reads I’ve recently started, I thought it’d be good to share some previous crafty makes. I… Continue reading A Stitch in Time: The Peacock Cushion