I find that I can only do little bits of anything at one time and, although I have lots of lovely kits to do, most of them look too daunting at the moment. So I was really glad to unearth a cross stitch sampler that my daughter gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Samplers are good because the patterns tend to be quite repetitive and symmetrical and there are no fractional stitches or back stitches to worry about.
I'd just made a start on it when I got it and then put it away (as you do) so there was lots left to do. And, slowly but surely, I finished it!
Excuse the creases and not particularly good photo. When I look at it, I can remember when I stitched certain parts. I did most of the brickwork while waiting for a doctor to come and check my oxygen levels and that little row of motifs under the house took me days and days to do when I was feeling particularly tired.
Isn't it a lovely design though? I'm particularly fond of the sheep above the house and I think the wide floral border really sets it off. It's called 'Country Cottage' and was designed by Moira Blackman for Bothy Threads. You can see the design much better on their site.
As you can just about see, I added an extra bit at the bottom (where it will be hidden by the frame), saying that I stitched it while ill with Covid. Can you tell I've got an archivist daughter? She's training me to sign everything!
I love the sampler and good for your daughter to teach you to sign things. My mom did ceramics and just yesterday I looked at the bottom of the fruit bowl she made and saw that it was finished and signed in 1979. This bowl sat on her kitchen table and now it sits on mine. Proud of both of us that it remained unbroken all those years! I wish your sampler had more pleasant memories but there will be the pleasure of knowing that you survived, also unbroken.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I'm rather proud of it. How nice that your Mum made your bowl and also that she signed it. I have lots of my Mum's quilts but she rarely signed them.
ReplyDeleteThat is lovely! I used to cross stitch but haven't in many years. More recently I've been knitting. I find it more mobile unless I'm working something that gets to large (like a blanket) so I can have it with me while I take my kids places. I was recently knitting by the pool and one of the neighbor kids asked me if I could knit her a "strawberry cow" stuffy. Now I've never knitted a stuffy in my life, but her family is moving at the end of the summer and I thought it might be a good going away present so I told her no promises but I would try. I found your Buttercup and Daisy pattern on Ravelry, but I hate seaming so it's almost all knit in the round and have made a few changes for color-work, particularly around the nose, and leg construction as well; but I'm using the stitch counts you gave for proportions. I was wondering if I could have your permission to publish my pattern (free) with proper credit given to yours.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind me reaching out on your blog. I didn't see any other way to ask your permission.
Yes, that would be fine. If you go to my profile (under the 'about me' section), you can email me - I'd love to see a photo of your finished cow.
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