Cross stitch and crochet

Spent a busy weekend finishing off my new crochet granny square blanket.  Chose pink as my accent colour and I absolutely love it!

Managed to use up a lot of little bits and pieces of yarn that I had in my stash, so that was good too.

Another of my cross stitch fully finishes - Home Stitch Home (click to read about my vintage tea) which was a freebie from Tiny Modernist - you can find it here.  I stitched it during lockdown in April 2020 so it is about time I actually got around to taking it out of the drawer and fully finishing it.

I used this pretty fabric for the back.  I think it matches really well.  

Don't forget that you can follow my crafty endeavours on Instagram - here (Scottish Stitcher).

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Love, Liz

Bonnie Scotland in cross stitch

Been in a fully finishing frenzy today!!!  About time too!  Had a drawer full of stitching waiting for something to be done with it.  Today was the day - well, for some of them.  I think I'm most proud of this one - Bonnie Scotland.

You can find out how I stitched it here.  Stitched in April 2020, it has been waiting quite a while to be fully finished.  

Turned it into a little pillow with a loop so that it can be hung up or placed in a bowl.  I think it looks like it is wearing a wee kilt!  The words are "land of my heart forever" from the song "Scotland the Brave".

The backing fabric is beautiful Scottish thistles on a black background.  More of my fully finished stitching tomorrow.

Love, Liz

Be not weary

Be not weary in well doing.  Great words from my latest cross stitch finish (2nd this month).

The pattern, from 1997, is by Loretta Sigmon of "At the Hop".  It was send to me in a pattern swap with a lovely new friend in the US.

I left out the alphabet because I wanted to make it into a little pillow.  I made the backing with red and white gingham.  Love it!

Love, Liz

Vintage Christening Gown

I came across this vintage christening gown recently.  It is a bit the worse for wear, but still quite sweet.  It has a layer of netting over a satin base which has a sweet pattern.

I also have a photograph of a baby wearing this christening gown.  I know the two are connected because the baby is me!!!!!

So that obviously makes the christening gown vintage - sad to say!  The reason it is in such a sorry state is that my Mum gave it to me to use as a dress for my dolls.  It has been washed numerous times and I found it when I was clearing out recently.

I remembered that I had a photograph of myself in the gown.  I've put them away together so that if anyone comes across them in the future they will know why the gown was kept all these years.

Love, Liz

First February finish

This is my first cross stitch finish this month.  I started it on 18 January.

It is Always Remember by Plum Street Samplers.  I love the way the colours show up on this fabric (16 count Aida - Picture This Plus - Storm).  I used all the called for threads.

Isn't the pattern on the house just amazing!

I'm really proud of this one and as I was stitching the poppies I was thinking about the service men and women of our country who gave their lives in WW1 and WW2 as well as more modern conflicts.  This is my tiny tribute to them.

Love, Liz

Packed and ready to go!

Well, I've got one little tiny suitcase packed and ready to go!

I got this gorgeous little suitcase as part of a set of three of differing sizes.  I thought the smallest one would be great for storing my English paper piecing things in.  However the inside looked a bit bland.  So I decided to make it a bit more inviting.

First I drew around the outline of the case and made a paper template.  I cut two pieces of white card to fit the inside of the lid and the bottom of the case.  I covered these with batting and then put some pretty pink gingham around them.  On the lid lining I added a useful little pocket.

So now I have all my paper piecing things in one little case which I can just pull out when I want it.  I also made a little pincushion especially for this box.

I can now just lift this little case and carry it with me whenever I want to do some sewing without having to hunt around for all the things I need.  Love it!

Love, Liz

Tea at three

I love a nice cup of tea at three o'clock in the afternoon.  A bit of a tradition I suppose.

Mostly I just have a mug of tea, but occasionally I'll get out some vintage china and feel a bit posh!

I got out this gorgeous Royal Vale cup and saucer today just to show off my knitted tea cosy.  I love the way the purple and light green look together.  Matches the china.

Lets not forget the vintage linen - purple flowers and little embroidered corner - perfect.

Hope you are enjoying a cuppa this afternoon.

Love, Liz

Vintage linen tray cloths

I decided to venture into my box of vintage linen and find out just how many embroidered vintage tray cloths I had.  (I wrote about one just a few days ago - here.)

I was quite surprised at just how many I had - I even ironed them for their photoshoot!

Find out more about this one here.

All of these were rescued from charity shops and I paid very little for them.  (I'll try and link to my original blog post about each one.)

This one is actually yellow althoug it is not showing up well in photograph!

These are all hand embroidered and I just wonder about the women who sit stitching them and if they were even used.  Tray cloths were put on a tray when the hostess was serving her guests tea.  I suppose they were also used on tables - so that the fruit bowl or flower vase wouldn't mark the wood.

Read how I found this one here.

This one with the hunter makes me think of Downton Abbey shooting parties - the family and their guests being served tea on the moors!

I love the delicacy of this one.

Last but not least is this lovely embroidery - more of a table runner than a tray cloth, but hand embroidered just the same.

I hope you have enjoyed this little rummage through my linen box.  I've lots more to show you - some other time!

Don't forget to visit me on Instagram - I'm Scottish Stitcher.

Love, Liz

As if I need a new hobby!

This is my first attempt at English paper piecing.  I really enjoyed stitching this together and I can see that it could quite easily be another stitching addiction!

I thought perhaps this would look nice on the front cover of my stitching planner.  Or perhaps just as a coaster!

I was tempted to try this craft when I came across a YouTube video by Emma Jones Vintage Sewing Box and she was making a some beautiful little bits and pieces from scraps of fabric.  I was really impressed by the finished results of paper piecing and decided to give it a go.  I followed her instructions.  She really explains everything very clearly and makes some beautiful projects.  Emma also has a website and blog - click the links to check them out.  I think you will enjoy what you see.  Emma has a Beginners Guide video to English paper piecing - click the link to see it.

I think I will be doing a lot more of this.  It was strange to be hand sewing without having to follow a pattern or count stitches - very relaxing, actually.

Hope you are looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Love, Liz

Still blooming lovely!

My poinsettia is still alive!  I blogged about it here.  Hubby bought it for me before Christmas and I had doubts about whether it would survive or not - it looked so fragile.  But it is still going strong!

It is amazing considering how cold it has been here in the house because we did not have any heating for four days!  Our boiler broke down on Friday night - no heating or hot water.  Fortunately we were able to get someone to come out on Saturday to see what could be done, but the boiler was totally broken down.  We got a new boiler put in on Tuesday.  By Tuesday evening we were back to a warm house.  Thankfully!

During the time of the big freeze I tried to be out of the house as much as possible.  In the evenings I sat on the sofa swathed in blankets and either sewed or crocheted.  I had a hot water bottle handy in case my hands got too cold!  Hubby took a photo of me like this - my grandsons thought it was hilarious!  No!!!!  I'm not putting it on my blog!!!!

I'm glad to say that things are now back to normal.  All my indoor plants survived their few days of cold and I actually got quite a lot of stitching done!  Hope things aren't too cold where you are!

Don't forget I'm on Instagram as Scottish Stitcher.

Love, Liz