OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern: by the National Trust, UK
• Materials: 28 ct monoco, coffee dyed by me, DMC as charted
• Size: 10.5″ x 11.5″
• Time to stitch: 8 days

This little piece has a lot of detail and a message that I think will resonate well with the recipient.

I started with the center and worked up to the top; that was fun with lots of greens in the 500 range.  Love the ivy. The pattern directions say to backstitch with 2 threads; I dithered and tried it with 1, but ultimately decided 2 were better.  Of course this varies with fabric count.  My 28 count fabric shrunk a little bit after dying with hot coffee.  

The lower half took a lot longer to stitch, I love how the flowers came out, too.  I realized the two sides were misaligned by 1 stitch and I wasn’t willing to frog the top half to find my error.  So I worked down to the corner and fudged it, with the bottom backstitch border.  And then the french knots!  This pattern has a lot of them, all through the border.  There were a few french knots charted for the flowers too, but I gave the pattern away and I think it looks fine as is.

Glad it’s finished in October, plenty of time to find a frame and get this wrapped and under the tree. Edit: he was so surprised Christmas morning! (and I forgot about this draft post until May)