Stitches...&Stitches

The summer holidays have indeed been fun and busy. I love not having to stick to a routine, letting the kids play around in their pyjamas til late morning, or staying out later than normal just because we’re having such a great time.
I have managed a bit of progress on some WIPs, so without further ado...
The Blossom Bag is blooming nicely – the first half is complete!

This crochet project, first mentioned here, whips up so quickly, the flowers are fun and easy, and the pattern is simple to remember. Now I’ll move onto the other side, then I have to decide which colour should make the band at the top that will connect the handles to the bag. Any ideas? I’m considering the lighter green, or perhaps the rose...

The only drawback to the pattern so far, as with every crochet flower, granny square or stripe pattern actually, is this, the backside:

AAAAACK! Strikes fear in the bravest of crafters...as I’ve said before, they can put a man on the moon, but they can’t invent a tool to sort out yarn ends. Priorities, people!

Moving swiftly on, Sam-I-Am is done, so I will start to stitch green eggs and ham next:

I won’t say much about him yet, other than I’m learning a lot with this project, my mistakes, my good decisions, some techniques I’d change next time...but more on that when it’s a FO. It is fun stitching something so different from my other projects - the bold, cartoonish black, red and yellow, the sketchy style...

And I’ve even managed my ABCs!

This sampler is a delight to stitch, and I’ve only done three letters! It is very easy to pick up when I have a spare 10 minutes, as the piece is made up of a lot of little components. 

Pop over to the lovely &Stitches site today and you’ll find the guest blogger is...me! I did a little interview with Sophie Long, author of a fantastic new tome entitled Mastering the Art of Embroidery. Sophie is a professional embroiderer who trained at the Royal School of Needlework, and she also happens to be one of the team who embroidered Kate Middleton’s wedding dress! Last summer I took part in a wonderful silk ribbon embroidery course that she was teaching, and I kept in touch with her afterwards. She’s an expert, a terrific teacher, and she keeps centuries-old techniques fresh with her contemporary designs. I’ll give a proper review of her book soon...

I’ve put a lot of topics on my Blog To-Do List, haven’t I? Better stop writing, get crafting, then get blogging some more, focusing on one project at a time...

Happy crafting!

Chrissie x