Primrose Day

Did you know that in the UK, this date, 19th April, is known as Primrose Day? My Grandma told me about it when I was a little girl because this date was also her birthday. The day was instigated by Queen Victoria to commemorate the death of former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Grandma would have been 100 today. I always think of her when the primroses come out in the spring; they're such a beautiful flower.

Grandma knew how much I liked embroidery and she always used to remark on how neat my stitching was. I felt I had to make something special to commemorate this day so I have stitched a primrose that fits perfectly into a 5.5cm mini hoop by Dandelyne. I have decided to share this chart as a free pattern.

I spent many happy days with Grandma and I think about her every day. She and my Grandad were married in 1948. Pictured below is his diary from 1947 and as you can see, he has marked the day with 4 crosses, lest he forget!

The primrose is worked in whole cross stitches and a small amount of back stitch highlights the edges of each petal. 

Get the pattern.

I would love to see a picture of your creations. You can share your photos with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Happy stitching!

More info on Dandelyne hoops.

Spring Cleaning

This beautiful weather that we've been enjoying of late has inspired me to have a bit of a spring clean in my shop. I've decide that some of the designs need a makeover and so I'll be making a few changes to the listings in the coming months.

 

Dale Abbey Alphabet Tile is now available in a fresh modern palette that gives an interesting contrast to the ancient style of the Lombardic lettering.

I'm also going to introduce a smaller version of my Durrow Knots pattern with a different colour scheme. Of course you can stitch any of these designs in other colours if you wish by using my original pattern as a guide.

 

My current WIP is inspired by Alice In Wonderland via Jefferson Airplane. Here's a sneak peak at the Bargello-inspired background. I'll show you the whole thing when it's ready.

I do love to stitch by the window at this time of year. At the moment there is a pair of blackbirds collecting food for their growing chicks, which are at least 8 days old as I write. The nest is in a neighbour's garden. A cheeky jackdaw has been eyeing up the fat pudding on our bird table and a buzzard has just soared overhead.

Spring has really gone to my head this year and I love April even more than I did at the start of the month. It's so easy to be distracted by the wonders of nature but I really must get back to the stitching!

Just one more note to leave you with - I am now on Instagram and you can find me here.

Happy stitching!

Joys of April

"Oh, to be in England

Now that April's there..."

 

April is my favourite month of the year and I love walking in the countryside to see how green everything is becoming. The birds are really busy at the moment building nests and the summer migrants are starting to return. I saw my first swallow on Friday as I was walking down Ogston New Road, alongside the reservoir. On the opposite side of the road to the reservoir, there is a colony of herons and for the first time I got the chance to see some of the chicks in their nests. This was a real thrill and the colony seems to be thriving. Chiffchaffs were singing from all directions. If you look on Google Earth, you can see this road in its summer glory.

 

Having come home in a really good mood, I was greeted by the sight of a large parcel waiting for me. If like me you used to buy New Stitches magazine, produced by Mary Hickmott's company, you will know that late last year the publication came to a sudden and premature end due to unforeseen circumstances. Subscribers were given two options: either have the subscription transferred to a different magazine or have a 'lucky dip' of fabric and threads. I chose the lucky dip and so when I saw the parcel, I knew it must be full of stitching goodies!

 

 

I wasn't expecting to receive as much as I did and so I was really excited to discover what was in the parcel. There were five pieces of various fabrics, six skeins of DMC stranded cotton, a kit of a classic Mary Hickmott floral design, a booklet about Lagartera embroidery, a John James pebble containing an assortment of needles and a reel of gold thread (which I forgot to include in the picture).

 

 

This was such a treat and I have already sent a thank you message to Mary and her team. You may be interested to know that Mary now has her own blog which you can find here. I am so glad that she will still be sharing her knowledge and beautiful designs with us. I have learned so much from her over the years, particularly from her Masterclass articles, and I can honestly say she has been a huge inspiration to me.

 

As if all of that excitement wasn't enough, a male reed bunting landed on one of our feeders and had quite a good feed. Reed buntings look very handsome in their spring plumage and it was such a delight to see one through the kitchen window.

 

 

I can assure you that in spite all of this, I am still working! Two of my current designs are having a spring makeover. The new version of Dale Abbey Alphabet Tile will be available very soon and the second pattern will be available in time for summer. This is on top of several new patterns which I have already scheduled for this year so keep checking my shops for updates.

 

Reed bunting photo (c)Roy Eley 2015