Atta boy, Clarence!

Well, how did this happen? We're just four weeks away from Christmas Day! It'll soon be time to break out the festive movies (if you haven't done already!) I'm already itching to get the decorations out and I thought you'd like an early gift. You can download this pattern FREE from my Payhip shop.

This sampler is a bit of a clue to my favourite Christmas film - It's A Wonderful Life. If anything's going to give you that warm and fuzzy festive feeling then it's the scene where George Bailey is reunited with his family and friends and is made to realise how loved he is by them all. Just then, the little bells on the tree start to jingle.

"Look, Daddy! Teacher says 'Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.'"

Clarence has finally earned his wings after saving George. Hurrah!

If you've seen this movie in colour, you'll know that the bells on the Bailey family tree are gold but I stitched this before I'd seen the colour version. Please feel free to stitch them in gold instead of silver if you wish. The bells motif is also perfect for greeting cards and other smaller projects.

I feel I've really made progress this year in many ways so I though this would be a nice way of saying thank you for all the support I've had.

Have a good weekend and happy stitching!

You can find more Christmas designs and free patterns on my website: hawthorntreedesigns.com

Robins are for lfe, not just for Christmas!

Here we are in September again. It's almost a whole year since I rescued that poorly hedgehog* (wonder what it's up to now?)

I've been very busy for the last couple of weeks re-formatting all of my patterns and updating my shops with new versions. I've also built a brand new website. You can find links to both my shops and this blog as well as the two free patterns in my Payhip shop.

hawthorntreedesigns.com

So, you're wondering what this all has to do with robins? Well, I've just added a brand new pattern to my collection...

This sweet little robin redbreast compliments my bullfinches. I have several more which will be available in the near future and others in the planning. (Did I mention I love birds?)These bird designs are really easy to stitch and I would have finished the robin in one afternoon had I not decided to change the shade of orange I was using. I was also distracted by Frodo and Sam making their way through the Dead Marshes in The Two Towers so you may well finish it sooner than I did!

Like the bullfinches, this robin has been designed to fit into a 4-inch hoop but he also makes a great motif for Christmas cards, should you want to get a head-start on making some of your own before things start to get really busy.

However, as the title  of this post implies, robins can be seen all year round so he is definitely not just for Christmas! To stitch him for yourself click here.

*To read about my hedgehog rescue, click here.

Wise Little Owl - A Free Pattern

I have just reached a little milestone on Instagram by gaining my 100th follower. I am very grateful to everyone who has supported me and my work so far and I now have a little treat for you all.

 

Last year, I bought some cute little owl buttons from Pocket and Pin, an online haberdashery full of exciting things. As soon as saw the little owls I knew I wanted to use them - but how?

 

Looking through a magazine, I found an article on antique samplers and one of them, made by Sarah Doggett in 1815, featured many motifs of plants and birds. One of them was of a bird perched in the branches of a tree. I knew then how to use the owl buttons!

 

 

I have adapted the motif so that it fits neatly into a 4-inch (10cm) hoop and there is a little space for the owl to perch.

 

As a thank you for all the support I've had so far, you can download this pattern for free from my Payhip Shop.

 

If you'd like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me as @HawthornTree_xs

 

Thank you and happy stitching!

Celtic Knot Tutorial and Free Pattern

If you're a regular reader of this blog and you've seen my designs then you will know how much I love Celtic knots. I love them so much that my designs can grow to be quite big and this may make them look a bit daunting. This tutorial is going to show you how knots are formed and how even big designs are easier to tackle than you might think.

You will need:

• about 4 metres of stranded cotton in a colour of your choice and a needle
• a piece of 14-count Aida or 28-count evenweave which is about 4 inches (10cm) square
• this free pattern which you can download instantly from my shop. (Even though it's in my shop, you will not be charged a penny for this pattern.)

Celtic knotwork is made up of different 'strands' which are woven together to create an intricate pattern. Some of them are created using just one strand which has been cleverly turned into a beautiful knot. To find out how many strands there are in a knot, pick a starting point and trace the path of the strand with your finger. Sometimes you end up back where you started and sometimes you will find there are several different journeys to take. The knot in this tutorial is made up of three strands.

My Celtic designs often have a stencilled look and so they are made up of little sections that look like this:

According to the famous Chinese proverb, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. So for now, let's not worry about the size of the whole knot and instead let's work it one little section at a time. Mark off each part of the pattern as you work it so you don't lose your place.

Note: if you are working a knot which has more then one colour, I recommend threading each different colour into a separate needle; this will save a lot of time and also make working the design much easier.

So, by taking the design one tiny section at a time you will soon see the knot start to grow before your eyes:

It will take several hours but in a couple of evenings or a weekend, you will soon find yourself with this beautiful knot:

This design is perfect for greetings cards or how about making yourself a set of coasters? You'll soon feel ready to tackle one of my bigger Celtic designs which you can find here. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook if you have any questions or you can comment below. Happy stitching!

Photos and design (c) Karen Eley/The Hawthorn Tree 2015.