Holiday Stitching - Winter Reflections Hardanger

I have just spent the last 10 days on Ile de Re, a beautiful island off the west coast of France, just over the bridge from la Rochelle.  What a beautiful place, full of sunshine and the most beautiful light in which to stitch.

Last month I designed a little hardanger pincushion ...

Winter Reflections Pincushion

... so over the course of the holiday I decided to design a piece to go with it.  I had origially thought of turning it into a needle book, but when it was finished I decided it would look just perfect mounted on the lid of a hand-painted box.

Winter Reflections Box Top

Now I have a box for my pincushion and other stitching bits and pieces.  Both designs were stitched on 28 count Antique White evenweave using DMC perle #8 no 712.

And here is what I did with the inside of the box - I lined it with some scrummy chocolate coloured silk fabric.

Inside of the box

The Pincushion and Box Top designs (chart only) are available to purchase from my Etsy shop  https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheCommonThread1

It's a Dog's Life

Whilst I was photographing my latest piece of work-in-progress this is what Millie, my lovely labrador, was doing:

And here is a sneak peak of what I was photographing - the design will be released at the beginning of September.

Lavender and Daisies .....

The Common Thread

I am on a bit of a roll here!!   The Common Thread is now on Facebook.  You can follow me there on https://www.facebook.com/threadsincommon?ref=hl

The Common Thread

My new Etsy Shop

I have finally got my Etsy shop up and running.  I have listed lots of beautiful Chameleon Threads; some counted thread work kits and some silk ribbons.  There is also a beautiful silk ribbon garland called "les Fleurs".  It is fully kitted with full packs of ribbon and all the needles and fabric, plus a very good set of instructions with colour photographs.  If you are interested and would like to visit my shop this is the link https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheCommonThread1?ref=si_shop

These are some of the Chameleon Thread Collections I have listed for sale:

Cottage Garden - Perle #8 collection

Lilac Border - Perle #8 collection

Vintage Elegance - Perle #8 Collection

... and this is les Fleurs

Happy New Year to One and All

And so, another year has gone by.  Did you manage to finish all those lovely stitching projects you started and promised yourself you would finish?  Or, on looking back over the year, did you discover you had too many WIPs and not enough finishes?  I can count on one hand the number of stitchers I know who finish one project before they start on another one. The majority of us are like butterflies - we flit from one piece of linen to another, drawn in by the beautiful colours of the threads, or the intricate design.

Each year I promise myself that I will finish every project that I start - and each year I fail miserably. So this year, I am not going to make the same promise, instead I am going to promise myself that I will learn at least one new stitching technique.  This year I am going to master Reticello.  I love the look of this technique and I have signed up to take a distance class with Lee Albrecht  http://leealbrecht.blogspot.co.uk/. I will keep you posted on my progress. I wonder what your new technique will be?

And now, my friends, I leave you with these words of wisdom:

Remember that friends don’t let friends stitch drunk.  Please stitch responsibly this year and may all your stitching dreams come true in 2014.

Merry Christmas and wishing you all a very Happy New Year

Sewing Pouch



This is what it looks like when it is closed

I wanted to show you a little pouch I have made - it is a gift for a very special person and will be on its way to South Africa tomorrow.  It is a very quick and simple way of turning 2 pieces of square fabric, a couple of flower beads and two bits of silk ribbon into something special.

It has two flaps that open on either side

... and the middle is filled with threads and scissors