Summer Bugs and New Product

I've retreated to the comfortable surrounds of my livingroom this weekend, as I've picked up a rotten summer cold. Not quite the way I wanted to spend my free time. Ah, well the slow down time isn't necessarily bad, though I could do without the sore nose, the fever but you know, my little camp I've set up in the livingroom is rather snug, I won't share as it's a little messy...

What I had planned on doing was starting my medieval illuminated text stumpwork idea, i.e. the Dragon. I've played a bit with what fabrics I want to use this afternoon but I can't focus too long on any one thing as my eyes are getting sore (hayfever too, yay!) but fingers crossed I really will get on with that next weekend. 

I did manage one thing yesterday which I was pleased with which was taking photographs of my new note cards. I mentioned a while ago that I was planning on starting to release some of my embroidery designs as cards and I finally got round to ordering a small selection and these were listed yesterday.

With six packs I've got on sale, each will receive an additional postcard of my selection from my prototypes. If you would like to grab a set head to my Etsy store, £3.50 (plus P&P). I hope next week that the new pocket mirror designs will be arriving next week for me to list.

Now it's time to go and rest up again on the sofa and watch a silly film and perhaps work a bit more of the cross stitch.

Summer Time - Embroidery Pattern

The second of the seasonal designs is now ready for you lovely lot to download and stitch to your hearts content. 

It's a bright design to bring in summer, the third in the series will be available late August, newsletter subscribers get first dibs to download it. Once all the four designs have been released they will be turned into a mini art quilt. Of course, you don't have to wait till then to do something with the designs when you've stitched them.

Click to download the summer embroidered pattern.

The pattern includes how to transfer the design and stitch diagrams too boot. I hope you enjoy stitching it, and feel free to make your own mark by using the threads you have to hand and even add a few more stitches if you fancy it!

Please be mindful of the fact that this pattern isn't for commercial use, and if you do wish to share it on your blog, please can you make reference to me. 

Though please note and respect that this is pattern isn't for commercial use, and if you share it on your blog, please reference me or I may be forced to set Hamish on you. 

Summer On Route

At least I like to think it's on route, sure we've been having a lot of the customary spring showers but still June is only a week away so I thought I would bring at a little closer. How? Well, I've been stitching the sample for the next free seasonal pattern, summer. 

In fact the sample is very much complete, just needs me to rustle up the pattern and then, bingo it will be ready for you lovely lot. As ever my newsletter subscribers will get first dibs on downloading it, which I am aiming to send out next Saturday, 31st May. Then it will be available on the blog as a download. 

I've kept it bright and cheery, as with the spring design and the stitches are simple but very effective, so that you can perfect the stitches and whip it up in no time at all. Speaking of the spring design, I would love to know if anyone has stitched it yet?

With this stitched has now meant I can start working on the Pretty Little San Francisco pattern by Jody Rice (Satsuma Street Designs). I did have to unpick some of it as I was stitched some of the top bar of the cross-stitch in the wrong direction to the rest of it, that's what you get for watching stand-up comedy on the tele whilst stitching! Oops.

I'm going to try and keep it as my evening/chill out stitching go to project, as I hope to get back to embroidering something a little more complex:

It's been sat, lurking on the table behind me with a load of threads and materials, but as of yet I haven't been in the right frame of mind to stitch it. That was until the other night when I felt that its about time I do something with it. It's going to take a bit of playing and experimenting at each stage, so very much a kin to the other two stumpwork pieces I've done, Paradise Bird and Peacock Paradise. I hope to get some of the prep work under-way on Monday, or least jot down how I want to start it. Then I'll just jump on in and get on with it. Bit like the rest of my ever growing to do list, which is finally seeing that I stop dilly-dallying about the postcard / greeting card idea that I know I've mentioned countless times. I procrastinate something rotten. So I'll get an order sorted on Monday, and keep you posted when they are listed. It will be a small batch to see how they go down, and then go from there, I should add thanks to Laura Howard for the advice/suggestions on this one! 

What else has been happening, well I've finally got my Frida Kahlo cushion cover back from the now sadly gone, Crafty Magazine. Which means folks I'll be turning it into a downloadable pattern, aiming to get that complete sometime in early June. Again, I'll keep you posted on this one.

I shall end this week's post with a naughty little purchase, picked up during a lovely day spent with an old friend's from Canada and Malasia (online buddies, never met face to face till Friday just gone!). I didn't need to buy any more notebooks but dammit I had to go and spot that Moleskine have opened up a store in Covent Garden! I was like a moth to a flame....

What do you always buying, even though you know you have a lot in you stash?