Easter Card & Tropical Cyclone Alfred

This little Easter egg is a fun, quick project to stitch and it looks perfect on an Easter card. I started with a pattern I drew up and posted about on my blog here. Feel free to use it with the lists of colours and stitches. This version looks a bit different to the original. I seldom follow a pattern completely - even one I created myself! Its much more interesting to choose colours and stitches randomly as I go along. 

On the weather front, Tropical Cyclone Alfred sat ominous and threatening off the east coast of Australia for five long days. That provided plenty of time for preparations at home and by the state and authorities. The wait though was difficult. 

Last night the eye of the storm passed within 40 km of us. I am very relieved that we have escaped safely so far. We were spared the really stormy weather. The barrier islands off Brisbane's coast provided us some protection.

Sadly not so for thousands of others who are now dealing with the effects of wind damage, severe flooding and power outages. Over 250,00 were without power this morning, some without water and some without  telecommunications. Before the storm, huge manpower was put on standby and they are working to help those worst affected and restore services as soon as possible. 

Although the wind is still very blustery and there is significant rain forecast in the wake of the storm I hope the worst is over where I am. With the grey and damp hovering outside I'm thinking of all those who have already suffered damage and loss. I hope the remaining weather clears up soon for all of us.

'Till next time, keep safe and happy stitching.

Easter Egg Sampler of Stitches - free pattern

This is a bit of fun I am having with stitches and colours to make up into a quick card for a friend for Easter. I am going to whip the stem stitch outline to smooth out the curves and then stick it into a window card. If you are in Cape Town, Merripak keep packs of window cards.

I changed the stitches slightly as I stitched, but here is the original pattern I started with. For a free copy of the pattern below, right click on the image and choose the 'save as' option. Print it out, then use a photocopy machine to enlarge it or make it smaller to suit your card or project.

Easter egg sampler of stitches - Lyn Warner

I used a blue tailor's pen to trace the pattern and mark the position of some guide-lines for stitching. The blue lines washed out well in plain cold water afterwards. The embroidery for the card was done on a 32 count linen, but any firmly woven fabric like calico would be fine.

Colours are DMC 3844 & 3845 (blue); 726 (yellow); 3348 (green); and 349 & 350 (red). I used mostly 2 strands of thread.

Suggested stitches for the pattern were from the top:
1. Chain stitch
2. Back stitch, laced running stitch, back stitch
3. Horizontal fly stitch. Turn the work 180 degrees to work the second row of horizontal fly stitch.
4. Tied herringbone.
5. Lazy daisy flowers with small French knot centre . Make centre with 1 thread and 1 wrap.
6. Stem stitch, large French knots made with 3 threads and 2 or 3 wraps, stem stitch.
7. Laced running stitch
8. Chain Stitch.
9. Outline of the egg: stem stitch or whipped stem stitch.

If you need any stitch instructions or ideas for stitch variations, visit either Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread or Sharon Boggon's Pintangle and search for the stitch you want. Both websites are excellent.

Let me know if you embroider a little sampler by leaving a comment below, or email me at lynette [dot] warner [at] gmail [dot] com, using the usual format of name1.name2@gmail.com. I'd love to see your stitched version of the pattern.

'Till next time, happy stitching!

Egg Cosy and Table Mat

These are the egg cosies and table mats I have been working on for Easter. The embroidery was quick to do, but getting the pattern ready took a little longer.

One of things that I always find challenging when putting together a pattern are the photographs. This time I set everything up on the end of the kitchen table where the light is good for my little point and shoot camera in the afternoons . For about four afternoons in a row, the cloud was heavy over the mountains in the west and at just about the time when the light is usually fairly good, the sun would disappear behind the thick clouds. I took a number of photos which were just too dark to use, but eventually the sun shone brightly at the right time and I was able to take some reasonable photos.

The lacy border of Australian Cross Stitch on the egg cosies and the place mat is quick to embroider and the pattern I have drawn up is suitable for both beginners and more advanced stitchers. You can find the pattern in my Etsy shop Lynlubell.  

Till next time, happy stitching!