1.3.17

Scottish Thistle Needle Book

Scottish Thistle Needle Book
I often find that I putter around a lot and time slips by and I don't get much done. Then I get frustrated about all of the tasks piling up. I know the secret to ending this cycle of inactivity is what I call Butt in Chair Time! Really, it means what it says. Put my behind in a chair and get some work done.  Several years ago I heard an interview with the daughter of Roald Dahl, one of my favorite children's book authors. She said that her father would go into his office to write for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. Spending just four hours a day he wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, The BFG and many more. It struck me that so much can be accomplished in so little time. So, with four hours a day, I too have accomplished a lot.

A peek at summer spiral drawing
First up is this Scottish Thistle Needle Book Pattern which you can find on my etsy site here. On the outside is a Scottish thistle that uses a few stumpwork stitches. It's not for the beginner but anyone that has a few basic stitches under their belt should have no trouble. Once you have the thistle finished you can stitch it into a needle book that has space for lots of needles, a pair of scissors and a needle threader. Again, it's pretty easy to sew and the pattern includes photographs to help you along.

The next thing I got done is a new design for another spiral pattern. I plan on doing four of them, one for each season. The newest one is summer and has a sailboat, tent, fruit and vegetable stand, sunflowers and features a quote from Celia Thaxton. I'm excited about getting to the stitching but first I get to make a trip to the needlework shop (always fun) to pick out some fabric. Rumi Wisdom (spring) and Emerson (winter) can already be found in my etsy shop. I'll keep you posted about my progress.

And lastly an update on my A Year of Stitches project!