Update on my stitching

This is a Hungarian folk art pattern. Originally it would be red and black as those are the most common colours in old Hungarian cross stitch. I changed the colours and love how it has a really modern appearance.

I have to admit that I started this lovely project about two years ago. And somehow it had become an UFO. I remember last time I put it down because I found it hard to stitch on the 16 count Rustic Aida, it was too stiff.
Now I took it out, and really enjoyed working on it for about two weeks, and then got tired of it again. First I enjoyed the repetitivness of the pattern as it required little concentration but after a while it became boring. So I think it will go back to its bag again. Hopefully not for a long time, as there isn't much left now to finish it.

This the only photo I can find about it from last time I worked on it (January last year). The middle section was already finished but I don't know where that photo is. This is the phase when I started the second row.



This photo was taken on 15 February, after a few days stitching.



And this is where I am now. The line on the top is going to be the final border.

St. Patrick's Day cross stitch pattern

March is not only the month of a great Hungarian celebration, but it is also when Ireland celebrates St. Patrick, their patron saint. I have been to Ireland twice, and have fallen in love with her. One of the most beautiful places on earth, and the Irish are so kind and friendly.

To honour St. Patrick's Day, I have created these two patterns: a little sampler and a bookmark. Hope you enjoy. If you stitch them, send a photo, please. :)






Edit:


If you are interested in St. Patrick's Day patterns, why not take a look at my other freebies here , here and here?

Kokárda keresztszemes minta

For my international readers: the cockade is the symbol of freedom in Hungary that we wear on 15 March, day of the revolution in 1848.

Március 15. szerintem a legszebb magyar ünnepünk. Erre gondolva terveztem ezt a kokárdát. Remélem, lesz, aki hasznát veszi. :) Természetesen, csak magát a kokárdát is kihímezhetitek. Plastic canvasre hímezve akár ki is lehet tűzni. Ha kihímezitek, küldjetek egy képet, jó? :) Köszönöm.







Grid Size: 48W x 82H
Design Area: 3,29" x 5,43" (46 x 76 stitches)

Legend: Stitches
7 DMC 666 christmas red - br
8 DMC 700 christmas green - br

Legend: BackStitch Lines
DMC 310 black

Spring minis - free cross stitch patterns

I know it is not spring yet. A least not here. But we are all waiting for spring, aren't we?
Perhaps these mini patterns, either together or on their own, will help us wait it out. It cannot be very long now. :D :D

Carneval season - Itt a farsang, áll a bál!

February is carneval season - at least in my home country, Hungary. To celebrate this, I have made a mask pattern. Please, have some fun with me and stitch it in your favourite colours.




I have a question to my readers. I find it a bit unnerving that even though there has been more than 1000 visits to my blog in the past few days, nobody left a comment. Does this mean that people come to visit, then find it unsatisfactory and just leave, being too polite to say that it wasn't worth the time? I wonder what I am doing wrong that I hardly ever get any feedback.
I really would like to hear your opinion, and even if you don't like something, please, share your ideas so I can learn from them. I would love to have real communication with people who come to see "me" here. :) Thank you.

Last-minute mini Valentine's day cross stitch patterns

I know I said I am not much of a fan of Valentine's day. But working with a bunch of 11- and 12-year-olds, I had to give in and do Valentine's crafts in my lessons. It seems to be infectious :D :D

Not much time left now, but there is still time to whip up one of these small patterns for a card, a gift tag or a small present, like a scissors-fob, a coaster or a pincushion.

Crazy quilt challenge february block and paper piecing

I have put together my February block for CQJP. I also started to put in some stitches but didn't get far yet.
This is what it looks like now:



I got a few comments on my January block, saying how it looked like old quilts, so I thought I would explain how I am doing them. I am not a quilter - though hope to be one sooner or later :) -, I haven't done much sewing either, so I don't have a huge stash of fabric. I do have some, though, that I have bought lately, mostly in second-hand shops and flea-markets, and also a pile of used clothes. These are the ones I am using.
I also got through my cross stitching things not long ago when I moved, and found a few small pieces that were practice pieces or unfinished smalls, and thought that crazy quilt blocks would be a good way to use them up. So I will try to add one to the blocks every month, if I have enough.
The piece in the Janauary block was to try out the celtic pattern I used for making 28 mini-bags as gifts when my class graduated. The one in this piece was just a funny experiment: once as I was drawing a cross stitch pattern, a computer-neird friend said: "Photoshop is still much better, you can use different layers in it." So, naturally, I sat down to show how I could use layers in cross stitch, using an organza ribbon.

I also would like to show my first paper-pieced pincushion. I used the English paper-piecing method, sewing by hand, then needle-turn appliqué. It is a bit wonky but I like it.



Somehow or other, as you may have noticed, I have made a heart :D :D Apparently, the Valentine-day craze has caught up with me. Who would have thought? :D :D

Free mini cross stitch patterns

How often do we need something really small to stitch? A scissor-fob, a tiny card, a gift tag, something really quick?
Here are some mini patterns for you to stitch, either on their own, or in a group, as you can see here. I have made a bookmark with them.

Feel free to experiment with colours or simple frames around them. Hope you like them.

Crocheted and knitted hat tutorial

The weather has turned really cold. One morning it was minus 17! And of course, I have lost my hat.
So I took some yarn from my stash. This is how I made my new crotted hat. Or knicheted? :D

First, I crocheted a circle about 13 cm in diameter, with single crochet:





Then I picked up stitches all around and put them on knitting needles. First tried the double ended versions, but I needed five just to fit them on:



So after a few rows I swithced to circular needles. I knitted 24 rows of garter stitch - about 9 cm. I wanted garter stitch because it is so warm. I had to keep in mind that garter stitch, when knitted on circular needles, is one row knit, one row purl.





This is what it looked from the top:



Then I cast off my knitting.



With the last stitch remaining, I started crocheting again. One row of single crochet was followed by the shell pattern.

If someone wonders, shell pattern works like this: *one single crochet, skip two stitches, 5 double crochet in the same stitch, skip 2 stitches* and repeat between the *-s. For the next row, start with a single crochet in the middle of the "shell", on top of the arc, and make the 5 double crochets in the single crochet of the previous row.



Then, when it reached almost my ears, I thought, it was a bit too wide. (Starting from the top gives us the opportunity of trying the hat on as we go.) So I thought I needed some ribbing. Picked up stitches on the knitting needles again and stitched a knit-one-purl-one rib. I also decreased every 8th stitch, and in the next row every 7th. So it became a bit more snug around my head - although it is still just a little loose.

I don't have a photo of this stage as I was knitting in the car while going and coming home from work.
After 5 cms of ribbing I cast of again, and did three more rows of the shell crochet pattern. Had to pull the hat together a little in the back, so it doesn't fall forward on my eyes, so I did that with a few stitches.

Here. It can be worn as a hat, with the shells as a brim:



or the second shell-part folded back and hiding the ribbing totally (I prefer it this way):