Sakura Stitchin’

I have a confession to make. I have a UFO cross-stitch from 2005 that despite bringing with me to Japan and pulling it out to finish when Ellie was still boxed up and is only about 3″x3″… is still unfinished. And a beautiful gift from the equally beautiful Lisa at Button Bliss of the Not So Shabby Heart stitchery pattern last year is still sitting in a ziploc bag with the fabric, interfacing and thread I bought for it in the cupboard. Yet I bought a new pattern on the weekend, along with the necessary  floss, new needles and a hoop and have powered through it.

It is supposed to then be sewn together with the plain half to make a cushion cover, but it’s a bit too small, so I’ll be adding a border to bring it up to the right size.

It’s a Japanese design – reminiscent of the gorgeous patterns on the paper available here. It came pre-marked with the pattern. The Japanese instructions tell me to wash and iron it once I’m finished (I think) so maybe the marks will come off? We’ll see. It’s going super quick being able to load a few stiches on the needle but the fabric is quite thin, so I’m having to be careful to not stretch it out of shape.

I’m using Cosmo #104, #1105, #2262, #373 and #673, and am using a triple strand… is that what you call it? Three strands threaded onto my needle? Yes, I’m new at this whole thing and am still learning the lingo. The best part is that I signed up to my local-ish craft store’s card and now get 10% off most products. Sah-weet! There was a whole range of different designs available including sashiko patterns, so I foresee a few more of these in my future!