How cute?!

Free baby blanket patterns

So I went a hunting and found a Free Cupcake Cross Stitch Pattern

 I don’t know whether the site is new or whether I’ve just not come across it before, but do take a look, there is a lot of helpful information on the site if you’re new to stitching, and you can buy supplies too!

Free cross stitch patterns

I’m looking forward having a go at quiltmaking and this time, actually finishing it and making it up! I do have a sewing machine but I’m going to have a go at stitching by hand in front of the TV of an evening  – I think it could be quite relaxing

Free Knitting Patterns

Daniel will be 8 weeks old tomorrow so obviously I dont have a lot of time to stitch anymore!

This is a gift for my father in law – just a little golf motiff on an oven glove using waste canvas. The motiff is a free chart available from cross-stitching

The knitting circle is almost based on a true story. It’s the story of Mary who loses her 5 year old daughter to illness, but manages to find some sense of healing when she joins a knitting circle and learns to knit amongst other women who also at some level have suffered or are suffering losses. The other women all have their own stories to share with Mary, and it’s only a matter of time before Mary is learning she isn’t the only one seeking peace or seeking answers, peace which might just be found hanging from a pair of knitting needles.
Until this point Mary has almost expected sympathy for being the only one suffering. Now she comes to learn she must show compassion towards others if she expects compassion and understanding back.
 
We as readers are expected to feel Mary’s loss however and it was suggested to me this was a bit of a weepy book but sadly, I wasn’t quite as moved by it as I thought I’d be. Perhaps that’s because I’m not a Mum yet, I don’t know. I think instead I was quite possibly more moved by the stories of some of the other characters. The death of one of the women was certainly a sad moment for me within this novel.
As a knitter myself I can agree it’s easy to lose yourself in yarn but that’s where my experience of surviving trauma by knitting ends. I would have argued that knitting does not heal to the extent it soothes Mary and the other knitters before her, but this fictional novel is written by a woman who lost her daughter to illness in real life and managed to find a source of comfort with this particular craft. With this in mind, I can hardly argue with the opinion of a writer who has experienced what I expect is every parent’s nightmare coming true.
 
Don’t get me wrong. The book is 100% moving and you’d be hard pushed not to at least fear some of the situations the women have found themselves dealing with, even if you don’t identify with their stories. You’d need a heart of stone to not feel at least something, it’s just I expected to be crying buckets and I didn’t, even with my pregnancy hormones on tap.
Nevertheless, this is a heartwarming and honest account of surviving a loss, coming through it, and slowly seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
And on a lighter note, the vivid descriptions of the yarn will make you want to increase your stash by a few ££’s!

It’s not too late to order crafty gifts for Christmas, but you’ve got to be quick! 

With living expenses getting higher, my stitchy stash has suffered over the last year, and a pretty cross stitch kit to relax with once the holiday season is over sounds like a pretty darn lovely gift to me and one both myself and any other stitching addict would love! This Santa caught my eye as a beautiful seasonal gift.

Click on the link below to see what else is on offer with Johnsons crafts!

Isn’t he just the cutest?! You can find the free pattern to knit yourself this little guy here