By popular demand...

....or "How to make a Trinket Tray":-


First backstitch a line around the design about 1" out from the stitched square, (the exact distance depends how deep you want it. Mine is about 1/2" deep).
Cut the stitched square out with a scant 1/2" allowance beyond backstitch. Cut a square of print cotton the exact same size. Fingerpress allowances to back on both squares, put them wrongsides together and whipstitch together, stitching through the backstitches on the linen and picking up a couple of fabric threads on the print cotton.
Pinch corners together and stitch through to hold them together. I put pairs of very tiny buttons on mine when I stitch through.

I don't usually bother stiffening the stitched piece, specially if I've I used a very stiff starchy piece of linen, but you can always iron some medium weight interfacing onto the back of the stitched piece first. If you do that you need to use one square piece for the base and four strips for the sides, leaving the small squares in the corners free.


For more details see my many published works ;D ;D ;D

Monthly Challenge - January

Today is "Reveal Day" for the January Monthly Challenge at Jayne's Attic so I can show my finished challenge piece. We all stitched Eliza's Pyn Pillow which is available from With My Needle. I did mine on 32ct raw linen using Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Cidermill Brown, Old Blue Paint, Berry Cobbler and Shutter Green, and finished it as a tiny trinket tray.

You can see all the other wonderful finishes of this design at the chat forum on Jaynes Attic

More sneaky peeks.......

OK Clever Clogs ;D

(Yes Helen and Julie I mean you), here are a couple more peaks at forthcoming releases. Watch this space as they say..............

Busy, busy, busy!

I'm onto my 4th finish for 2008 and I can't show you any of them ;(

The first is for the "Monthly Challenge" at Jaynes Attic so I can't reveal that until later in the month, and the others are all forthcoming Alchemy designs for release in February.

Oh go on then, heres a sneaky peak at a tiny bit of one of them..........

Happy New Year...

... and this little corner of Cornwall already senses that Spring is on the way. I went out this morning to find frogspawn in the pond. I didn't take a picture because it would have looked like a cross between tapioca pudding and pea soup, and some of you might have just eaten, so here is a picture DH took at the beach last week instead.

Exchanges revealed

All the Christmas exchanges I've taken part in have now been recieved/revealed, so I can share some photos. Many thanks to Julie for the wonderful sampler style pincushion (all stitched over 1!), and to Karen, Rebecca and Gail for the wonderful stitchy gifts. Many thanks also to Claire, Ish and Karen for organising the exchanges at Jayne's Attic.

Now if only someone would gift wrap two extra hours a day for me, I'd find time to do justice to all this lovely stash!

Happy Christmas!

My Mum is arriving today to spend Christmas and the New Year with us and this will be my last blog entry before Christmas, so I wanted to wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Prosperous 2008. The picture is my display of hand stitched ornaments, many of which I have recieved in exchanges from you lovely people in cyberland.

Hope the Man in Red brings you lots of stitchy stuff!