In the last few days I’ve finished my Spring Orchard needlepoint. this was a kit by Derwentwater Designs which I bought on impulse (not like me at all!!) in Grassington. Last time I showed you it I had just done battle with all the french knots – lots and lots of them…

I still had a few more french knots to go on the border, but they didn’t take long. The border is a pretty cherry blossom design, with a double satin stitch row on the outer edge, it really finishes off the embroidery.

I really enjoyed stitching this one, I love the effect from all the different stitches, especially for the wall and the way the gate stands forward. It reminds me of the walks we’ve done in springtime when the blossom trees have all been in flower. The pattern was clear and easy to follow, my only criticism would be the amount of thread I had left- it’s easy to think Ooh, how generous, but when all’s said and done, we’re paying for it.

I clearly need to do some blocking to straighten it up as it is slightly parallelogram shape, though it’s not bad considering it was stitched without a frame. I’m thinking of trying to do this on my wool pressing mat as it is thick enough to pin it to. The finished stitching is actually only about 11cm square, so I’m just trying to decide how to finish it.

I’ll be linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday, please follow the link to see lots more hand stitching.