We’ve just had a few days away in a little cottage in Northumberland, it’s the same cottage we went to last September,it’s an old railway cottage called Whistlestop in a little hamlet of Redesmouth, it’s relaxed and comfortable, well equipped and allows dogs! Perfect for a few days R&R…

Of course I took a few hand sewing projects to do in the evening or when it rained, I actually took four different projects, so at least if I found I had forgotten something for one I still had something else to work on…well that’s my excuse anyway! In the end I simply worked on a different project each day, a bit of variety is good!

I started this medieval style pincushion a couple of weeks ago. I’d bought the kit some time ago on a facebook destash page, it looked a bit different and rather pretty. It’s one of those pincushions where thread is pulled tight to form six segments and it has a different flower in each segment. I’m enjoying stitching it but getting a bit frustrated by the botanical inaccuracies!!

The design was already drawn on in pencil. I started with lavender, the flowers are stitched with detached chain stitch which is simple but effective. The leaves however look more like foxglove leaves, big glaucous affairs in fly stitch.

Next I stitched cyclamen, the leaves for this one were much more realistic, they are stitched with a buttonhole stitch. The flowers are stitched with detached chain stitch again, but with two or three inside each stitch to fill it out. I wasn’t keen on using chain-stitch as a filler when I made the stitch wheel and I’m still not keen, however in their defense I couldn’t think of another stitch to use instead as cyclamen are an unusual flower shape.

Up at the cottage I started doing my own thing a little bit, so when I was stitching the lilac (which is meant to be buddleia but is much more like lilac!) I used fishbone stitch for the leaves in a DMC variegated green thread. I rather like this one.

Next I stitched the roses, I used a variegated thread again for the leaves as some of my roses have a lovely bronze/purple tint to them. I used fishbone stitch again, this is becoming my favourite stitch for leaves! The roses were stitched with french knots in the middle and bullion knots around them. I’m pleased with this one too.

I’ve just started the allium and the cone flower. I’ve stitched both sets of leaves, you can see them on the photo with the cyclamen. Again the allium leaf bears no resemblance to reality and the cone flower one isn’t brilliant either. My one consolation is that the leaves will mainly be underneath I think when it is gathered up into a round pincushion.

I am enjoying stitching this pincushion, I think it will look very pretty when it’s finished…I just wish the designs were a bit more botanically correct!