Technically my first needle works were embroidery but the first pieces I finished to completion were cross stitch. My very first attempts are no longer with me as they really weren’t something I would hang on a wall and want to see every day but I had a lot of fun making them.
I loved sitting in a quiet spot and getting lost in the stitches, gradually teaching myself how to make the stitches even, how many threads looked best, which fabrics I preferred to stitch on and admiring the finished project with a real sense of having created something beautiful.
This started a lifetime of collecting threads, fabrics and searching for the next chart to stitch. My favourite cross stitch that I have completed so far came from a book I found in the craft section in a regular book shop back in the 90’s. The book was called Angels Remembered.
It’s a gorgeous paperback book that contains around 50 projects with colour charts. A quick search online showed my that it is still available to buy all these years later and if you are interested the ISBN is 157486033X.
The image on my blog header is Raphael’s Angel from one of the projects I have made with this book and it is framed on my bedside table so I see it several times every day. I have made others since but this is still definitely my favourite.
