Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably-priced Love, and a hard boiled egg. Oh, and a free pattern

If you have to ask, you weren't there.

The 25th of May has become the unofficial Discworld Day/Terry Pratchett Day for Discworld fans around the globe.

Night Watch cover art by Paul Kidby

The date comes from the novel Night Watch.  In my honest opinion, this is the greatest novel in the Discworld series, and probably the best book I have ever read.  By Night Watch, Terry has sorted out the rules of his world, and is sticking to them fairly faithfully - the rules about how magic works on the Disc, how the society is structure, the politics and policies, what a dwarf/troll/human/vampire/werewolf/gnome/pixie/wizard/witch is and how they interact/relate to everyone else.  Ankh-Morpork has a more concrete map and you feel like you are living in the city.  There is a history to the world, the city, the characters that is faithfully followed.  There are people who live in Ankh-Morpork, who work in Ankh-Morpork, and who reappear in novels set in the city.  In Night Watch we as a reader are able to invest fully in the story, because we aren't trying to work out how everything else on the Disc is supposed to work.  More than that, in Night Watch we are finally able to discover the history of a lot of our favourite characters: how CMOT Dibbler got his name, how Sam Vimes became the policeman he was destined to be, what a young Vetinari was like, why Nobbs.  Lu-Tze even makes an appearance.  There's time travel, adventure, crime, war (sort of), magic, mystery, torture, coming-of-age, obligatory father figure.  Basically everything you could want in a sci-fi/fantasy novel. Even dragons (albeit small ones you can light cigarettes with)

When asked about the book's "darker" themes, Pratchett said:

"A dark book, a truly dark book, is one where there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Where things start off going bad and carry on getting badder before they get worse and then it's all over. I am kind of puzzled by the suggestion that it is dark. Things end up, shall we say, at least no worse than they were when they started... and that seems far from dark to me. The fact that it deals with some rather grim things is, I think, a different matter."

Back to the 25th May.  The 25th May was the date of the great rebellion against the political leader of the time. The People (more dangerous than ordinary people) decided they were sick of the tyrannical rule and corrupt police/torturers and rebelled, forming The Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road.  They fought for Truth.  For Justice.  For Reasonably-priced Love (seamstresses will not fight for free love).  And for a Hard Boiled Egg.

They wore the lilac and sang dirty songs about angels rising up.

Don't forget - until the end of May, profits from the sale of Discworld-themed items in my Etsy store are being donated to the Alzheimer's Australia Dementia Research Foundation. (as explained in this post).

My gift to you on this glorious 25th May is a free pattern, a memory to the Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road.

I hope the picture appears okay! You should be able to click on it for a larger version.  Otherwise, if you email me I can send you the PDF version.

The colours are DMC 209 and DMC 310. The French knots can either be French knots with DMC209, or seed beads. French knots come up better in the program I use than beads, but I prefer using beads.  I used Mill Hill 2085 but I'm not sure if they're available any more.  Why not try Mill Hill petite 40252.  Or any other purple beads you have lying around!  On 14 count aida, it will fit a standard 4x6" picture frame.

I ran out of time tonight so only stitched two of the lilac branches, which looks pretty good too (I'm the worst person for following patterns, even my own!).

Happy Stitching and fight on!

How To Cross Stitch - The Backstitch

The Ultimate How To Cross Stitch Guide - Post 4 is about the backstitch.

The Backstitch

Backstitch is the outlining.  It adds definition to your stitching, gives shape, and can draw attention to particular aspects.  Some people hate backstitch or find it tedious, but I enjoy it - I love seeing a project tie together and those weird vague shapes get a form and function.  Backstitch is also the easiest stitch - it's just creating lines.

The difference backstitch makes to a picture
The design is from World of Cross Stitch magazine

Backstitching should be left until all your other stitches are completed.  This will allow it to stand out by sitting over your other stitches.  Push your needle up at one, and then down at two.  Work your way around your design.  Backstitch lines can be straight, diagonal, or cross multiple squares.

Some designs are made up entirely of backstitch, specifically blackwork or designs featuring quotes.

This design, from the World of Cross Stitch magazine is
predominately made up of backstitch, with only a few
crosses and beads.

Coming up...

Next post will be about half-stitch, which to me is the last of the three main stitches in cross stitch.

Happy stitching!

How to... Beading

Last blog post I discussed the French Knot vs Beading debate.  It seems from the comments on Facebook, Instagram and here on the blog that there are a lot of other people who would rather bead than french knot.  As promised in the previous post, I am now going to share some of my tips for using beads in cross stitch.

The Needles

A standard cross stitch needle (size 24) is too large to bead with as the beads will not pass over the eye of the needle.  Instead, I tend to use either a beading needle or a smaller cross stitch needle - size 28 or smaller.

The beading needle is a long, thin, flexible needle which makes it very useful for passing through the beads and I'm yet to find a bead too small to fit it.  However, because it is so flexible, I find it too flimsy to stitch with.  This is why I tend to use a size 28 cross stitch needle.  The eye is small enough to fit most seed beads, and is sturdy enough for backstitch so I can combine the two to save time.

The Thread

As much as possible I match the colour of the thread to the colour of the bead.  Usually, I already have the colour of thread because I'm replacing the French knots in the pattern.  Where I can I use beads already in my stash because a) that way I'm not spending more money and b) my supply shops in town are limited (ie non existant) so I have to wait for the mail!  One easy way to match would be to take your threads with you when shopping or use this conversion chart I found while searching the net.


The Frame


I tend to place my frame on upside down when beading.  This means that any stray beads will be caught by the sides of the frame rather than slide off into the carpet or hidden depths of the chair.








Storing the Beads

Storing the beads while stitching is often the most tricky.  You can either leave them in their usual container and hope you don't send it flying, or you can place a few beads either onto a flat surface, into your upside down frame, or on the lid of an empty container.  Anything that is relatively flat so you can access the beads, but has sides to keep them from rolling away.

Starting off



If I am backstitching while beading, I will complete a few back stitches before adding the beads.  However, if I am just adding beads I will weave the thread through some already-finished stitches to anchor it in place.







Adding the Bead

Most often, beads (or French knots) are positioned in the corner of another stitch.  Push your needle up through the corner, add the bead, and then thread it back down through the same hole.  I like to try and keep my beads standing upright, although they have a habit of laying flat when I iron and frame the finished pattern.

Occasionally, the French knot in the pattern will take the place of a whole stitch.  I have mostly only come across this on printed cross stitch designs.  In this instance, I would come up from the bottom left corner and down through the top right corner as if completing the bottom half of a cross.










In actual fact, beading is really simple and straight forward - providing you don't send your container of beads flying!  Have fun and let me know how you get on.

Happy Stitching (and beading!)

Beads vs French knots

Are you a beader or a French knot fan?

One of the the most hated stitches in cross stitch is the French knot.  More so than back stitch, it's one of those things you either tolerate or hate.  And boy do most people hate it.  Have a look on any forum, magazine advice section, Facebook page or twitter feed and the French knot debate will be out in force.  

I'm yet to come across anyone who jumps up and down in joy squealing "ooh I love French knots" but I'm sure they're out there.  Strange unnatural fetishes are everywhere after all.

Personally, I hate them.  They're fiddly, they don't sit neatly, they're never of a uniform size, they untie at the drop of a hat or pull through the fabric and you find hours of work undone in an instant.

Pretty much the only time I use French knots is
to dot the i's and j's in writing.

Too bad they are such a useful stitch.  They're perfect for dotting the 'i' or adding punctuation to sentences and quotes.  They make quick and easy eyes and buttons.  They add a 3D effect and additional element to your picture.  I admit, I add them quite frequently in my patterns, particularly ones with writing.  

Which is why it is so great that there is a useful, quick, easy, simple alternative to the French knot:

The humble seed bead.

I think it was a store holder at a craft fair in Townsville some 10 or so years ago who first suggested to me using seed beads instead of French knots.  

The first time I used seed beads instead of French knots.
Angel of Dreams by Dimensions

The effect was instantaneous and amazing.  No more fiddling around trying to wrap the thread around my needle.  No more having to judge the exact right amount of tension to create the knot without pulling it through the fabric.  No more having to worry about the size of the knots. Amazing.

Okay, so you do have the added challenge of not tipping over the seed bead container, or losing your beads down the side of the couch or in the carpet.  But we wouldn't want it to be too easy now, would we?

This painted cross stitch pattern has far too many French knots
for comfort.  But never fear - I have my seed beads ready to go

I do still occasionally use French knots, particularly if there is only one or two in the pattern, or I don't have the appropriate colour on hand and don't want to wait for the postman (no local supplier in my country town!), but for the main part all my French knots are replaced with seed beads.  I'm slowly building up a collection of colours - they're so pretty!

My bead collection

If you have never replaced your French knots with seed beads, I highly recommend you give it a go.  You might be presently surprised.  In my next blog post I am going to give a bit of a step by step on using seed beads in cross stitch. 

One of my earliest beading attempts.  Not too bad, although
the thread one on the left needs to be tightened!

Or maybe you are that rare creature, the French Knot Fan.  If so, more power to you.  I bow to your talent and perseverance.  You have more patience than I do!

Happy Stitching!