Sheepish Pincushion

Some people lose interest in knitting during the Summer months when the days are sweltering hot, humid, and sticky and the heat is oppressive.  But not me.  I knit year round regardless of the weather.  And yet.  When it's very hot outside it is nice to have other crafts to work on that do not involve handling wool.  Such as embroidery. 

Like most knitters I love sheep from whence all fleece and hence yarn comes.  So when I saw this cute sheep adorned pincushion I couldn't resist. 

It came as a kit with everything included and very clear instructions so that even someone such as myself with relatively little embroidery skills could make it quite easily.  The nice thing about following a well written pattern is that once you've made it you can then transfer that knowledge to other projects.   I can see embroidering these cute sheep onto dishcloths, children's bibs and other clothing items.

The sheep are each embroidered with a different stitch to give a different texture and, while I hadn't thought about it before, sheep do have a variety of fleece.  Maybe sheep fleece is like hair and some sheep are just lucky to have beautiful glossy locks while others are unlucky and have a frizzy mop.  Rather like a perpetual bad hair day.

Particulars: Counting Sheep Kit (sold on Etsy) designed by Lorna Bateman of Vari-Galore Embroidery. Stitches include bullion knot, couching, drizzle stitch; satin stitch, and french knot.  The Kit came with everything I needed including needles and a handy stitch glossary for future reference.  I followed the instructions exactly and couldn't be happier with my finished pincushion.  I was also impressed with the silk floss and hand dyed thread that came with the kit.  I actually ordered more of the floss which is made by Chameleon Threads of South Africa.  If you are interested in hand embroidery I follow some blogs that regularly feature embroidery including Tiny Happy,  Posy Gets Cozy, and Allie-Oops Sweet Happy Life.

The MisAdventures of Simcha

Investigation into the case of my missing cake flour.

Really?  It wasn't you?  Because you were the last one in the kitchen where I had my cake flour. 

While Simcha maintains that he is innocent, I'm confident that I have my man.  At 18 months Simcha is still getting into mischief but is more cuddly and forgivable all the time.  Still, he does need a job and I am delighted to report that we have found him one and it involves sheep!  But I'll tell you more about that another time.
 
Until next time, be well, love well, and this Summer try varying your knitting with another craft, such as hand embroidery!