Here’s the progress I’ve been making on one of my favourite types of stitching project – a sewing set, or etui. This one is called ‘Where Stitchers Gather‘, and is another design by a really talented designer, Thea Dueck of Victoria Sampler in Canada. This lovely pocket is made to contain a scissor fob, a needlebook and a scissor case. It’s mainly cross stitch, with some drawn thread work, some specialty stitches, and some scary hardanger! (Hardanger is not my best technique, as I find cutting fabric threads after I’ve spent ages embroidering around them kind of scary!)
I’m going to use the suggested fabric, which is 28ct evenweave Zweigart ‘Raw Linen’ shade, along with burgundy dupion silk for the lining, and thin wadding to give it a bit of body.
I also bought the materials pack when I bought the chart booklet from Victoria Sampler, as, although my stash is huge, and I could probably have found similar threads somewhere, I’ve found that it’s much more pleasant to just get the materials pack and be done with it. That way, I know it’s going to come out just like in the photos, and I won’t get any nasty surprises later.
When I started to stitch this etui pocket, I was in the middle of a solo retreat in a little cottage in the Peak District, in the English countryside (a few months back, now, before lockdown was imposed!!). This was where I set up my floor frame, to start stitching. The view of the garden was lovely!
This picture didn’t come out too clearly, as I took it at night, but it’s the first row of cross stitch on the pocket.
As I was on retreat, I planned to get a lot of stitching done….
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Janet Granger's Blog 
It is going to look absolutely lovely. Did the materials pack include fabrics as well?
I have a kit to do using cross stitch and hardanger, but I am quite nervous about trying it. I have watched a few videos.
I bought just the thread and bead pack on its own – you can buy the fabric separately from them if you want to, but as I can get that in the UK, I didn’t buy it from Canada when I got the beads & thread, as it just adds to the shipping cost. Victoria Sampler have a great YouTube channel, with loads of videos on how to do the hardanger.
That’s a really nice floor stand Janet. Does the lamp come with it or have you attached that?
It’s a StitchMaster wooden floor frame, that I bought from Siesta Frames years ago. They don’t do the wooden one any more, but there’s a metal version which works in a similar way. Yiu can place any size of rectangular frame, or hoop, on the long arms which can be adjusted a lot. The Daylight lamp/magnifier attachment is made specially to fit into the top of the fstand, and can be bought as an add-on. I’ve since bought a Lowery metal floor frame, but only because my shoulders were objecting to the position I sat in with the Stitchmaster – if you have normal posture, it’s a very good frame.
Ah ha! Thank you Janet. I know what you mean about shoulders (and neck!) I suffer with both due to my work, so I have to be really careful how I sit if I want to do any embroidery.
My chiropractor told me about ten years ago that if I didn’t get a ‘proper’ needlework stand that was comfortable, that eventually I wouldn’t be able to stitch at all. Quite an incentive!!!
Indeed! I had a similar conversation with my osteopath LOL! Needless to say, working practices have been adjusted to help 🙂