Where Stitchers Gather etui by Victoria Sampler: 2 – starting to stitch the design of the etui

This is my progress on the ‘Where Stitchers Gather‘ etui pocket and smalls, by Thea Dueck of Victoria Sampler in Canada.

Thea’s instructions in the chart booklet are really clear – the rows of the design are numbered, and there are lots of written instructions for each section, plus diagrams.

What I like about Thea’s designs is that they are not simply cross stitch – she is always challenging you with new stitches to learn! Look at this panel, for instance – the background is plain green crosses, but then the flowers in pink are each a different stitch!

And then, if you look closely in the bottom right hand corner, there’s the date I started this written in cross stitch in one strand over one thread, too (upside down, on purpose, but the reason for that will become clearer later).

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Where Stitchers Gather etui by Victoria Sampler: 1 – getting started

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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