About three weeks ago the craft post was about my beginnings with cross stitch on evenweave, today I want to show you something not a millions away – canvas work.

The stitches are worked in rows in a line of diagonals facing in one direction.  The piece above has some different textured threads worked through the pattern.

This square is worked in straight stitch (vertical or horizontal) and started in the centre of the piece, using carpet thrums – the  threads left on a weaving loom after the cloth has been remove.  If you live near a carpet factory it is possible to buy a bundle or bagful quite cheap.  Usually they come in a mixed bag and half the fun is sorting and sifting the colours. It can be a little dusty so wear a face mask if you are worried about inhaling the fibres.

This piece goes way back and has a story to it…

Like so many of my stories they begin with a bundle of energy that masqueraded as my doll Elly!  We received a gift for her Christening from a Master Baker employed in the same company as Jack.  When he (the baker) came to Northern Ireland for Shows and demonstrations, it was down to Jack to look after him for the week.  Many times he joined us at home for a meal in the evenings.  So this gift was a little thank you for our hospitality.  It was a christening cake and it arrived in a wooden box.

Recycling may be the ‘IN’ thing right now, but I was well converted long ago.  A wooden box… I would find good use for it some day so set it on a shelf in the garage.  With the eventually of gradualness, my princess found her toddling feet.  Being of strong independent mind she wanted to do everything unaided and this included sitting on the throne!  Thrones are a little high for little legs, so mammy set her mind to solving the problem….  💡 The box!  I gave it a coat of paint and it became a much needed step!

Time passed, legs grew and the step/box was redundant once more.  Carefully scouring and returning it to the shelf I vowed I would give it a new life one day.

A few years passed and once more my attention was drawn to the box… removing the top completely I covered and lined the inside and outside in fabric and worked the piece above for the top.

Ah!  A handy foot stool I hear you say,,, well maybe but it has another life too….

Not much sewing going on here, since the scissors is still in the packaging. 😉  But why would she when she still has a mammy to do it for her!

The little Gigolo has a story to him.  he was not made by my fair hands,  I do have one that I made many years earlier to match a workbox of my own.  This little Georgio was made by a young Elly, it is a needle case and ALL the work was her own.  Always one to jump in at the deep end, this was her first attempt at real sewing and craft work!  I supervised to make sure that no fingers were lost in to process, and as she used my electric sewing machine for the first time.

I do have the pattern for Georgio Gigolo somewhere so if you are interested let me know in the comments and I will go into more detail another week.

Bye the way Elly, I just realised that the three buttons on the front of the needlecase are real glass.  I originally had six, they were given to my by the late Mary Moreton.  I had forgotten we used them here, I searched high up and low down for them when making your wedding outfit.  Two were used on your wedding outfit to hold the tiny bag of ‘Something old, new, borrowed and blue’!