Cross stitch

I recently promised a "proper blog post" about my resuming attempts to learn cross stitch (after a hiatus of more years than I care to count!).

It came about in Sicily recently, as it happens. While I was there, I learned about "sfilato Siciliano"; a form of complicated embroidery which involves cutting some threads of the base material to create designs with voids, which at its most complicated resembles lace. I expressed an interest in learning how it's done but it's not something which would be quick to learn and so I was given a cross stitch project to start me off (and, I suspect, as a test of my interest, attention to detail, aptitude and tidiness).

The project is reasonably simple; a border of Aida fabric and instructions for how to create a repeating ladybird (ladybug) design. The instructions are in Italian, but fortunately the picture, is more important than the text in this case.

So far I'm pleased with what I'm achieving; I'm learning how to count! OK, so I already know how to count, but with cross stitch it's important to count the stitches in the design accurately. Centering the design correctly is also important (and a matter of counting). And I'm learning all the basics of cross stitch to boot. Of course I learned as a child, but I remember finding it baffling, somehow, that you first did all the stitches on a row in one direction, and then all the stitches in the other direction, rather than making each little cross individually (I guess I must have been very, very young!)

I like how this piece is beginning to look. There's a lot of work to go, yet (this border is 130cm long) but I've already got a plan for it once it's finished. Oh, and I'm thinking I might liven up the design a little by scattering the odd red ladybird in among the yellows.