On January 16 this year I signed up to 100-day stitch challenge with Ann Wood Handmade

The idea is to set aside 15 minutes per day to stitch by hand

For five days, you stitch on the same page. The result is a stitched book with 20 Pages.

I felt confident that this was an achievable project

We are now working on page 17. Pinned on my design wall are my pages I have made, its very pleasing to look at them all coming together!!

It’s almost coming to the end of the challenge.

Committing to this practice every day I found that my confidence in hand stitching improved enormously

It was the then I decided to hand quilt my previous submission to Cloth in Common, “Celebrate Colour”

When the conflict in the region began, it became even more important as I sought solace in the repetitive practice of hand stitching

It was safer to dwell in music and the small details.

I learned how the small details assist in hand sewing

Threads – Not all embroidery threads are the same, and good quality is best, DMC Embroidery and Perle cotton are my choice

I hand-space dyed a lot of threads, and built up a small stash. With space dyeing you can get some lovely variegated threads

Needles – Not all needles are the same. Quality does count, though some inexpensive needles work just as well, chenille needles are especially suited with Perle cotton  

Tools- I find it quite difficult to sew with a thimble, I have tried many and recently found a silicone one most comfortable and saved my fingertips, it is not only a thimble, its also a needle gripper for the thumb!! Small smooth metal pliers helped enormously when my hands were getting tired

Fabrics – Some fabrics are hard to pass the needle through, especially Batiks and tightly woven Egyptian cotton. Linen or old bed sheets are wonderful as the needle slides effortlessly through the fabric

I’m a very slow-stitcher!!

I don’t have to be very neat, nor do my stitches need to be of even length.

I never unpick.