I was very taken with an article in Stitch magazine some years ago (still available online as a downloadable PDF, I’ve just discovered, with a little light googling) about making something called a bushkiri bag from a folded embroidered square of felt. After doodling a design, I stitched one with cotton perle threads on felt.
It was a nice little project for children and I taught it a few times at school. When I cleared out my sewing things I found I had a few partly worked pieces left, so thought they would be fun and straightforward to stitch while we were on holiday over half term.
This one had the central woven spider’s web, an off centre line of running stitch and some of the radiating wiggly pink lines already stitched, so I just evened those elements up, added some chain stitch, lazy daisy stitch and blanket stitch fans in the corners…
…and blanket stitched a piece of grey poly cotton to the back for a lining.
The pink one just had a diagonal line of large wobbly running stitches, so I took that out and made it neater before finishing it as whipped running stitch in the cafe at Honister slate mine.
I also managed plenty of plein air stitching at Stagshaw Garden, with a blaze of azaleas behind me…
…and a gorgeous view of Windermere in front.
Despite the midges, I stitched happily on…
…adding alternate rows of chain and whipped running stitch.
This one just needs a lining and then I can start on the lighter blue one. It already has a square drawn in the middle so I think I’ll probably go with that and develop it into a pattern of overlapping squares.
Some nice, steady holiday stitching.
Under A Topaz Sky 