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Friday, 17 April 2020

Friday Finds: Australia declares war on a bunch of birds!

So now that I've picked myself up off the floor from laughing so much I will explain what happened. Apparently in 1932 Australia declared war on about 20,000 emus in Western Australia. After about 10,000 bullets and only 900 dead birds it was declared futile and it has been deemed that the birds won. This 'war' of course was never taught in schools which is why I'm only just learning about it now but I need to make this common knowledge!

The only war that has been declared on Australian soil and we lost to a bunch of birds!!!! hahahahahaha!!!  Only in Australia could this happen!Watch the video below to get some more information.

I hope you enjoy this laugh at our expense :D

Happy Stitching,
Caitlin

Tuesday, 14 April 2020

Easter Update

Nothing has gone to plan over the last month or so, but then again, I think that has been the case for everyone.

Fresh roasted marshmallow!
 I actually lost track of time and didn't even realise this weekend was the Easter weekend until it was almost upon us. This means that I forgot to say anything about my Easter patterns to anyone until Sunday. When I got bored and started stitching one up. I also didn't realise I had no model photos of these designs because... I really don't know. I'm sure I stitched them at some point...  or maybe not. Oh well I've fixed that now.


I will just have to get some really good photos once they are finished as little pillows.

I still had the gorgeous blue flower fabric sitting beside the ironing board and these two little bits were sitting there... well I know how I'm going to finish these! It is just perfect!! I just need to find the time somewhere in between uni and work to use the sewing machine.
 

 This little bunny is so cute!!! I just love how it turned out!

 And the little chick is just as cute!

I changed a few of the colours when I was doing this. I just picked two yellows out which turned out not to be as far apart as I thought they would be. And I also changed the black of the eyes to be a dark grey. I really like how it makes it just a little softer. As the pastel green background just needed something softer and now I've chosen the dark blue fabric I'm grateful it isn't black.


I've also managed to catch up with the peppermint purple SAL. I love how it is going so far and it's just stunning to see it come together. It is one of the few times I have ever managed to keep up with a SAL so I appreciate the awesomeness that is this piece. It's extremely small bite sized pieces that can be easily finished in a session or 2 if I don't have a huge amount of time. Also the patterns are repeating so once I get the gist of what is happening it goes smoothly.

I hope you had a Happy Easter and you are safe.

Happy Stitching,
Caitlin




















Friday, 3 April 2020

Nine Men's Morris Pattern and Tutorial

With so many people all around the world working/living entirely from home at the moment I wanted to share a free pattern with everyone. It is a Nine Men's Morris or Mill (which ever one you call it) board and pieces.


 Because who doesn't need more board games to play with their family?

This one is special though, this game is really old and has been redone in so many different forms. You might even find it on one of those multi-game boards that you can buy. I know I think I have it in two other forms?? It was made popular in Ancient Rome and there is a reason that is stuck around and is still being played today. It's actually good!

To find out more about Nine Men's Morris and to get the rules follow the link here

 I designed this game as a cross stitch because it's something you can easily play with children (upper primary and high school) and I wanted something that could be fairly quickly stitched up and used.


I chose blackwork as the main component because of two reasons. The lines are best done in backstitching because it's simply quicker. And because it allows there to be a little bit of cute detail without overwhelming the whole piece.

The little pieces are stitched and then glued onto felt. I've got a video of how to do that in the group where you will find the pattern. To get the pattern you need to be on facebook it's the easiest place to share free PDFs. I have a facebook group called Beginner Cross Stitch Designs by Naughts & Cross Stitches and you will find this pattern in the files. Also a few other freebies are there as well.

Also I  managed to film how I finished it as a little mini quilt and all the steps along the way. So you can watch that below. I'm really proud of this little piece. It's such a simple design but so practical.



I hope you like this pattern and I'd love to see your board games if you make them!

Happy Stitching,
Caitlin












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