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

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

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

Friday Find: Discussion about copyright and Fair Use

This video is awesome talking about copyright in such a way that is really useful and helpful to understand.




While he is particularly talking about youtube videos but the concepts can be put over to cross stitch patterns and art which is something that I have been particularly vocal about. I'm constantly arguing with people in groups about this.

Close To You Shawl - Finished

I think I can safely say that I am in love with this shawl! For all the time I spent agonising over actually doing it. Then choosing a pattern for such gorgeous yarn (it was a gift which made it that much harder). I FINALLY cast off on the weekend.

I honestly think I would have been happy living 200 years ago... at least fashion wise! When shawls and cowls and cloaks were a thing. Particularly cloaks. I love wrapping myself in a shawl rather than a jumper and I find them so much more fun. Though my partner calls them blankets and hates that I wear so many. Though this one is more of a scarf with a funny shape. It's not big enough to be a huge shawl.

You can see by this photo that it's not A particularly big shawl but the curved shape lends itself to perfectly wrapping around your neck!

Here is a close up of the cast off edge. It was this awesomely cute picot finish and something in all my years knitting I've never done. BUT I have never done much lace so not entirely surprising that I haven't come across this before now. I love that despite knitting for over 20 years I can still learn something new.

I honestly hope that in another 30 years when I'm still stitching I can still find things to learn.

I don't know what too me so long to finish this one but it was something that has been living in my bag and if I was to hazard a guess it's because as you go each row gets longer and it's harder to pick up quickly in the middle of something else. 

If you want to stitch one of these for yourself. The yarn is a 4 ply Merino Wool that my sister picked up from Tasmania when she visited.

The pattern is the Close To You Shawl by Justyna Lorkowska and can be found on Ravelry. 
It's a free pattern and it's so simple and beautiful and I'm so glad I did this one!

I hope that you are keeping yourself safe and looking after yourself in these turbulent times. Please stay safe and practice good hygiene.

Happy Stitching,
Caitlin