Just got a great book from Amazon called Doodle Stitching and it’s inspired me to pick up thread and hoop again.

There’s something quite liberating about this book and it takes the stuffiness out of embroidery – nothing radical here really, the stitches are all the usual ones, but it’s nice for a change to see some loose application rather than the tight, intricate, old lady colours and detail usually associated with the craft. I’m thinking of combining some embroidery patches into a quilt for the spare room and kill two birds with one stone … hmm, let’s see if I get round to that one.

Mind you, I’m working in a lovely shop a couple of days a week now which, whilst doing very well, has some very quiet moments so I can crouch behind the counter and sew till my heart’s content. I’d be pretty dumb to waste that opportunity. You’d think?