Final lesson.....

How have you been going

with your Chicken Scratch Stitchalong?

If this is your first visit, click

here to see where

we started.

If you have completed

all of your corners, now you

can work on the centre.

Sorry about the angle of the

photo, but this is what I did....

Here is a close-up of the centre diamond using stitches used in the corner design...

...and this is what I did each side....

.....however the end result

is up to you, and the number of squares you have, or want to stitch.... find the centre of your runner, and design your centrepiece from there, utilizing the stitches used in your corners ... :)

I hope you have enjoyed this

stitchalong, and my

instructions have made some

sense...lol... 

Let me know

what you think, and what you

did for the centre of your design ....

and also if you want me to

stay clear of stitchalongs...lol...:)

Thanks for joining in, and
happy crafting,  Jenny

Lesson 4.....

Okay, now the fun
part.... finish filling in
the triangles :)

Bring the needle up
very close to your straight stitch...


Pass the needle under the
straight stitch... you don't go
back through the fabric...


Imagining your brought the
needle up at 3 o'clock, and
passed it under the stitch and 12 oclock....

....continue to pass the
needle under the straight stitch
at 9 o'clock, then 6 o'clock, and back
under at 3o'clock.....

...gently draw thread firm...


....and repeat the above steps.....


....then take needle back down
fabric close to where you originally
came up....(apologies for the
blurry picture!)....


....and again pull thread at back
to firm stitching.....

....and repeat whole process
over each dark square.....

....as you can see, I made
good use of different threads.....
the main reason at the start of the project, was
for the photos, however the end result is up to you!



Enough for this week.



Next stitchalong post we
start on the centre.

'Til then, happy crafting,  Jenny

Lesson 3.....

Are you still there...lol......
if you have just arrived, the image above is on my left sidebar.... click it to see where we started...

It's time to fill in those corner triangles!

I guess the best way to
explain this, is you stitch a row

of straight stitch  across the
middle of the lighter  coloured squares.

After all that you had to
do in Lesson 2, I will
leave it there for this week, so
that you can do the same for each
of the corners, and I'll
be back again soon to
finish the corners.

Let me know how you are going :)

Happy crafting,  Jenny

Chicken Scratch Part 2.....

How did you all golast week? 

This week we actually
start stitching, however
it's not too late to join!

I designed my sampler around the number
of squares, and stitched the
corners first.

To start off with, I placed a pin in the centre of each side.  I then planned the size of my triangle on the number of dark squares on the short side of the fabric.  This is why I haven't stipulated how many stitches... it will depend on the number of dark squares you have.

Okay... let the stitching begin!!

The stitch illustrated above, is called a Double Cross Stitch.

To work this stitch, begin a traditional cross stitch (I have used the darker shade square for this).  Start at the bottom left corner of your chosen square, needle down at top right, then up from bottom right to top left.  The next step is to make like a 'plus' sign (or for easier explanation I'll use clock numbers) over the cross stitch.

Come halfway down the square on the left (9 o'clock) and bring needle down across to the right (3 o'clock)

then work from halfway along the bottom of the square (6 o'clock) to halfway up the top of the square (12 o'clock).  You should now have what looks like four big straight stitches at different angles to make.....

a Double Cross Stitch.

Using the darker squares only, continue to work Double Stitches to form a triangle.  A word of caution - be careful as you turn your work around, because the layering of your stitches will change.  You may prefer this. As I say, I will explain the basics - the end result is your choice, and sometimes the pictures are better to follow than words!


Continue for the three other corners, and I will be back with more.

Let me know how you are going :)

Happy crafting,  Jenny

Hi everyone, I hope you are managing to keep your feet dry with the wet weather we are having at the moment... lol :)

This week, I popped in to a couple of places along the way.  While on the road, I tried to avoid some of the showers , but you have to admit, sometimes it's the little things in life that can bring a smile to us all :) 

While I enjoy all of my stops along the way, the height of this 'jaunt' was worth the visit.....

.....hopefully after the last link, my 'jaunts' won't all be down hill from now on...lol...

'Til next time, happy crafting,  Jenny

Hi everyone, I hope your week
is going well.

Given the weather recently,
Winter is upon
us, and another month
has disappeared!!
You are welcome to add this
to your sidebar :)

Happy crafting,  Jenny