Scandimania

I first blogged about Clare Young’s lovely book of Scandinavian Needlecraft back in 2010, and again a few months ago. At Cornerstones last month, I had another book from the library, “Stitched in Scandinavia” by Karin Holmberg. KH’s book was full of facts about Nordic Needlework, and I got quite bitten by the bug.
When we got back from holiday, I dug out an old cream fleece throw and a ball of red crochet cotton, and my new Frixion Erasable Pen, which I bought at the Stitching Show in March

The pen is great – and has many uses.
The main thing is that the ink can be removed by friction – on paper, rub with the grey nub on the end of the pen – but on fabric, the heat of an iron will make the lines disappear. The marks will come back if you put the object in the freezer! Not everyone is convinced [cautionary tale here] but I am pleased with the results.

I drew up four designs from CY’s book, one in each corner, and then stitched them – using whipped running stitch, blanket stitch,chain stitch and French knots. I like the dandelion – Bob’s favourite is the bird [based on the book’s cover design]
It is a relatively small throw – these designs are all around 8” square. I found the synthetic fleece fabric really hard to stitch. The weave was very tight, and it was not easy to get the needle through sometimes. But I love the final result, and plan to embellish something else with more scandistitching in the future.


UPDATE - I emailed Clare Youngs about her lovely book, and my blanket and had a really kind reply. Thank you Clare!