It’s that time of the year again. Summer is drawing to a close (though we are promised some more lovely warm and sunny weather in the week ahead), and the countryside is beginning to don its autumn colours. The wheat in the field next to our house has been harvested and I’m busy gathering in produce from my Kitchen Garden too. The garlic and onions were gathered and stored some time ago now, while last week it was the turn of the broad and borlotti beans….
The courgettes (zucchini) are ongoing of course. I always seem to plant too many! Everyone else also has an abundance so there’s no possibility of giving away my surplus, but luckily the chickens enjoy any I can’t use in the kitchen, picking out the seeds at the centre before gobbling down the soft flesh in the greediest manner possible!
Twelve Days of Christmas Flags
I have been undecided about whether or not to offer my Twelve Days of Christmas flags digitally for a couple of reasons.. Firstly one of my photos was stolen by a Chinese company offering a bunting kit… luckily only the one of the pre-printed fabric which they then paired with a completely different design. But also I rather took to heart something I read online from a company that offers only kits and is totally against digital patterns. In particular the following sentence…
How does a PDF download make someone feel. It’s hardly great fun to receive, it could make you feel incredibly intimidated and how does that build any relationship between us. It’s too transactional – where is the heart?
I really really hope that Bustle & Sew customers don’t feel this way about me and my patterns. I haven’t met very many of you in person (except the lovely ladies who have been to stay in our shepherd’s huts, Rhubarb and Custard), but I do love to hear from you all and try to respond as much as possible, having made quite a few “online friends” amongst fellow stitchers over the last 16(!) years.
My view is that kits definitely have a place in the crafting world, there’s no doubt in my mind about that. But I love the flexibility, adaptability and affordability of digital patterns. I love that there’s no waiting about to receive something in the post (which can take sometimes weeks if I’m posting to the US or Australia for example). The post also adds a massive amount to costs – it is £7.20 to ship a printed panel to the US without tracking!
I also love that the person stitching the design can use up any floss they may have left from earlier projects, stitch the pattern onto anything they choose, change the colours, size or anything at all they want, so harnessing their own creativity and making their finished item absolutely unique and totally their own. Also there’s no waste (good for the environment) as you’re not duplicating items (such as a hoop or needle) that the stitcher may already have.
So, after reminding myself of all this, I said to myself very strictly, “Helen, get over yourself” and I did and have now listed the Twelve Days of Christmas flags on Etsy as a digital pattern.
CLICK HERE for the Twelve Days of Christmas on Etsy
It’s a Dog’s Life!
And finally, thinking about the shepherd’s huts… we always mention our guests that they may well hear a little bell jingling around the garden. We tell them that they’re not imagining this – it’s Alfie who wears a bell because he was born deaf and if we can’t see him to call him with hand signals we need to know where he is. Almost without exception their reaction is…”Aw, poor little thing.”
Does he look like a poor little thing to you?! I don’t think so – he is the happiest pup I have ever known! Probably because, as my daughter Rosie says, “he’s never heard himself being told off!”
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