My pretty Whippet - Victorian era cross stitch pattern

Officially recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club in 1891, the Whippet was a popular hunting and racing dog.

This design of a smart looking Whippet with a blue collar, and colourful tasselled blanket is re-charted from an antique, hand painted Sajou pattern.

A beautiful counted pattern perfect for a framed picture, or decorative throw cushion.

Design Area: 132 x 70 stitches

If stitched on 28 ct linen/ 14 ct aida the pattern will measure :

9,43" x 5,00" / 23,9 x 12,70cm

This pattern is available on the website, ETSY and Makerist

Detail of the face - notice the missing paint.

Mars ( March ) 1844 ? or 1849 ?

Signed "Sajou"

Here you see how the charts look like in color and symbols, and just symbols

Simple cable headband - Free pattern

Having traveled abroad twice in the past month and consequently spend some considerable amount of time browsing Pinterest between flights, I developed a small  itch to knit something small, something that could be done in a couple of days, but also something useful. These are the kind of itches that ladies ( and some gents get too ) when they have several larger projects on the go, but miss the small thrill of casting on a new project on their needles.

The weather prediction was rain, heavy rain for the whole weekend, either way I had a cold and I figured we would probably be spending the better part of Saturday and Sunday indoor. 

So I took a look at my Pinterest board and found this simple, quick knit headband. The pattern recommends using drops big Merino, but my local shop didn’t have any so I just got a another  type of wool that fitted a size 5 needle. 

For 1 headband you will need:

-          - Knitting needles size 5

-          - 1 ball of yarn

-          - 1 cable needle

-          - Sewing needle

The pattern was originally written in Norwegian and can be found here: Pannebånd

( P- purl, K- knit )

-         

          Cast on 21 stitches

-        Row 1 - K1, p9, k1

Row 2 - P1, k9, p1

Row 3 - k1, p9, k1

Row 4 - p1, k3, place 3 sts on cable needle and hold in the back of work, k3, k3 from cable needle, p1

Row 5 - K1, p9, k1

Row 6 - P1, k9, p1

Row 7 - k1, p9, k1

Row 8 - p1, place 3 sts on cable needle and hold in the front of work, k3, knit 3 from cable needle, k3, p1

-          Continue until desired length, bind off and sew the ends together

40 days Christmas liquor

40 days Christmas liquor

Someone at work mentioned something about the 40 days Christmas liquor (40 dager julelikør - in Norwegian) . I had never heard about it, so naturally went online to check it out. And as expected by those who know me well, I had to give it a try.

As of right now, it doesn’t look too appetizing ! But, only time can tell, and I have to wait 40 days to see if the brown and soupy looking brew has become a Christmassy tasting liquor. 

Here is the basic recipe:

-          One glass jar

-          40 cl of alcohol ( I used Vodka)

-          1 orange pricked 40 times

-          40 coffee beans

-          40 sugar cubes ( I used brown sugar )

-          1 vanilla bean

Place all the ingredients in a clean, sterilized glass jar.

Place in a dark cupboard, and forget about it for 40 days.

Strain, and store in a glass bottle.

Come back in 40 days, and I’ll let you know the result….

God moves in a mysterious way - Antique sampler from 1886

I love adding new, and interesting pieces to my sampler collection. This sampler comes from the UK and features in delicate and tiny cross stitch the famous hymn by William Cowper (1731-1800) “God moves in a mysterious way…”

The stitching show skill, and was undoubtedly worked by an adult. The piece in un-signed, apart for the words “Grandpa’s hymn 1886”

As far as I know William Cowper never had any children, so I assume this hymn must have been a personal favorite of the grandfather who was the beneficiary of this beautiful embroidery; worked presumably by an adoring grandchild.  

The frame was damaged and not worth saving, so I had the seller send it to me only on the card the needlework had been stitched to. I was a little concerned when it arrived as it had visible signs of bug damage, namely the tell-tale sign of having been eaten and burrowed through ! I carefully examined it, even ripping a bit the cloth in the back to make sure there were no live bugs, or eggs. The last thing I want is a colony of critters eating their way through my cupboard ! Thankfully it looked like whoever did the damage had long gone, but just for safety sake I’ll keep it apart from other items until I can get it framed properly.

In the middle of the fifth verse the poor stitcher had obviously ran out of thread and had to change to one of a slightly different color. A good reminder to make sure you have enough thread to complete a project, and if possible from the same dye lot to make sure the colors are uniform.  

Evidence of a little bug having burrowed their way through the embroidery

Details - You can see how the cloth was lighter before from the marks where the frame had been,

Tiny cross stitches

The full sampler

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.