Formerly Prick And Stitch Is My Craft
Have you ever wondered why we celebrate St Valentine’s Day on February 14 and why it is associated with lovers? The ancient Greeks and Romans held fertility festivals in mid-February. It has been suggested that the Christian church set St Valentine’s Day on the same date as these ancient festivals to convert pagans to Christianity. … Read more
Your Christmas cards have been sent, the presents are wrapped and the holiday is about to begin. Here is a quiz to get you in the Christmas spirit. 1. When was the first commercial Christmas card printed in the UK? a) 1843. b) 1875. c) 1895. 2. When was the first commercial Christmas card printed … Read more
Handmade Christmas cards can be traced back to fifteenth century Germany where cards with religious pictures were exchanged as seasonal gifts. The custom of sending Christmas cards by post started in Victorian England with the advent of the penny post. One of the people who had helped introduced the penny post in 1840 was Londoner Sir … Read more
I design my stitching patterns to fit on a standard size double-fold card. These types of cards may not be available locally to you, particularly if you live outside of the UK. There are other options and the results can enhance the design in a creative way. A double-fold card has three panels. The right-hand … Read more
I have been designing stitching cards for over ten years but the origins of the craft go back a long way in history. Card has probably been used as a base material for embroidery since card itself was first produced. In the 1800s sheets of perforated paper became available to needle crafters. This started the … Read more
Earlier this summer I went on holiday to the beautiful village of Klosters in the Swiss mountains. It is in a tree lined valley with wooden chalets built alongside a fast flowing river. We stayed in a traditional hotel and the lounge area had a large fireplace. Not that we needed a fire in the summer, but one could imagine a log … Read more