Cross Stitch Gifts

Cross stitch is something I quite enjoy doing, I can do it without paying much attention, so I can be chatting to someone or watching television at the same time as I'm stitching. I find it quite calming and therapeutic if I have a lot on my mind and it’s also a low energy activity- when living with ME it’s very important not to do too much high energy activity each day and so I’m always looking out for low energy activities I enjoy. Therefore cross stitching little gifts for friends and family is ideal for me; I enjoy making them and get satisfaction out of every gift I make. They’re sweet and it’s obvious that time and effort has been put into them so I think they make perfect little gifts.

These two teddy bear keyrings took three hours each to make. The design is simple so I found them very easy and think they’d be fine for a beginner. I’m a fairly slow stitcher so other people may be able to make something similar in even less time than I did. They don’t weigh much and obviously are small so they’re great for sending in the post, they can go straight in the envelope with no extra packaging/bubble wrap as they’re not at risk of breaking. They also don’t cost much to make which is good if you want to send a friend a little something but don’t have a lot of money to spare. Lots of designs can be found free online or you can create your own if you’re feeling creative.

This bookmark took a longer and cost a bit more than the key rings, but would make a great birthday or Christmas present. It took me 15 hours to make but then as I’ve said I’m fairly slow and I did about half an hour a night for a few weeks normally watching television, so others could definitely make it in less time. You’d probably have to be used to cross stitching to make something like this, and have done several smaller projects, I wouldn’t recommend this as your first, but it depends how quickly you pick things up, there’s nothing too complicated in this design.

I’ve made a few bookmarks in the past but I’ve never kept one and used it, so I have to admit I don’t know how practical they are and whether they’re durable or not but I know friends have really liked them. I’m currently working on some more cross stitch gifts which I may post when I’ve finished if anyone is interested in seeing more?

On a side note, I'm really enjoying blogging so far :) A cheery hello to my first few followers :) I've finishedd two more books which I'll be reviewing soon, I'm off to see Harry Potter tomorrow- SO excited!- which I will probably be sharing my excitement about and I have lots of ideas for future blog posts forming :) I don't know where on earth my header has decided to wander off to but hopefully I'll sort it out soon- in the meantime if my photo's show up then I'll be more than happy.

Heather xxx