14/06/2026
Happy Sunday! What a scorcher it has been. I hope you’ve enjoyed it if you like the heat, or managed to stay cool if it’s not your thing.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that May and June are busy birthday months in my family. They really are, and we’re not done yet. One just around the corner is that of my younger sister, Ashley.
A few years ago, I decided to make a tapestry for her 40th birthday. I thought I’d share it with you today because it later became our Country Cottage canvas. I used LOADS of colours in my original and had to reduce them to twenty-five shades for our printer, who was not amused at having to squeeze so many colours into a small canvas.
As you can see, I designed it as I went, working from the bottom up. I knew I wanted to have a thatched cottage in the design, and hens in the garden.
As for the colours, I pulled them out of a big bag of bright wool left from many earlier projects. If you’re stitching Country Cottage, I’d recommend this relaxed approach.
I think putting ‘40’ in the roof worked well, so there’s a tip if you’re thinking about stitching Country Cottage for a big birthday. You could also put initials in there if you want to.
Country Cottage is in the Printed Canvas Only area of our website. It’s a lovely canvas to stitch in the garden or in front of the TV as I hear there’s a bit of sport on for the next few weeks ⚽️
