Red lady

Materials

Evenweave linen, Anchor embroidery floss, beads, gold thread.

What was your inspiration?

A friend embroidered this lady on a pale green background to match the decor in her room. I loved it so much that I bought the pattern for myself. Whilst on holiday in the Lake District, my husband was taken ill, which meant we had to stay in for much of our holiday. I used the time wisely and got quite a lot of my Red Lady done. I used a pale bluey-grey for the background to match my (then) decor in my dining room.

What are you most proud of?

The fact that I finished it at all! I nearly went cross-eyed in the process! I was helped by varifocal lenses in my glasses, a daylight bulb and a magnifying glass to see what I was doing (I used a very fine linen - can't remember the thread-count, but I could have used larger and made life a bit easier for myself).

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

Lots and lots of people have done this embroidery, which is a commercially available pattern and part of a set. I have the "Spring" pattern as well, but haven't found the time to start it yet, although "Noel" was completed several years ago. I can only say that it isn't really difficult as long as you're careful not to make mistakes in counting the threads of the background fabric. Using Aida fabric would make it a little easier as the blocks would mean you wouldn't have to count individual threads. Just keep going and you'll finish it in the end - then stand back and wait for the compliments as non-cross-stitchers will think you're so clever!