Orange Bell Pull by William Morris

Hi, I'm back with a finished object that I have had sitting around for about 2.5 months.  I finished the cross stitching about 2-3 weeks ago and just left it hanging up clipped to a skirt clothes hanger that has grips.   It was hanging on the front of my wardrobe, just looking at it and thinking about how I am going to finish it.

I had ordered some cotton fabric and wadding and today, after I had finished the ironing pile, I decided to just get on with it and finish it.  

The method I used to finish it was to iron some fusible interfacing onto the back of the cross stitch, cut some wadding and backing to size and then once stitched around 3 sides, I turned it into the right way out and then hand stitched the hem bit at the top.  

I had purchased a wooden and magnet brackets with string and it has gripped the top of the Bell Pull and is now hanging in my living room on the wall, above my head, where I sit and craft.

I got the pattern from a book that I had purchased from a charity shop.

The book is called 'The Art of William Morris in Cross Stitch" by Barbara Hammet.

There are such a lot of great patterns in the book and I fell in love with this one.  The design is originally stitched on a blue even weave but I didn't like it.  

I stitched it on 32 count even weave in a beige/cream colour and also  used DMC threads and once I had finished kitting it up, I started  stitching "in hand" at first.

I did use a hoop at one point but didn't like the marks it was leaving so I changed to a rectangle scroll frame which, although felt a bit uncomfortable, I did persevere with it.  

My partner bought me a Lowry Stand which is metal.  It has a plate at the bottom which fits under your sofa and then an adjustable rod that twists round.  It then has an adjustable bar that you clip your cross stitch frame to and you can swing the work near you or away from you.  

The stand helped so much with completing the cross stitching.  I do suffer with vertigo so having my head downwards all the time, does make me dizzy and this frame has helped with keeping my head up a little. 

So, there you have it, a completed project that I hope will be around longer than I am.  I have tagged it at the bottom with my name and the year.

I will be back in a few days time to show off my completed crochet blanket.  I just have ends to sew in and then take a good photo of it.  I was thinking of posting a picture on my Instagram account but the blanket's recipient is on there and I don't want to spoil the surprise.  It is there Christmas present.

I will be back soon, hope everyone is keeping safe.