The Ullensvang Hotel at Lofthus, on the Hardanger Fjord

Stitching in the Garden Room 

I am going to find it difficult to talk about our recent wonderful trip to the Hardanger area of Norway and our superb hotel without sounding as if I am showing off. Our original hotel had cancelled our booking so we were upgraded to the Ullensvang Hotel at Lofthus. Owned by the Utne family, this hotel simply hit all the targets. Beautiful bedrooms and superb views across the water. We had a free day near the end of the holiday and sat in the Garden room and stitched and stitched and stitched - simply Heaven!

I must thank all the people we met on our trip, who combined to  make it an unforgettable experience. Our visits to Husfliden in Bergen, our day at the Folk Museum in Utne learning Hardanger embroidery and the scenery exceeded even my expectations. With the snow still melting, the waterfalls seen from our bus were breathtaking and when Malcolm (our long suffering coach driver) put Edvard Grieg on the bus CD player, I do not think there was a dry eye to be seen! Perfect…….  

Bill and I are so pleased with the new CSG website that we popped in to see the two computer wizards at Iconnet in Gloucester and took them some real champagne! I know that after quoting a scary figure for creating the new crossstitchguild.com, the boys spent hundreds of hours making the site something special and I know they underquoted!! Thank you Ben, Nigel and James You are being so patient with me as I learn how to do this -I hope you all enjoy the fizzy!

On Saturday 26th April, Sue Hawkins and I are off to Norway with our coach load of stitching ladies and a few long suffering husbands - The phone will be manned at HQ but it may a bit patchy this week. Apologies for that.

Whilst away, Sue and I will be putting plans together for next year’s stitching holiday so keep on eye on these pages as you will see it here first. 

I thought you would like to see proof that we have a lovely time when we have a stitching day at Pink’s Barn- The sun shone and we worked a Hardanger project  - I was getting in to practice for Saturday! A lovely day was had by all - I know some of the group stayed locally and continued to enjoy their weekend treat!

* One of the projects in the next edition of Stitch That! - to be posted on Monday the 7th April. *

The name for this project came from the wonderful floodlit woodland walks held at Westonbirt Arboretum during the winter months. I was always fascinated by the stories of Hansel and Gretel and the ideas of a gingerbread house with a wicked witch! This project may be worked on linen or Aida as there are few fractional stitches.

Stitch That! with Jane Greenoff is the members only magazine with exclusive projects and charts/patterns (5 issues per year).

Not a member of the CSG? Join now.

* One of the projects in the next edition of Stitch That!  *

Sue Hawkins is so clever at making up pretty stitchers items and I was really pleased with this project. You could of course work the design in cross stitch f preferred.

Stitch That! with Jane Greenoff is the members only magazine with exclusive projects and charts/patterns (5 issues per year).

Not a member of the CSG? Join now.

* One of the projects in the next edition of Stitch That! *

This design is really a steal from a set of pictures that were on the wall in a small vineyard in Spain. Many of you will remember that Bill & I spent some time with our friends on their olive farm near Seville (Issue 61 Stitch That). During the long weekend, we were invited to visit a small organic vineyard, wander through the vines, and have lunch where a considerable amount of wine was “tasted” This project was the result of that glorious day! See pages 34-37 for more detail and instructions.

Stitch That! with Jane Greenoff is the members only magazine with exclusive projects and charts/patterns (5 issues per year).

Not a member of the CSG? Join now.

* One of the projects in the next edition of Stitch That! *

This project was inspired by a sampler I spotted whilst visiting The Spirit of Christmas Show at Olympia (Homes & Gardens magazine) last year. The original sampler was framed in a limed oak frame and was made up of stitched pieces and sections from an old damask quilt. It also cost £350! I thought it was charming but just too much money. I came home and drew out the idea that evening and here you see the end result. I just love it!

Stitch That! with Jane Greenoff is the members only magazine with exclusive projects and charts/patterns (5 issues per year).

Not a member of the CSG? Join now.

* One of the projects in the next edition of Stitch That! *

We know that these little narrow band samplers are very popular as I have seen many completed. I think stitchers like the idea of learning lots of new techniques, but if you loathe a particular stitch there will not be many of them to do. This design will need to be stitched on evenweave fabric as you cannot create some of these stitches on Aida.

Stitch That! with Jane Greenoff is the members only magazine with exclusive projects and charts/patterns (5 issues per year).

Not a member of the CSG? Join now.

This attractive and very useful Project Case is made from 28-count linen evenweave and is fully lined and includes a needle band, thread rings and a pair of gold plated chatelaine scissors. The case will hold copies of Stitch That and a folded project fastens with a goya shell button.

Keep checking Jane’s Journal and the Stitchers Market for updates.

Subscription Gift
A quick note about the postal arrangements for your resub gifts as we have had a couple of people query the way the parcel has arrived. Since the beginning of charging by proportion by the Royal Mail, we have discovered that if we pack the needle box in two pieces with the scissors under the foam, it costs 48 pence to post. If we post the box complete, it becomes packet rather than a letter which I know looks nice when you open it but costs over £1.00 in stamps! I am sure you appreciate that if we do this, it would costs the CSG in excess of £5000 a year!

Why not become a member of the CSG?

Subscription by Direct Debit
To those of you who completed Direct Debit forms last month (and there were hundreds of you) a big thank you from Bill Greenoff who would love even more of you to maintain your Membership this way as it keeps costs down, reduces paperwork and phone bills! He has decided to keep the offer open to all Members (new & old) until the end of April so if you set up a new Direct Debit for your subscription, I will send you a CSG badge and you save £2.00! If you need a DD form I can email this to you.

Why not become a member of the CSG?