Scarlet Quince News
January 2013

Happy New Year! Here's wishing you a very stitchy 2013!

Both of our new patterns are by suggestion this month! The first was Her First Place - G. D. Leslie, suggested by a gal from Norway who wishes to be anonymous. The other is Almond Blossom - Vincent Van Gogh, suggested by Kier Salmon from Washington. Both ladies have been sent copies of the patterns they suggested, and thank you both!

If you like to start stitching at the top left corner, instead of in the middle, how do you find the top left corner if the background isn't stitched? This question came up recently, and as it wasn't immediately obvious to us either, we thought it was worth addressing. The key is that the very top and bottom rows of the chart, and the leftmost and rightmost columns, all have at least one stitch. (They may be mostly blank but there will be one stitch somewhere.) This means that the location of the top left stitch is still the top left square of the chart. However, there may not be a real stitch there. So you would measure to your starting location and then count to the first actual stitch.

Here's an example. This is the top left corner of the free chart.

If the fabric calculator tells you that the top left stitch is 5 inches in and 5 inches down, you would measure to that point on your fabric and mark the spot. That's where the stitch located at the red dot would go if there was a stitch there. To get to the nearest actual stitch to that point (highlighted yellow), count over 22 and down 2 and start stitching there. If you are off by one or two it won't matter.

Of course, this is easier for some patterns than others. If it's a long way to that first stitch from the top left, it may be easier to count from the top center. To do this, fold your fabric in half along a vertical line, then measure down the amount the fabric calculator said. Mark that point and count from there to the stitch closest to the center arrow at the top of the pattern.

We have a lot of new pictures in the gallery! If you haven't visited in a while, stop on over! They're worth a look.

Almond Blossom
Vincent Van Gogh

Her First Place
G. D. Leslie