The first stitch

    It doesn't look like much yet but I've just begun my first line of stitching on our panel of The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

    The length of heavy chain stitch you see above, ably executed by Lucy, links the spirits to the sea, and I've taken over with stem stitch to outline the heads.

    I'm consulting Crewelwork by Jacqui Macdonald to make sure I'm forming my stitches correctly, and I learn from that book that stem stitch "was heavily used during the Arts and Crafts period when it became known as South Kensington stitch".