Form-A-Lines stitching card kits are an excellent starting point for beginners in the craft of paper embroidery. They are also appreciated by those who do not have Internet access or the means to print downloadable patterns. However, for the benefit of our worldwide readership, I must state that the kits are only currently available in the British Isles and Australia.

If you are not in Britain or Australia, or if you do not want the kit, you can purchase the pattern booklets on their own and buy the materials locally…

A new website called Pinbroidery is offering two free card stitching patterns. There is a pattern called Flower Corners which features the words Happy Birthday surrounded by a beautiful square border. This versatile pattern could also be use for many other occasions by leaving off the words and adding something else…

Two new pattern booklets have been added to the Form-A-Lines stitching cards range. They are: Oriental flowers featuring birds on a vine, a flowering vine and a bird in a thorn bush; Nautical featuring a lighthouse, a porthole and a captain’s hat above a wheel…

When I was designing my Stitching Cards Tiger pattern the words “Tiger, tiger, burning bright, in the forests of the night” kept going through my mind. They were from a poem half remembered from childhood, so I decided to look it up. The poem is The Tiger by William Blake. This is how it goes:

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?…

Whilst I was doing research for my Stitching Cards unicorn design I came across some interesting information about the way it has evolved over the centuries.

The unicorn is a mythical beast whose origins can be traced back to early pagan times. Drawings of the unicorn appear on many coats of arms created in Medieval Europe and it also appears in early religious tapestries…

Six new Animal lovers’ patterns have been added to the pattern collection on the Stitching Cards web site.

They feature the following cute birds and animals: lovebirds, dolphins, flamingos, hares, hedgehogs and turtles…

Following on from my Where to buy beads post I thought it would be useful to do the same thing for card blanks suitable for prick and stitch card making. In order to display the stitching at its best the card material used should not be too flimsy; it should be strong without being excessively thick…

When the Form-A-Lines prick and stitch patterns become out of print they are made available as downloads in PDF format. The classic patterns used to be available from the Stitching Cards web site but they have now moved to a new home in the Form-A-Lines online store…

There is still time to make a card to celebrate the New Year. This would be particularly useful if you receive an unexpected Christmas card at the last minute. The Happy New Year pattern is available for purchase from the Stitching Cards web site…

A couple of readers have left messages on my “Beading needles” post asking where they can purchase the beads needed for the beautiful beaded embroidery cards. Not all bead shops sell the tiny seed beads suitable for card embroidery. It is a case of seeking out the stores that do…