At last......the secret revealed!!!!

Yes, at last i can show you my other finished cross stitch project..........
a very cute doggie bookmark.

The reason i couldn't share this with you before is that it was a surprise present for Sally's mum, Beryl, and i know that she looks at this blog quite often, and i didn't want her to see it before i gave it to her.

I posted it out to her yesterday, and she received it today, so now i can show everyone what it is.

There are a few errors on it, as you can see on the right hand side on the dark brown of the ear, where the thread got a bit tangled and doubled up for a few stitches. I think i have solved that particular issue now - it just required a slight adjustment of my technique.

Also, if i were to do this one again, i would do it all with two threads rather than the one it says in the instructions - i did the hearts and the text with two threads, and think that they look much better than the  rest of it which is done in single threads as instructed.

The whole thing looked a bit bland until the back stitching was done on the dog's face and body - it really gives it another dimension, and i am very glad that i made the effort to do it, as i wasn't convinced there was any point, but how wrong was i?!

I also stitched some brown felt onto the back of the bookmark rather than just ironing on the white stuff that came with the kit - it not only hides all the mess on the reverse of the work, but i thought it would give it a bit more durability too.

I think Beryl quite likes it, and i hope she enjoys using it - i know that she reads an awful lot, so when i saw the kit in Hobbycraft, i immediately thought of her and simply couldn't resist it!