The Crafty Mummy presents

Rainbow BlocksGorgeous cross stitch patterns

for you!

made with

http://beacon.by/welcome/?utm_source=freemium&utm_medium=badge&utm_campaign=Beacon Badge&ref=rainbow-blockshttp://beacon.by/welcome/?utm_source=freemium&utm_medium=badge&utm_campaign=Beacon Badge&ref=rainbow-blocks

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Introduction

What You Need

Rainbow Block 1

Rainbow Block 2

Rainbow Block 3

Rainbow Block 4

Rainbow Block 5

Rainbow Block 6

Rainbow Block 7

Rainbow Block 8

Rainbow Block 9

Cross Stitch Tips

In this eBook

13.

14.

Read More

Some Ideas for your Blocks

Cross stitch... quilt along... St Patrick's

Day... rainbows... yes, my brain jumps here

and there!

But I put all those thoughts together and

decided to create some mini cross stitch

charts based on quilt blocks - combining

two crafts I love! With St Patrick's Day

coming soon and my well-known love of

rainbows (see this rainbow crochet and

this rainbow crochet), I decided to use

rainbow colours for my stitching.

I couldn't stop at one chart though! I'm

going to share a series of rainbow blocks -

nine altogether - over the next couple of

weeks. All of them will use the same

colours and can be stitched as individual

mini projects or put together into a larger

project. I'm so excited about these!

IntroductionI pulled out some cross stitchprojects recently andremembered how much I LOVEit! I find it very relaxing to stitchthose precise little crosses andend up with a picture.

My brain started ticking...

http://thecraftymummy.com/2012/07/crochet-rainbow-blanket-tutorial/http://thecraftymummy.com/2014/01/rainbow-stripe-crochet-blanket/

Red: DMC - 321 (Anchor - 9046)

Orange: DMC - 740 (Anchor - 316)

Yellow: DMC - 743 (Anchor - 302)

Green: DMC - 704 (Anchor - 256)

Blue: DMC - 799 (Anchor - 136)

Indigo: DMC - 311 (Anchor - 148)

Violet: DMC - 550 (Anchor - 102)

What YouNeedHere are the rainbow coloursI've chosen to work with.

They are all DMC thread - myfavourite for strandedembroidery cotton. But I'veincluded the Anchor colournumbers in my list below incase that's your preference.

I'm planning to stitch all nine of my

rainbow blocks for display in a frame so I

have stitched this one in the middle of my

fabric. I've started with fabric that is

approximately 30cm square so there will

be plenty of room for all of the blocks. I

have stitched my sample with two strands

of thread. If you use Aida in count 14 or 12,

you might prefer to use three strands of

thread at a time.

RainbowBlock 1This first block is rainbowstripes. The finished block is 26stitches square and I havestitched mine on 16 count Aidacloth. Aida cloth is a specialtype of cloth with very eventhreads that form perfectsquares with easy to see holesfor stitching cross stitch. It isavailable in various "counts" orsizes, which refers to how thickthe threads are. The larger thecount number that smaller thecross stitches will be, sobeginners often start on 12count Aida cloth which has nicebig squares and is easier towork with. You could also buybeautiful linen especially forcross stitching and hardingerwork that has very eventhreads.

As you can see I'm stitching my blocks

onto one piece of Aida cloth and I'm

leaving four rows of blank space between

the blocks. My nine blocks will end up

forming a square so this block is directly

below the first block.

RainbowBlock 2I have been stitching furiouslyso that I can share this nextRainbow Block with you! Soexcited about this project!

This block was inspired by aclassic quilt pattern calledCourthouse Steps. When it ismade in fabric, you start withthe square in the middle thenadd strips of fabric to eitherside of the square in turn tobuild it in a bigger square. It isprobably one of the simplestpatchwork blocks to sew as it isall straight line sewing andrequires less precision thansome other blocks.

Here's the free chart for this block. Once

again it is 26 squares by 26 squares, and I

am leaving 4 squares in between each of

my blocks so that the finished 9 blocks

will form a grid.

RainbowBlock 3Yay! The next Rainbow Block isready to share!

This one is not exactly based ona quilt block but it couldcertainly become an easy block.I took the idea of a quilt blockcalled Chinese Coins andplayed with it a little. ChineseCoins usually has rectangles offabric stacked up, sometimeswith a dividing strip in betweeneach stack. Mine has threesections with the rainbowreversed in the middle sectioninstead. I also adjusted thewidth of the green row in themiddle to tie all the stackstogether. I had fun creating thisone!

I recently wrote about using ahoop for stitching over theweekend. I use an 8" hoop thatI've had for years, but there arelots of hoops out there.

http://thecraftymummy.com/2014/03/stitching-with-a-hoop/

Here's the free chart.

RainbowBlock 4It is time to share the next inmy series of Cross StitchRainbow Blocks. This block isnumber 4 and is a nice simpledesign that really shows off therainbow colours. I stitched mostof this block when we wereaway for the weekend with myfamily and it was a simple oneto do without having to refer toa pattern all the time. Eachband of colour is two rows ofcrosses, and the colours cycletwice through the rainboworder - starting at the bottom ofthe block - but leave off the lastcolour at the top.

Here's the chart for Block 5.

RainbowBlock 5This might be my favouriteRainbow Block so far I think. Istarted playing with chevronsbut in the end having just onechevron in the block looked thebest. Once again the rainbowcolours are lovely - although ithas just occurred to me: whatorder do the colours go in areal rainbow? Red at the top orred at the bottom? I will have tofind out! I've been kind ofalternating the order for myblocks. The first block even hasthe rainbow radiating out fromthe centre! So real life doesn'treally matter here, but now I'mcurious.

I finished this block the other day and

started on the next block.

I was stitching at KYB, a ladies group I go

to each week, when I started the next

block and didn't start in the right place. So

TWO DAYS later when I had stitched about

a quarter of the next block I realised my

mistake and had to unpick everything I

had done. Sigh. Not happy. Oh well. These

things happen.

RainbowBlock 6It is time for another RainbowBlock. This one is based on thequilt block called Log Cabin.This is a really traditional quiltblock that is easy to sew andlooks quite different dependingon the placement of thecolours. Sometimes it is done indarks and lights which createsstripes when all the blocks aremade into a quilt. I've seen afabulous version with redsquares in the centre of eachblock and then black and whitestrips.

But back to the cross stitch...

Block 7 is a series of smaller squares

enclosed in a simple border. A quilt block

like this is super easy to piece, perhaps

one of the easiest types of blocks to sew

in fact. But I love the idea that this block

could actually become a whole quilt just

by using larger squares. The colours are

somewhat random in this one but if you

look carefully there is symmetry in their

placement.

RainbowBlock 7Somewhere over the rainbow...your dreams are waiting to befound...

Gold at the end of the rainbow...those good things are outthere...

Rainbow after the rain... nomatter what hard stuff we gothrough, there's a "rainbow"waiting at the end for us...

The concepts associated withrainbows make me smile almostas much as the colours of therainbow!

I'm so loving stitching my ownrainbows and today I'm sharingblock number 7.

Here is the free chart for this one:

RainbowBlock 8I'm sure I've picked a favouriteblock before but I'm changingmy mind: THIS is my favouriteblock! This is number 8 in myCross Stitch Rainbow Blockseries and I love it! Most of theblocks have been based directlyon traditional quilt blocks butthis block came from myimagination. I started playingwith chevrons and ended upwith this. I love the way thechevrons point to the centreblock and also away from it.

I've been so excited to seesome folks on Instagramstitching these blocks alreadyand to hear of others alsostitching. I've been enjoyinghaving some "slow" time myselfas I've done this project in themidst of my life that seems tobe busier and busier. In fact I'menjoying it so much that I'malready planning my next seriesof blocks in my head!

http://www.instagram.com/craftymummy

RainbowBlock 9I was so determined to finishthis last Rainbow Cross StitchBlock that even my broken armcouldn't stop me! I will admitthat my arm hurt a little afterstitching, but the physio toldme today that I need to try tomove it more so I feel totallyjustified in using cross stitch asoccupational therapy!

This is the last of my set of ninecross stitch blocks based onquilt blocks. This one is a seriesof rectangles stacked like bricksin the same rainbow coloursthat I have been using all along.It was a fairly simple patterndespite all the colour changing.

Here is the project with all nineblocks. You can see that it is notquite finished in this photo. Iadded some stitching betweenthe blocks - what is called"sashing" on a quilt. My nextmove will be to give it a gentlehand wash to get rid of any dirtand oils from my fingers. I'll dryit lying flat then use a warmiron to press it carefully. I'mgoing to frame it in a squareshadow box type frame.

I find it easier to find the middle of my fabric and start stitching near the

middle of the design.

Putting your fabric in a hoop can make it easier to stitch.

Avoid knots on the back of your work if you can - click here to learn how

to start stitching without a knot.

Work each colour block - this means you don't have to change colours all

the time.

Avoid skipping too far across stitches on the back of your work - it leaves

loops that you might catch with your needle later and cause your work to

pucker.

Work all your stitches the same way so they look uniform. On my work all

the bottom stitches of the crosses go from bottom left to top right, then

all the upper stitches go from top left to bottom right.

It's all about counting the stitches - each little square on the chart is one

cross stitch.

Cross Stitch Tips

http://thecraftymummy.com/2010/08/starting-your-stitching-with-no-knots/

Tips for Using a HoopLearn how to prepare a hoop and use it when you're stitching

How to Start Stitching without a KnotLearn to start stitching without a knot on the back of your work

How to Cross StitchLearn the basic cross stitch

How to Transfer a PatternLearn to transfer a pattern to your fabric for stitching

Thread StorageSee how I store my hundreds of embroidery threads

Tips for Stitching with KidsGet the kids started on this easy hobby with these tips

Read More

http://thecraftymummy.com/2014/03/stitching-with-a-hoop/http://thecraftymummy.com/2010/08/starting-your-stitching-with-no-knots/http://thecraftymummy.com/2014/10/cross-stitch/http://thecraftymummy.com/2014/01/stitching-how-to-transfer-a-pattern/http://thecraftymummy.com/2014/02/craft-storage-embroidery-threads/http://thecraftymummy.com/2013/07/tips-for-stitching-with-kids/

I've been thinking about what else you

might make with these free designs.

Keeping in mind that there will be nine

altogether, I am planning to frame mine in

a square frame. But you could use the

designs individually to decorate all sorts

of projects like these:

a coin purse

a brooch

a bag

a glasses case

a pencil-case

a head band

a wristlet

a scarf

a bookmark

Some Ideasfor yourBlocks

made with

Rainbow BlocksIn this eBookIntroductionWhat You NeedRainbow Block 1Rainbow Block 2Rainbow Block 3Rainbow Block 4Rainbow Block 5Rainbow Block 6Rainbow Block 7Rainbow Block 8Rainbow Block 9Cross Stitch TipsRead MoreTips for Using a HoopHow to Start Stitching without a KnotHow to Cross StitchHow to Transfer a PatternThread StorageTips for Stitching with Kids

Some Ideas for your Blocks