After twenty-eight years on this planet, I’m still shocked every time summer starts, especially in England. It always comes as a surprise. It’s cold and windy one day, and the next, it’s so hot, and the sun is shining so bright that my autumn heart stops beating for a second, sad and already tired of a season that has barely started. It’s a bad day when I have to leave my trusted jacket at home.
I don’t like summer. Besides the heat, the days are way too long (it’s 10 pm, it should be dark!) and the houses in England are not ready for this type of weather. Give me rain and snow, and short cloudy days.
So because I don’t like this season, I always try to do things that bring me comfort, like the 90s movie marathon I started the second it got above 20°C. And one of the things that bring me comfort is the Craftpod boxes! I was so excited when the seasonal project turned out to be a cross-stitch because, lately, I don’t have the concentration for an embroidery project. I prefer the jigsaw-likeness of cross-stitch.
Sunflower cross-stitch
This project came with two fabrics, one in off-white and one in black. Normally I would’ve chosen the black fabric, but I decided to keep it for a future Halloween cross-stitch instead.
The pattern is nice and simple, though I took liberties with the length of each flower. It’s almost impossible for me to follow directions, I always end up making minor changes.
In this case, all the flowers were supposed to be the same length, but I liked it more with each flower following the curve of the hoop instead.
My companions for this project were lots of Nancy Drew episodes and tea.
The Craftpod summer box came with a second project, an embroidered butterfly brooch I’m not a fan of. I don’t like brooches much, and the design is bigger than I would feel comfortable wearing. I’ve added the project materials to my endless collection of future projects because, who knows? I might be a butterfly-brooch-wearer in the future.
The box also included a vintage sunflower print, which I love. Craftpod always has the best prints!
Overall, this was a cute and fun project. Watching Nancy Drew and the gang solve paranormal mysteries in a creepy coastal town while following this cross-stitch made me forget the weather for a while.
Craftpod has announced they will stop doing seasonal boxes. I think Autumn will be the last one. I’m not sure what their plans are for the future, but I hope the Autumn box is a good one, I can’t wait!
Willow in Winter 