Why the Mental Health Benefits of Cross Stitch Can Calm Your Life

Why the Mental Health Benefits of Cross Stitch Can Calm Your Life

February 09, 2020

It’s no coincidence that the growing appetite for crafts is linked to our increasingly digital lifestyle. When we spend so much time tapped into technology, the appeal of making something with our own hands has become much greater.

Continue Reading

CROSS STITCHING THROUGH CANCER

CROSS STITCHING THROUGH CANCER

September 13, 2019

Summer 2017, I had 3 young children, and a successful career. The last thing I expected to find was that lump. But I did. And it was breast cancer.

Continue Reading

4 Reasons a Modern Cross Stitch Kit is Perfect for Crafty Beginners

4 Reasons a Modern Cross Stitch Kit is Perfect for Crafty Beginners

May 22, 2019

It’s no secret that knitting, sewing and embroidery have been some of the hottest design trends of recent years. Sweeping across Instagram in a swathe of colour and fancy stitchery, it’s been pure inspiration to see how new generations of crafters are re-imagining retro skills.

Continue Reading


Crafts for Dealing with Anxiety and Depression

Crafts for Dealing with Anxiety and Depression

August 13, 2018

Recently I was lucky enough to write a guest blog post over on Loretta's popular cross stitch site: Stitching The Night Away. Having run a cross stitch business for nearly 3 years, I regularly hear stitchers' stories and experiences of how cross stitch has not only helped them, but would go so far as to say its changed their lives. 

Continue Reading

THE BENEFITS OF CROSS STITCH

THE BENEFITS OF CROSS STITCH

November 29, 2015

You might think that creating a beautiful piece of art with our kits is a good enough reason but there's more...the process of cross stitch is also really good for you! It helps you wind down after a busy and stressful day, creates a relaxing atmosphere and focusses the mind.

Continue Reading


/*! lazysizes - v5.3.2 */ !function(e){var t=function(u,D,f){"use strict";var k,H;if(function(){var e;var t={lazyClass:"lazyload",loadedClass:"lazyloaded",loadingClass:"lazyloading",preloadClass:"lazypreload",errorClass:"lazyerror",autosizesClass:"lazyautosizes",fastLoadedClass:"ls-is-cached",iframeLoadMode:0,srcAttr:"data-src",srcsetAttr:"data-srcset",sizesAttr:"data-sizes",minSize:40,customMedia:{},init:true,expFactor:1.5,hFac:.8,loadMode:2,loadHidden:true,ricTimeout:0,throttleDelay:125};H=u.lazySizesConfig||u.lazysizesConfig||{};for(e in t){if(!(e in H)){H[e]=t[e]}}}(),!D||!D.getElementsByClassName){return{init:function(){},cfg:H,noSupport:true}}var O=D.documentElement,i=u.HTMLPictureElement,P="addEventListener",$="getAttribute",q=u[P].bind(u),I=u.setTimeout,U=u.requestAnimationFrame||I,o=u.requestIdleCallback,j=/^picture$/i,r=["load","error","lazyincluded","_lazyloaded"],a={},G=Array.prototype.forEach,J=function(e,t){if(!a[t]){a[t]=new RegExp("(\\s|^)"+t+"(\\s|$)")}return a[t].test(e[$]("class")||"")&&a[t]},K=function(e,t){if(!J(e,t)){e.setAttribute("class",(e[$]("class")||"").trim()+" "+t)}},Q=function(e,t){var a;if(a=J(e,t)){e.setAttribute("class",(e[$]("class")||"").replace(a," "))}},V=function(t,a,e){var i=e?P:"removeEventListener";if(e){V(t,a)}r.forEach(function(e){t[i](e,a)})},X=function(e,t,a,i,r){var n=D.createEvent("Event");if(!a){a={}}a.instance=k;n.initEvent(t,!i,!r);n.detail=a;e.dispatchEvent(n);return n},Y=function(e,t){var a;if(!i&&(a=u.picturefill||H.pf)){if(t&&t.src&&!e[$]("srcset")){e.setAttribute("srcset",t.src)}a({reevaluate:true,elements:[e]})}else if(t&&t.src){e.src=t.src}},Z=function(e,t){return(getComputedStyle(e,null)||{})[t]},s=function(e,t,a){a=a||e.offsetWidth;while(a49?function(){o(t,{timeout:n});if(n!==H.ricTimeout){n=H.ricTimeout}}:te(function(){I(t)},true);return function(e){var t;if(e=e===true){n=33}if(a){return}a=true;t=r-(f.now()-i);if(t<0){t=0}if(e||t<9){s()}else{I(s,t)}}},ie=function(e){var t,a;var i=99;var r=function(){t=null;e()};var n=function(){var e=f.now()-a;if(e0;if(r&&Z(i,"overflow")!="visible"){a=i.getBoundingClientRect();r=C>a.left&&pa.top-1&&g500&&O.clientWidth>500?500:370:H.expand;k._defEx=u;f=u*H.expFactor;c=H.hFac;A=null;if(w2&&h>2&&!D.hidden){w=f;N=0}else if(h>1&&N>1&&M<6){w=u}else{w=_}}if(l!==n){y=innerWidth+n*c;z=innerHeight+n;s=n*-1;l=n}a=d[t].getBoundingClientRect();if((b=a.bottom)>=s&&(g=a.top)<=z&&(C=a.right)>=s*c&&(p=a.left)<=y&&(b||C||p||g)&&(H.loadHidden||x(d[t]))&&(m&&M<3&&!o&&(h<3||N<4)||W(d[t],n))){R(d[t]);r=true;if(M>9){break}}else if(!r&&m&&!i&&M<4&&N<4&&h>2&&(v[0]||H.preloadAfterLoad)&&(v[0]||!o&&(b||C||p||g||d[t][$](H.sizesAttr)!="auto"))){i=v[0]||d[t]}}if(i&&!r){R(i)}}};var a=ae(t);var S=function(e){var t=e.target;if(t._lazyCache){delete t._lazyCache;return}L(e);K(t,H.loadedClass);Q(t,H.loadingClass);V(t,B);X(t,"lazyloaded")};var i=te(S);var B=function(e){i({target:e.target})};var T=function(e,t){var a=e.getAttribute("data-load-mode")||H.iframeLoadMode;if(a==0){e.contentWindow.location.replace(t)}else if(a==1){e.src=t}};var F=function(e){var t;var a=e[$](H.srcsetAttr);if(t=H.customMedia[e[$]("data-media")||e[$]("media")]){e.setAttribute("media",t)}if(a){e.setAttribute("srcset",a)}};var s=te(function(t,e,a,i,r){var n,s,o,l,u,f;if(!(u=X(t,"lazybeforeunveil",e)).defaultPrevented){if(i){if(a){K(t,H.autosizesClass)}else{t.setAttribute("sizes",i)}}s=t[$](H.srcsetAttr);n=t[$](H.srcAttr);if(r){o=t.parentNode;l=o&&j.test(o.nodeName||"")}f=e.firesLoad||"src"in t&&(s||n||l);u={target:t};K(t,H.loadingClass);if(f){clearTimeout(c);c=I(L,2500);V(t,B,true)}if(l){G.call(o.getElementsByTagName("source"),F)}if(s){t.setAttribute("srcset",s)}else if(n&&!l){if(d.test(t.nodeName)){T(t,n)}else{t.src=n}}if(r&&(s||l)){Y(t,{src:n})}}if(t._lazyRace){delete t._lazyRace}Q(t,H.lazyClass);ee(function(){var e=t.complete&&t.naturalWidth>1;if(!f||e){if(e){K(t,H.fastLoadedClass)}S(u);t._lazyCache=true;I(function(){if("_lazyCache"in t){delete t._lazyCache}},9)}if(t.loading=="lazy"){M--}},true)});var R=function(e){if(e._lazyRace){return}var t;var a=n.test(e.nodeName);var i=a&&(e[$](H.sizesAttr)||e[$]("sizes"));var r=i=="auto";if((r||!m)&&a&&(e[$]("src")||e.srcset)&&!e.complete&&!J(e,H.errorClass)&&J(e,H.lazyClass)){return}t=X(e,"lazyunveilread").detail;if(r){re.updateElem(e,true,e.offsetWidth)}e._lazyRace=true;M++;s(e,t,r,i,a)};var r=ie(function(){H.loadMode=3;a()});var o=function(){if(H.loadMode==3){H.loadMode=2}r()};var l=function(){if(m){return}if(f.now()-e<999){I(l,999);return}m=true;H.loadMode=3;a();q("scroll",o,true)};return{_:function(){e=f.now();k.elements=D.getElementsByClassName(H.lazyClass);v=D.getElementsByClassName(H.lazyClass+" "+H.preloadClass);q("scroll",a,true);q("resize",a,true);q("pageshow",function(e){if(e.persisted){var t=D.querySelectorAll("."+H.loadingClass);if(t.length&&t.forEach){U(function(){t.forEach(function(e){if(e.complete){R(e)}})})}}});if(u.MutationObserver){new MutationObserver(a).observe(O,{childList:true,subtree:true,attributes:true})}else{O[P]("DOMNodeInserted",a,true);O[P]("DOMAttrModified",a,true);setInterval(a,999)}q("hashchange",a,true);["focus","mouseover","click","load","transitionend","animationend"].forEach(function(e){D[P](e,a,true)});if(/d$|^c/.test(D.readyState)){l()}else{q("load",l);D[P]("DOMContentLoaded",a);I(l,2e4)}if(k.elements.length){t();ee._lsFlush()}else{a()}},checkElems:a,unveil:R,_aLSL:o}}(),re=function(){var a;var n=te(function(e,t,a,i){var r,n,s;e._lazysizesWidth=i;i+="px";e.setAttribute("sizes",i);if(j.test(t.nodeName||"")){r=t.getElementsByTagName("source");for(n=0,s=r.length;n