Sometimes I feel like Daffu Duck in Duck Amuck (a family favorite). You know the part where his head is a daisy and he complains about how he is so put upon. I stitch and stitch but I find myself going back to the same old favorite stitches. Yes, the needlepoint looks good, but have I been stretching myself enough, when it comes to trying new stitches? I rely far too much on the same old stitches, especially for backgrounds. I’ve been feeling as if this were the case but it really hit home when I was picking a stitch for the mitten cuff, pictured here. I was thinking about using Diagonal Trellis, a fine stitch but one I use often. But it isn’t new, so I challenged myself, and I’m going to do this whenever possible, to find a stitch I hadn’t done before. I have dozens of stitch books and plenty of thread, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one. And I did, this stitch, Scotch Steps, is a Scotch Stitch variation and I found it in the Golden Gate Canvas Workers Background Book. I’ll keep myself honest by sharing with you, from time to time, the [...] Related posts: Make Something Beautiful while Learning New Stitches Two Great Stitches from Rittenhouse Needlepoint Box & Tied Stitches for Effect Index Top 5 Background Stitches Laid Stitches – LAS Min-Sock

read more: Learning New Stitches — Getting Out of my Rut