May Biscornu and Fob - Free Cross Stitch Chart!

May brings flocks of pretty lambs

Skipping by their fleecy dams

As a knitter, how could I not have sheep and lambs on the May biscornu? I love how frisky and frolicking lambs become very sedate sheep ... although not always very bright, it has to be said!

A lot of the wealth of England in the Middle Ages and Tudor period came from sheep. It's why, in tiny villages there are huge churches - built on the wealth accumulated from these most humble of animals.

The chart follows my usual format of using only three colours so it should be quick and easy to stitch. I think it will look best on a pastel coloured fabric or natural linen. It might look cute to make one of the sheep black...

The scissor fob can be personalised with your own initials as I've included a full alphabet

If you would like a copy of the chart, please comment below and leave an email address unless yours is visible in your blog profile. Some people ask for charts but I have no way of getting them to them :o( Charts are sent in PDF format.

If you do stitch this design, I'd love to see the finished article - and there will be a prize for any I show on my blog!

Although there is no charge for this chart, a donation to the MS Trust for this chart would be appreciated. Pennies will do - and you can make a donation by clicking here. You have raised £83 so far with your kind donations - let's see if we can make it a nice, round £100!

There is no obligation to make a donation - you will be sent the chart whether or not you choose to make a donation, as I appreciate that some people are not in a financial position to do so.

This pattern is offered for personal, non-commercial use only. Items made from this pattern may be sold on a small scale basis such as on Etsy or at craft sales. Sales for charity are positively encouraged! This pattern and the text and photos contained within, may not be copied or reproduced for any purpose other than personal use. Please direct people to this blog rather than forwarding the pattern, thank you! Copyright 2010 N M Wray

Sheep in the Meadow - Shepherd's Bush

Design: Sheep in the Meadow (freebie)
Designer: Shepherd's Bush
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, unknown colour

I stitched this for the Hooked on Exchanges bookmark exchange. It's a design I've stitched before - and lost, the Round Robin I did it for never returned home - and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I didn't have the called for buttons and charm, but found substitutes in my stash.

And here's a picture of the entire exchange I sent to Maria:

Sheep - Lizzie*Kate

Design : Sheep (from Tiny Tidings IV)
Designer: Lizzie*Kate
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count evenweave

This sheepie had been hanging around for a while, and finally this Christmas, got beads on the wreath and finished into an ornament. I used the method that The Drawn Thread use for their fobs, as there was a lot of spare fabric round him.

Wooly Zipper - Bent Creek

Design: Wooly Zipper
Designer: Bent Creek
Threads: DMC and Six Strand Sweets Perle 5
Fabric: mystery Tula-type fabric

Years ago, I traded for this chart and now finally, it's been stitched! The picture was taken under artificial light so it's a little 'yellow'. I used threads I already had in my stash as I'm really trying not to buy new stuff so my sheep and flowers look rather different to the designers:

But isn't that the fun of needlework, making your own personal work of art?

Land That I Love - Lizzie*Kate

Design: Land That I Love
Designer: Lizzie*Kate
Threads: Gentle Arts Sampler Threads, DMC, DMC Color Variations, Wisper
Fabric: 14 count rustico aida

Ooops, it was only when editing the pic I noticed the stray thread ... but that's usual for surfaces in this place :o)

This is the Canadian version of the chart - Lizzie*Kate provides the alternative on her website. I stitched this is a real mixture of fibres - there's GAST for the house, DMC Color Variations for the grass, lettering and blue border, plain DMC for other bits, and of course Wisper for the fluffy sheepies!

The Hermit is Canadian by birth, British by descent, and he's very happy to be here, but I thought I'd stitch a nod to his home land. It's a beautiful country, but for all sorts of reasons when we got together (after "meeting" online) we decided to base ourselves in the UK.

I want to make a further amended version of this, for Scotland, but it would involve some colour changes too - I can see it in my head, with a thistle border, and a white house - better get the graph paper out, I suppose!

Another Christmas Exchange

This exchange was organised by Simone, and my sender was Robin - she knew I like sheep, so stitched me the lovely Little House ornament in the picture. She also handcrafted the Christmas card that came with it.

The sheepie is so nice, he's going to stay in my smalls basket all winter, at least!

Joy to the World - Lizzie*Kate

I stitched this before I really got into the sheep collecting side of my stash, so of course I had to get it made up for this year! The design is an old Lizzie*Kate freebie called "Joy to the World".

Again, it's a padded wall hanging and I think I might quilt this one around the inner edge of the border.

I do all my making up by hand, as I haven't really got the space to set up a sewing machine, so it can sometimes take a while, but I find it quite relaxing - as long as everything goes right!


I'd like to say a big "thank you" to all my readers and commenters - I've noticed a few more people dropping by. Welcome to you all, I appreciate your kind words and your interest in my little bit of the web!

Lamb - Shepherd's Bush

I like Shepherd's Bush designs, but I don't like the pricey sets of buttons they use! This design was worked on 14 count aida instead of 10 count Tula, so the recommended buttons might have looked a little odd. However, my multi pack came to the rescue yet again and I think they work well, even though I didn't have the buttons when the piece was stitched a couple of years ago! The design is worked in DMC and not overdyes either. It doesn't look much like the cover picture on the chart, but hey, I like it! An advantage of the smaller scale is that it is going to fit in a standard size frame, so will be cheap to finish. To do more framing is going to be my New Year's Resolution, as hopefully by then I will have done a lot of my finishing, too!

Baa - The Bold Sheep

Sheep are another favourite thing of mine to stitch, and I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this funky specimen! The colours really sing, and it's impossible to look at Dolly (yes, I named my sheepie!) without smiling!

Because the design was whole stitches only, and no backstitching, I kept the aida that came with the kit. I find using a fine Petite needle makes stitching on aida a pretty smooth process - the needle doesn't need the usual tug to get through the hole so I might be becoming reconciled to aida - maybe!

The only downer on this kit was I ran out of one colour with six stitches left to make - which was very annoying, as I'm very economical with thread, and there was plenty of the others left. What made it worse was that the threads used are Anchor, and I have only a (relatively) small collection of that, whereas I have a full set of DMC!

This will probably be finished as pillow.

Design Details

Fabric: 14 count aida, white.
Threads: Anchor stranded cottons.
Designer: Louise Ellwood.
Kit Details: Baa - The Bold Sheep (c) 2004
Stitch Count: 60H x 60V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch
Threads Used: Anchor 24, 109, 140, 147, 255, 386, 403, 874, 943. Two strands used throughout for cross stitch.
Embellishments: None.
Modifications Made: None.