Stitching Blogger's Question of the Week: Where do you Start?

When starting a new project, do you start in the middle? If you do, once you’ve worked down to the bottom, do you turn your chart and fabric around so that you are stitching the top section downwards again or do you just stitch upwards from the middle?

I usually start in the middle of the fabric with whatever colour is in the middle of the fabric and depending on the colour blocks usually work my way up. Then when I reach the top, I pick up stitching in the middle again and head on down. This is precisely the way that I'm currently stitching the Queen Mermaid.

Designs that I've stitched differently have been the Sheila Hudson horseshoe shaped designs. With Mt Fuji I started at the top, at the top of the curve only started with 12 stitches and worked my way down. With Amalfi coast I did start on the tree in the middle because it was so distinctive, but with Venice I started from the bottom and worked up.

I started Paradise Island by stitching the line of beach first - then have continued working my way around the design in pattern blocks. I've almost finished my latest pattern block. I think I've only got about 2 or 3 blocks to go now.