My backing of choice is primitive linen. I love how soft it is against my hands when I work with it, how easily the loops pull through, and how far I can spread it to facilitate wide pieces..eg. doing proddy flowers, leaves et. It is recommended for 6 cuts and up (I think)….and therein lies the first problem it has ever presented me.

While Adele is being done primarily in #6 and #8, I’ve also used a certain amount of #4 for details, and scrolling. I had no problems while doing the lips and eyes (where I even used some #3), but because of the loose weave, it is difficult to keep the #4 loops even when they are alone in a single line.

With lots of wiggling and adjustments by hand, they look OK from a distance, but up close, the lines are somewhat wobbly.

I discovered, when doing the straps of her dress, that if I used another strip of #4 on either side, I would keep the centre line much more even. My little bit of learning for the day 🙂

Over the past couple of weeks, I have also found that hooking has a therapeutic effect for me . My sister (whose husband died less than a month ago), is very ill in hospital, after a  surgery ‘gone wrong’. I find that hooking for awhile each day soothes my soul, and dries my tears.