Bea from Thoughts & Musings

Before we meet this week's Blogger of the Week, I'd like to announce the winner of the competition I recently held to celebrate our 26th Interview.  I featured 9 photos taken from the first 26 interviews and asked you to identify the bloggers who stitched each design.

Well done to everyone who took place; the random number generator selected Faith from Faithfully Stitching.  Well done Faith!  Please email me to let me know which store you would like your e-voucher from.  I see you are a HAED fan, so either them or one of the other online stores you use.

As well as Faith receiving a voucher, Irene left this comment:

If I win, I do not want a voucher, but I would like you make an offer for this initiative https://www.casacenina.com/a-needlework-project-to-be-born-again.html for people who suffer in my country. 

I think this is a great idea, it's a very worthy charity and I will definitely be doing so.   They have a selection of PDF designs from a wide variety of designers, all raising money for rebuilding after the Italian earthquake.  Thanks to Irene for that suggestion.  I recommend that you all visit the website and maybe buy a pattern to help the fund.  They have nearly raised EUR 15,000 so far!


On to Blogger of the Week.  This week's Blogger has been taking a little break but I am hoping that being featured this week will prompt her into blogging again.  After all, she will be celebrating her 10th Blogaversary this October which is a great reason to start making blog posts again!  Please welcome Bea from

Thoughts & Musings

1. Please introduce yourself – name, where you are from, family, pets etc.

Hi, I'm Bea Lapp, living in Prince Rupert, BC Canada with 2 spoiled cats, Snowy and Yoda. No family left as I had no siblings and never got married.

Snowy & Yoda

2. How long have you been stitching and how did you start?

I learned to knit when I was about 6, hooked rugs when I was in university, but as I got older I wanted to try something new. At a Creative Circle party I ordered what I thought were 2 small, easy crewel kits but they turned out to be cross stitch. I looked at the diagrams, thought "I can do this" and off I went. By the time I was finished the 2 kits, I was hooked. I can't show you because it took years before I thought to take pictures of what I was doing. I can be a little slow on the uptake at times! lol

3. How long have you been blogging and what inspired you to start? Is there a story behind your blog title?

First blog post was 17 October 2007. I had read a couple of friends' blogs and just thought I would give it a go and see if I liked it. I chose 'Thoughts and Musings' because I originally thought of it like a diary, daily activities and what I was thinking about. But I found it so much fun to share my stitching and then I found the blog stitching community, so it became more a record of what I was creating and I like it that way.

4. How would you describe your stitching style? Are you a serial starter, a rotator, a OAAT (one at a time), highly organised, random and eclectic, etc.?

Hmmmm, I don't consider myself a serial starter, but I usually have 5 or 6 WIPs on the go of various sizes and complexities. That way if one is boring me or driving me crazy, I can switch out. I'm organised within a project, but overall I just wing it, which is probably why rotations don't work for me.

5. Do you have a favourite designer or style of design you are drawn to?

I'm more drawn by subject than designer. I love cats, angels, dragons, unicorns, castles, Victorian style houses, dresses, etc. I'm not fond of flowers, landscapes, but there are always exceptions as I have done both.

6. Which piece are you most proud of in your collection?

Probably the first piece I ever altered. I was doing a birth announcement and the pattern didn't have room for all the information I wanted to put in.The info was under a floral arch and I needed to make it taller - I was scared to death that it was going to look lopsided and out of place, but it worked. And it was before my picture taking days, sorry.

7. What has been your worst stitching disaster?

I was about 1/3 of the way through a project in q-snaps and had to put it down. Now, I normally set my work down so the stitching is sitting flat on the table, but this time I didn't and when I got back one of the cats had walked across it, torn the fabric and put claw holes in it. Unsalvageable, so had to restart. This is the finished piece.

8. Which new technique would you like to try, either stitching, finishing or another craft?

I would love to learn Hardanger although the thought of cutting threads makes me VERY nervous. And I really want to learn to sew so I can have more flexibility in finishing my pieces.

9. Do you have a box of finished-but-not-fully-finished pieces? Or is everything FFO'd? What's your favourite way to fully finish a project and what do you do with them?

I have a bag of them. I make a lot of ornaments, some pillows and usually frame the bigger ones.

10. Which of your projects most represents "you"?

I think this one. My Canadian roots go back about 250 years and I cannot imagine living anywhere else.

11. Tell us a secret about yourself. Or a joke. About anything!

Don't tell anyone, but I love punny jokes. "What do you do if your dog chews a dictionary? Take the words out of his mouth."

12. Anything you would like to add?

While cross stitch is my favourite craft, I've recently rediscovered my love of knitting and rug hooking. Now if someone will please discover the way to expand time so you can fit 24 hours in every 5 minutes I'd be a happy camper.