Springtime inspiration .... a free hyacinth embroidery pattern for you

The finished result !

My dormouse in teacup tea cosy draw ends tomorrow (so if you haven't entered you'll need to be quick!) I was looking back at the photos I took nearly 3 weeks ago and was struck by how much my hyacinth bulb has grown since then. In January it was just a fat green spike ....

And look at it now!

I love to have bulbs in the house at this time of year ... they seem to bring that still far-off spring a little closer. They are fleeting though, much anticipation, then at their best for just a few short days and gone again. But not this year! Here's another lovely hyacinth. This one's a beautiful pink and is currently adorning my upstairs landing ....

And do you recognise it below? (In spite of my not very good photography!) I love it so much I have turned it into embroidery ...

Yes, it's my favourite vintage linen mangle cloth and feedsack scraps again! I used my artistic licence (cough cough) to change the teacup to a floral pattern. The teacup itself is an appliqued feedsack scrap embroidered in stem stitch and satin stitch. I created created borders on two sides of the embroidery using feedsack scraps again. I deliberately just suggested the lines of the saucer as I wanted attention to focus on the hyacinth and teacup. Here's the line drawing I made for the embroidery transfer below. Click here for a free full size version to download ....

If anyone does decide to sew this design then I'd love to see some photos .. I think it would look great in blues as well as pinks. Meanwhile don't forget to enter my free draw if you haven't already done so ... I'll be announcing the result on Monday.