Lovely work! My grandmother embroidered all the time, she could take a plain pillowcase and just "doodle" on it with thread. She wouldn't mark a pattern, she'd just fold it to find the center, pinch in a little crease, and then somehow magically her needle would create birds and vines and flowers and butterflies and little fairy faces peeping out under a leaf or from behind a flower petal... I would watch for HOURS, it just fascinated me. It was like the designs were already there, invisibly, and she just had to outline them with the thread.
I've tried cross-stitch but I couldn't stick with it. I've done a little bit of crewel embroidery, that's more my style and I actually managed to finish a couple things. But always on something with a stamped design. I'm not nearly as skilled as my gran was.
