All Glory to the Hypnostitch

Stitching large areas for hours on end can be like driving in the snow – hypnotic. When it comes to the red work in the tail, the direction of the stitches changes every other one. The reason for that is that the different directions reflect light differently, so it looks like there are two shades of red being used, rather than one. Stitching hypnosis can (and does) set in though, setting your hands on automatic while your mind has a wander. This often results in ‘waking up’ only to find you have gone in the wrong directions for quite a while. To help prevent this sort of cockup, I mark the directions ahead of time. This usually works, but every now and then, the hypnosis gets me and I keep stitching in one direction anyway.

Done