partridge in a pear tree - Cross Stitch Gold 132

This week the latest issue of Gold hits the UK shops and I can finally share some pics of this lovely design by Porterfields that I worked on around April. Yes, that means I`ve been singing The Twelve Days of Christmas since April. Actually, I just finished working on Christmas designs, so I can take a wee break for Halloween, basically, and then the real Christmas starts - no wonder I`m in a festive mood all year round! ;) 

It took 58 hours and I love its folksy feel, plus - I don`t know if you can see this - but there are 3 variegated threads used: apart from the obvious green one in the frame, the purplish blue and the sandy coloured background are variegated too, and somehow the subtle colour changes make stitching big blocks more enjoyable. #orisitjustme

This Gold is the first really Christmassy issue this year and I love seeing all the reds, golds and greens, and all the Santas, Rudolphs and snowmen starting to appear - maybe that`s why I love stitching them almost all year round? Oh, and lookee what I spotted on the preview page: my gorgeous carol singers will be in the next issue! :) *starts to sing 12 Days of Christmas, again*

chandeliers - Cross Stitch Crazy 220

The new issue of Crazy hits the shops tomorrow but I got my subs copy a couple of days ago and decided this morning to tear myself away from the latest commission (it`s a Maria Diaz and I`m having so much fun with it, it`s hard to put it down!) to share some pics here of the chandeliers I`d stitched a few months ago. They were designed by my Technical Editor, Fiona Baker and were, in a way, an experiment, to see how jewellery beads would work - as opposed to the more customary Mill Hill beads that we usually see on cross stitch projects. I`m happy to report that the large beads were great fun to work with: I enjoyed that I didn`t have to worry about the needle size and also the challenge of finding the best way to secure them to the fabric so that they`d stand upright and glimmer as they`re supposed to. And I`m glad to see that - with the exception of one or two rebels that must have fallen on their faces in transit, lol! - I`ve succeeded. :)

I love the finishes too, these metallic hoops look great! :)

And since this is Cross Stitch Crazy, the only magazine that publishes the stitcher`s name, I can have my 15 minutes of fame too:

Not to mention that - albeit anonymously this time - I provided another pic for this issue: the pub signs I stitched for Twilleys of Stamford are among the recommended kits in the Sherlock Anne section of the magazine - yay! :) Happy stitching, folks!