Christmas pudding recipe - Cross Stitcher 311

Well, well, well. Same week, second post, another cover piece... :O #likebuses

We`re back from Iona and on the way home I picked up the latest issue of Cross Stitcher - my mum`s here visiting and I stitched this Christmas pudding recipe the last time she was here, which puts everything in a neat frame for my OCD, lol. The design is by Emma Congdon and I loved working on this (erm, apart from the whisks in metallic silver, hehe) because 1) it`s Christmassy, 2) it`s food-related, 3) it`s colourful, 4) it`s useful and 5) it grew so quickly (the whole picture took 32 hours, including metallic whisks). ;)

Here it is on the cover and inside the mag:

I have a few closeups of parts of this design, plus a bright photo of the whole. Hope you`re all having a good time, I`m off to cook with my mom and then stitch, happy days! :)

carol singers - Cross Stitch Gold 133

Flying visit - I`m literally typing this while packing a wee case AND emptying the fridge at the same time (we`re going away for 3 days only but, naturally, you have to empty the fridge, the freezer and, preferably, all the cupboards as well, as if you were moving out of the house forever).

The latest issue of Gold hit the UK shops yesterday and I`m sooooo happy to finally be able to share some pics of Joanne Aston`s Victorian carol singers, one of my all-time favourite projects to date.

For all the minute details that create this stunning picture, it grew surprisingly fast - I finished it in 70 hours and that included all the backstitch in 8 different shades and the dozens of French knots. I`m also happy to see it on the cover of the magazine - funnily, I`ve just noticed that it`s in a golden frame there, yet inside the mag it`s in a red frame to complement the door (I think both look lovely btw):

I have made another mini-film with the 5-hourly photos I`d taken but before that, here`s a sneak peek I`ve spotted right under the close-up shots of the carol singers: a preview of the Maria Diaz picture I stitched a few months ago. Happy stitching, everyone! :)