The latest issue (312) of The World of Cross Stitching is in the UK shops and the freebie this month is a set of 12 gift tags with Lucie Heaton`s Christmas mice on them:
Issue 17 of XStitch Mag is also available now as a digital download (here). It`s called Adventure and I have 3 pieces in this issue - the first one designed by the man himself, founder of the magazine, Mr. XStitch:
Then there`s a trademark modern take on floral samplers by Peacock & Fig:
In other news, I`m stitching like a woman possessed (I have about a month to wade through 20-odd projects) but I got a lovely boost the other day: some of my old projects that WOXS had finished with found their way back to me and I couldn`t be more chuffed - remember this 1920s house by Maria Diaz? I love everything about it, the house, the car, the couple`s clothes, the colours - can`t wait to see it framed on the wall! π I`m also very pleased with the St. Ives harbour scene and the cards as well, this package was like an early Christmas present from postie. π Hope you`re all keeping well, happy stitching! π
Happy New Year! π Now that we said a not-so-fond farewell to 2020, let`s start this new year with a fresh publication in the shops, issue 303 of The World of Cross Stitching that has one of my all-time favourites in it, a 1920s scene by Maria Diaz:
I love everything about this picture: the clothes, the car, the house - I was in my own little Agatha Christie dream world for the entire 93 hours it took to finish "Tommy and Tuppence with the Poirot car". π
This project has everything to keep a stitcher entertained: full XS, half cross stitch, fractionals, blending, backstitch, metallics, French knots and beads, but at the same time, it`s not overly big so even though it`s challenging, it`s not too daunting - in other words, a good first piece to try out all the above mentioned new techniques. I hope many stitchers will give it a go. π
Some (but not all) issues of this magazine also come with an extra freebie, this lovely butterfly made up of words (designed by Emma Congdon):
There are also a couple of Mr XStitch publications that have become available recently, the first of which is the 2021 calendar that has 13 designs in it - one of them is this wee beauty from designer FiddlesticksAU:
And issue 14 of XStitch Magazine is also out now, in which there`s my Butterfly Boy (Ardith Design/Stacy Grant Photography) - that mask gives a whole new meaning to contemporary design, don`t you think? π Hope you're all coping well with the latest lockdown and like me, concentrate on the positive (= more stitching time), thank you for visiting! π
Another month, another post - and, as usual, this is prompted by new publications (honestly, I have no idea what I`m going to do in future now that both Crazy and Gold are no more π - probably forget to post on this blog for months π€·♀️).
But for the now, there`s plenty going on in the UK cross stitch magazine market: first up, issue 13 of Jamie `MrXStitch` Chalmer`s awesome XStitch Magazine is out, and in it is this cute little rainbow design:
It`s been my first ever Climbing Goat Designs stitch and I loved it, not only because it was a nice`n`easy full XS only design but also because the colours are gorgeous and they really pop on the `Cloud Summer Sky` aida I`d ordered from Sew It All. ππ
Also out this week is the first issue of the new Disney cross stitch series by Hachette Partworks. I stitched the 4 samplers, designed by Durene Jones, that are the backbone of the series that`ll also feature other Disney charts every week (some of which are also mine). I`m not sure of their order of publication but I`ll add pics here of the ones I`ve already seen advertised either on the telly or on Facebook:
Fair warning: the following will be loads (and I mean LOADS!) of pictures because I thought, since I`d taken individual photos of every character, I might as well add them here - there aren`t many other places where you can see closeups of them all, even if some might be not-so-perfectly lit. π
Sampler 1:
Sampler 2:
Sampler 3:
And, finally, Sampler 4:
I have also seen the 2 Alice pics advertised as coming in an issue soon as extra:
Finally, in the tv ad π,
there is also a quick appearance of this fun cushion that I just affectionately called Lego-Mickey - even though I didn`t always feel affectionate when I had to hand-hold that massive piece of fabric (I put the remote there for size reference) but I do love to stitch nice big blocks of colour, so all in all, it was a winner. π
Wanna see more pictures? *pretends not to hear loud screams of NOOOOOO!*
I`m not going to add one of the Museum Shelf HAED just now - I`ve added only 2-3 lengths of thread in total to where it was the last time you saw it so there`s not a great big change. π However, I decided to spoil myself with a nice, relaxing (i.e. NO confetti in sight) project from Durene Jones`s new bookazine:
I`ve had my eye on that lion ever since it was first published but I misplaced my magazine (and I can`t even remember now if it was in WOXS or Gold). But now I`ve got this Durene Jones Special and I had the fabric and threads needed, so last Wed I started and - you know you and a chart must be a good fit if you can`t put it down! π - I`ve just finished all the 6000+ black sts and I`ve got a few hundred of some yellows too so woohoo, I`m almost halfway there! π€ I`m so excited, can`t wait to see it on the wall, I`d already bought the 12" hoop that I want to use to frame it. Hope you`re all having this much fun with whatever you`re working on atm, stay safe and happy stitching! π
