cosy autumn sampler - Cross Stitcher 336

This week the latest issue of Cross Stitcher is out in the UK, and in it is this gorgeous design by Rebecca Spencer that collects all the things we love about autumn in one curl-up-on-the-sofa-under-a-blanket-and-revel-in-the-cosy-feeling sampler. 

While you try to make up your mind whether the teddy is your favourite or that mug of hot chocolate, may I just point out that there`s a sewing machine there too? *squeals excitedly* 😉 And talking about sewing: it`s too late now but I wish I had taken photos before adding the backstitch - as it is, you`ll just have to take my word for it that I had that deeply satisfying feeling you get when after a few well-placed stitches, a splodge of reds and oranges turns into a basket of apples, or a rectangle of blue into the padded back of an armchair. #clever

I have a few close(r)-ups for this project, here they are:

Hmm, that last one`s a bit flash-bleached... anyway, you get the idea. 😉 In other news: some of the DMC projects I stitched a few months ago have been launched now so I can add them to my photo album here. This pair of love birds was a sweet little exercise as the fabric is pre-printed so I only had to stitch the birds themselves and the background is already done. #noice

And around the same time, I stitched these gorgeous flowers too - I`m glad to see the kit is available to buy now. Thank you for scrolling through all these pics, happy stitching!

patchwork apples cushion - Collection 253

The latest issue of Collection hits the UK shops today - and so does Cross Stitcher 296 by the way: just a wee reminder for those of you who wanted to stitch the little bird cage keyring ;) So finally I can show you some pics of my wonky apples (I hope that`s not slang for anything!). But just in case it is, here`s what I`m talking about:

It was an interesting experiment in pencil sketch style stitching - and not the easiest thing to do on evenweave, with hardly any reference points... basically, just apples floating in mid-air, lol.

The `wonky backstitch` in itself was quite challenging; the cross stitched apples were slightly simpler, as here at least I could use the cross stitches to help me navigate - but the 4 `empty` ones required a lot more concentration. So to start with, I enlarged the chart for one of them, and with different coloured pens, I marked the points on the grid where two lines met. Once I had the steps on paper, it was just a case of following all four lines, one at a time, in a `left 4, down 1`, etc. kind of way.

This is my `work station` - excuse the mess, I was working on Olivia at the same time too. ;) There`s my enlarged apple (again, I`m hoping that it`s not slang for boobs or similar!), and next to it is the first finished one, which I then used to calculate where the other 8 should go. And here they all are:

I think that little paperwork to begin with was well worth it: once I knew what I was doing, it grew quite quickly. The whole project took only 24 hours, so it`s a nice idea for a last-minute birthday, Mothers` Day or even housewarming present. Or the individual apples could be used as cards or coasters... the list is endless. Here`s my favourite, the one I call `apple on the washing machine` - happy stitching, folks!