Highland living, fame, free kits and Regency lady

Before I dive into details of my latest stitchy escapades, a warm welcome to anyone who`s seen this in WOXS 317 and thought of checking out my blog. 😊

You might need to dig deep for the aforementioned `handy tips`, but there are more pics of my recently reorganised threads in this post, and examples of my route planning - as evidenced in my progress photos, which I sometimes string together in mini videos - are abundant (as is my waffling, whenever I have the time to go on, and on... and on).

Case in point: now. Not only have I finished my 5th pre-Christmas commission (you know, those tasks trickling in at the beginning of Dec, when mid-Jan and end of Jan deadlines seem so, so far away, and the next thing you know, it`s Jingle Bells... Should old acquaintance... Oh, it`s 20 January!! 😨). Anyway, so not only have I finished those 5 projects but I finally managed to get back to my Mary Hickmott pic too - the second one after finishing this Rialto Bridge for myself. Only this morning, I added the last few clouds:

It`s called Highland living, available from Mary Hickmott`s Etsy shop, and even though the key calls for 16ct ice blue aida, I stitched it on 14ct so that it`ll fit nicely in this gap above the Monarch of the Glen (it`s about 60 x 10 cm on 14ct), whenever I get round to framing it.

Because of the mad rush of the past few weeks, I completely forgot to post here about the previous issue`s cover kit: the free gift with WOXS 316 was this cute little Emma Congdon design:

The magazine`s finishing team turned it into a banner, and this month`s free gift, Lucie Heaton`s leafy plants in macramé hangers can be used either as a card or as a bookmark.

Finally, here`s Heather Nugent`s Regency lady, also from issue 317 - I loved working on this! Not only because I`m a Jane Austen fan, but also because I love stitching big blocks of colour, and this project had not only those but a little bit of everything as well, from intricate backstitch detail to beads and petit point. It took just over 50 hours, and instead of unrolling the fabric for every progress pic, I took a photo of my Pattern Keeper screen at the end of each day. I put them in a mini film, together with my finished stitching and the framed picture as it appears in the magazine. Hope you like them, thanks for scrolling through and happy stitching! 😊

Peter Rabbit, matryoshka, Christmas baking, pill boxes and Rialto

Last post of 2021 - where has this year disappeared?? 😲 Feels like we barely put the Christmas decorations away and it`s time to get them out again! Anyway, thought I`d better add one more update on what`s happening around here before the end of the year. 😊

In the UK shops now is the latest issue (315) of The World of Cross Stitching, and I have two projects in this one: the cute Peter Rabbit card as the free gift, and a Russian doll in shades of blue.

The classic Beatrix Potter illustration was converted into a cross stitch chart by the magazine`s multitalented Senior Technical Editor, Fiona Baker, who also designed this matryoshka doll that was a joy to stitch. I love nesting dolls anyway, but in this case it wasn`t just the subject that appealed: there are all sorts of technical challenges that kept me entertained. I enjoyed the straightforward, easy blocks of cross stitch, the elegance of the blackwork detail, the rare opportunity to work lazy daisy stitches, and adding the backstitch and beads.

Another magazine, Cross Stitcher (378) is also in the UK shops now, and I`ve spotted a surprise in it: this is an Emma Congdon design I`d stitched a good while ago but things must have got reshuffled and it`s only being published now. I`m pleased to see it in print - I seem to remember there was a therapeutic quality to stitching those Christmas lights. 🤣

In other news, after that big rush of commissions in Sept-Nov, I continue to make sure I take time to craft things `just because` - the first case in point being these pill boxes I spotted at our local post office. They were £1 each and I liked that they have 7 slots for the days of the week. I immediately thought of my MIL who`s always hunting for new/better pill boxes (at the moment she has a tiny one with two miniscule compartments), so I picked up 2 of these beauties, in case I muck up the first one (which is exactly what happened, so well done, Past Laura, for the foresight *pats own back*). 😉

Now, far be it from me that I should offend lovers of pugs, novelty hats or kitsch in general, but I felt these lids had to go and be replaced with a little cross stitch motif that MIL would appreciate more. Disclaimer: I got a lot of help with this project from DH - for example, after I`d attacked the first one with various sharp implements and broke the plastic into smithereens, he spent ages soaking the other one in hot water, until it came off in one piece. But then I found out that while the white background could be peeled off (in 1 mm segments of torn silk), the actual pug face - and hat, let`s not forget the hat - was part of a see-through plastic foil that was welded, or held by magic, to the perspex (I came to this conclusion after breaking 2 nails and 1 plastic spoon).

When DH saw that I was wheezing and about to attack it with sandpaper, the dear man must have thought, `Well, that`d knacker it anyway with score marks`, and he ordered new perspex from Ebay for me - and not only the perfect size, but he even made sure the edges were bevelled! 🥰 So I added my wee stitched rose to it and I think it`ll be a much more suitable pill box for my MIL: 

Finally, last week I also started on a cross stitch project just for me: Mary Hickmott`s `Rialto Bridge` (available from her Etsy shop). I thoroughly enjoyed working on this, brought back memories from 30 years ago (THIRTY?!?), and while I was stitching it, the fabric arrived for another Mary Hickmott design called `Highland Living` that I specifically bought to go in the long, narrow space on the wall above The Monarch of the Glen, so I very enthusiastically started on it last night (even though a couple of commissions have arrived in the meantime but January deadlines seem so far in the future atm). 😉 For the now, nothing else matters than the holidays - I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, all the best for 2022 and, as always, happy stitching! 😊

The World of Cross Stitching 307, 308 and Disney 32

Today is one of those semi-free days when I posted a project this morning and I`m yet to start the next one (no matter how reproachfully it`s staring at me right now), so I thought I`d update this blog before Blogger revokes my card. 😉😆

Plus the sun`s just come out and since it only happens once every 3-4 days, and even then only for half an hour, I quickly grabbed my camera to take a couple of pics of the freebies that came with this and last month`s WOXS magazines (I forgot to post last month, ooops!😧), so here they are, in chronological order:

This Ed Hedgehog illustration from Country Companions was converted into a cross stitch chart by the talented Fiona Baker, and I love the finished card:

Fiona also designed one of the two freebies that come with issue 308 this month: these 8 gift tags will cover you for pretty much every occasion that might crop up 😉

And the 4 wee cards that are more summery than the weather atm were designed by Durene Jones and have instantly shot to the top of my list... because puffin 🤷‍♀️😍😍😍

How cute are these? I`ll either make a fob with the puffin and the VW camper, or find another 2 small-but-summery designs and maybe make a cube, but also on a keychain so I could hook it on my bag...? We`ll see. Planning (daydreaming?) is the easy part. Finding the time? Meh...

In other news, there`s been an issue of the Disney magazine recently that had one of my stitchings in it, a pillow trim with characters from The Good Dinosaur, also designed by Durene Jones. Hope you like it, and happy stitching! 😊

WOXS 306 and more Disney

The latest issue of The World of Cross Stitching is in the shops this week and beside the cute little fox freebie, there`s also the lovely bees hoop that I stitched - are you ready for this? - at the end of 2019! 😮

The cover gift, Lee Holland`s adorable fox comes with a pretty pastel card, and the hoop with the bees - designed by Durene Jones - is not only folksy but has such a great, summery feeling to it - I love the cheerful colours on both! 😊

There are also new issues out, or about to be published by Hachette Partworks, and since the covers of the magazines coming out in the next few weeks can already be seen on their website, I thought I`d add them here in a bunch. For issue 28, I stitched this gorgeous pic (have I mentioned blue is my favourite colour?) of Mickey and Pluto in a hot air balloon, and their bestie, Goofy is featured on a stationery set in issue 29.

The publisher also surprised their premium subscribers with a special Spring edition, full of Disney charts, so here are my Mickey & Minnie Valentine`s card, a cute hoop with Woody and Little Bo-Peep from Toy Story, and a sweet Minnie Mouse design that`s been turned into a cushion. Have a great Easter and Spring holiday, people, and happy stitching! 😊

Forest Maiden (Anne Stokes) and hippy mouse (Furry Tales) - The World of Cross Stitching 297

The latest issue of WOXS is out in the UK shops now and I am so proud of this one: not only did I stitch the cover kit but also the stunning unicorn that was chosen as this month`s cover piece.

The cute little hippy chick (🐤??🐁!! 🤪 ) is from Lucie Heaton`s Furry Tales series:

Shame Glastonbury was cancelled this year coz she was all ready to go - but she seems happy enough in her tie dye dress and with her flowers, and she got a beautiful purple card finish so it`s all good. 😉

For Anne Stokes` gorgeous fantasy picture, I`ve decided to string my photos in a mini video. As you will see from the title frame, it took 81 hours to stitch the *checks number again* 17973 crosses - and I know the exact figure because this was the first ever project on which I`ve used the Pattern Keeper app. In case you`re not familiar with it, it`s what GoodReader is for iOS, just for Android. As far as I understand, it`s still being developed and tweaked with - and since I bought it, I`ve come across some technical hiccups, e.g. it doesn`t accept all charts and seems to be baffled by fractional sts (but I`ve learnt to find my way among the weird half-and-half symbols it assigns to certain colours), and it is perfect for whole-stitches-only projects like my HAED, for example. Most recently, it left off the last column of a chart I was working on, I mean it was visibly there but I couldn`t click on any of those symbols (?!?) but hey, on a 160x180 design I don`t mind if I can`t mark the last column of 10. 😉 And highlighting symbols and marking off sts is the best. thing. EVER. Especially on a confetti-heavy piece like this unicorn. I don`t think I`m exaggerating when I estimate that the program about halved the time it took to finish - in ye olde days, I`d have photocopied the colour chart in b&w, then sat at the table and highlighted all the squares in 1 symbol, then coloured them in with a darker felt pen as and when I stitched each. With the app, it`s done in the tenth of a second; I just click on the symbol I want and all the squares are highlighted, so even if it`s confetti central, I can just hop from one area to the next and KNOW that I`ll get all of them (having to go back later, and esp. after I`d already packed that colour away, is/was another time-waster).

Oh dear, looks like I should have broken this up into chapters 😂, sorry for the lengthy rambling, it seems I`ve embarked on an impromptu product review when I just wanted to show you some piccies. So here`s the mini film I mentioned, um, half an hour ago - hope you`ll enjoy it, stay safe peeps and happy stitching! 😊