This month, there are two of my stitched pieces on the cover of UK magazines - a cute cat and mouse duo by Margaret Sherry in The World of Cross Stitching 319, and a musical wee number in issue 80 of Hachette Partworks` Disney Cross Stitch Magazine.

Margaret Sherry`s trademark cat and mouse illustration was converted into a cross stitch chart by the magazine`s Senior Technical Editor, Fiona Baker. It was a lovely quick project (35 hours, although the mag rounded it up to 50, which sounds more realistic if someone e.g. doesn`t use Pattern Keeper... or doesn`t cross stitch for a living like me, lol). What I mean by `quick` project is that it`s one of those where if you just do the odd colours on the outside first, then you can sit back and relax, load up a dozen or so needles with Blanc and just fill in the middle while watching tv or whatever. 😉

Hmm, that lovely sky blue fabric looks almost mauve/lilac in my photo - just shows you what a difference proper lighting makes! 😉 And talking about gorgeous fabric: I fell in love with this one with the music notes as soon as I saw it! 😍

First, I was a bit worried that the half-stitches-only background of the big pink heart around Berlioz would not cover the fabric sufficiently, and some of the notes do show through, but they all work well with the cross stitched notes that are roughly the same size too. 😊

And while I was looking up the covers on Hachette`s website, I`ve noticed that this adorable picture of Jock, also from The Aristocats, is coming up soon in issue 88, so I thought I`d better add his picture now 1. before I forget and 2. before I get too snowed under - er, I was referring to more stitchy projects that I`m working on atm but we actually did get snow last night/this morning, so nothing surprises me anymore. 🤷‍♀️ Happy stitching, peeps! 😊

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! 😊

kits galore

Me again - the other day I forgot something (but just as well, it`d have been a rather long post otherwise). Remember the Margaret Sherry design I mentioned here? I stitched it a few months ago but now that it`s published, I can show you the pic:

The kit can be ordered from Immediate Media here

It took 40 hours to stitch, plus the wee mouse another 3, and I was smiling the whole time, not only because her characters are so cute but also because her artwork is so expertly translated into cross stitch charts by Fiona Baker.

8 hours

15 hours

25 hours

40 hours

And I`ve just noticed that DMC`s new Vintage Circus collection is now available from various online shops - yay! 😊 There are 5 kits in the range, designed by Emily Peacock, and I was lucky enough to stitch two of the covers. Both `Dancing Horse` and `Clowning Around` took roughly 20 hours and I had great fun sewing them, I love big blocky stitches where you can just let your needle fly. Hope you like them and check out the other 3 in the DMC collection too (`Ringmaster Reginald`, `Strongman Stanley` and `Acrobat Alice`), happy stitching!

Spring is here

There have been a few mags coming out recently and Spring is definitely in the air - not just IRL but as far as cross stitch charts are concerned.

In Cross Stitch Crazy 254, the cover kit is a pair of mice, designed by Helz Cuppleditch. I loved stitching both but my fave has to be the one in the hammock: 😄

Still on the subject of cover kits, I also stitched this month`s free gift with issue 280 of The World of Cross Stitching:

This birdcage bookmark is such an elegant design by Fiona Baker and a really easy stitch too, just a few quick backstitch lines between wee bits of cross stitch, so it`s an ideal last-minute gift, for example (it`s Mothers` Day on Sunday here in the UK. Just sayin` 😉).

Finally, issue 343 of Cross Stitcher has hit the UK shops today and in it Part 1 of 4 seasonal samplers by Faye Walsh is published, called Spring Is In The Air.

 It took 62 hours to stitch and I enjoyed it a lot - samplers made up of smaller pictures always build more quickly and I rarely have the chance to blend colours (as I had to here for the sea waves in the image in the centre), plus I liked the colours, the virtually no backstitch and the fabric too, it`s a beautiful lavender shade (in case you can`t tell from my photo 😂).

I took some close-ups of the individual scenes - my pics might not be exactly well lit but at least there are some details there that might not be spotted at first glance. Hope you like all these Spring-themed projects, happy stitching! 😊

singing mice and Aladdin

Yesterday I had two new magazines delivered (yay!) so I`ve got some pics to share. 😊 First up, the cover kit that is the free gift with this month`s Cross Stitch Crazy (issue 249). It`s another cute Margaret Sherry pic, this time of three little mice singing Christmas carols - and there`s even a wee red hoop in the kit to frame the finished stitching, how cool is that? 🤗

And from today, issue 151 of Cross Stitch Gold is available in the UK shops, with my Carol Thornton cushion in it of a cat that I affectionately named Aladdin - you`ll see in a minute why. Coz from just the tabby, it might not be that obvious...

15 hours

But then this happened:

24 hours

And even though I knew he was lying on a cushion or rug, all I saw was this:

But then I started to add the paisley border and it looked less magic carpety and more Christmassy:

30 hours

Finally, after 70 hours, it was complete:

And I love how turning it into a cushion transformed it: I`m surprised every time I look at the finished item how different it looks with the edge of the design touching the cushion`s piping and those four paisley corners were made to measure! 😍 I`m a big Carol Thornton fan (as it happens, I`m stitching another one of her pictures for a later issue of Gold atm) and I`m already excited about the wintry watermill I see in the preview of issue 152. I loved that beach cottage that was in a recent Gold too, and also her autumn watermill - who knows, maybe I`ll start a wall of "Buildings by Carol Thornton" one day, when I have loads of time (ha! Ha. HA!). Happy stitching!

Aaaaaaand it`s October! 😲 Which means: Merry Christmas, everyone! 😆

This week, issue 274 of The World of Cross Stitching hits the UK shops, and the Cover Star (their words, not mine btw!) is this super sweet design by Margaret Sherry of three kittens in Christmas stockings. Well, that`s the official title anyway - but I think that wee mouse steals the show hands down! 😄 I`ve got a few progress pics for this project, my favourites being the two between 30 and 32 hours - that`s when I added the green backstitch to the needles of the tree and I lurved the difference it made.

7 hours

14 hours

19 hours

30 hours

32 hours

35 hours - finished! 😊

And here they are, nicely framed in the magazine:

Now, I can also share some pics of the Durene Jones Cover Kits Galore Event that is happening these past couple of weeks: last week, the latest issue of Crazy came out with "our" robin gift tags (more on those in a mo) but first, the snowman bauble kit that is the free gift with this issue of WOCS.

When I saw the wee pack, for a split second I wondered if I just dreamt that this had two sides - but no, if you check the bottom left corner, there`s the back of the snowman. 😊 And if you`re really eagle-eyed, you may also spot that the finished bauble has metallic BS added that`s missing from my original pics - the threads didn`t arrive in time so the team had to add the snowflakes, etc. in-house (there you go, a little behind-the-scenes info for ya). 😉

So as I said, last week issue 248 of Cross Stitch Crazy was published, and its cover gift is also by Durene Jones: a set of 8 little Christmassy robins that have been turned into gift tags. I loved stitching these, as well as the front-and-back snowman - they were fun, festive and cheerful, just the kind of project to put me in the Christmas mood, no matter what month of the year. 😃 Happy stitching, everyone!