freebies - Cross Stitcher 295 and 296

Nothing like going from one extreme to the other to make you appreciate both even more, right? In between BAPs, HAEDs and oversized samplers, I`ve done a few wee breathers in recent months - hanging my head in shame, I confess I kinda forgot about these minis, but today I accidentally spotted the cupcake in the current issue of Cross Stitcher, and as I was admiring the finished card, I also realised that the wee birdie keyring, advertised from the coming issue, is mine too!

In case you haven`t seen Cross Stitcher 295 yet, this is the stunning card I`m talking about - however, in order to really appreciate it (extremes again!), first you have to see my dodgy photo... which, apparently, I took after midnight, by candlelight, against the appealing backdrop of my threadbare tartan blanket:

Would you believe that this is the same cupcake? What miracles a clever crafter`s finish and good photography skills can make, eh?

I love the little doily around it! :) And I also love the finish on the keyring - the back of it is also stitched with a reverse image of the bird and the cage, but of this I don`t have my own photo; it spent such a short time in my house that I didn`t even think about taking a pic, I was just concentrating on finishing it between the morning and afternoon school runs, so that I could dash to the PO with it (the editor needed this one back asap). Wanna hear my Mr. Sparks impression? "A challenge? I like it!" ;)

However, I do have a pic of my own project, which I forgot to show you last time: this is where I am on my Twelfth Night cushion, the Countess Olivia has a growing ruff (hmmm. I believe I`ve managed to make that sound a bit kinky). Anyway, here she is, I`m on the 5th page out of 9, and I can`t wait to see her finished! So without Much Ado (see what I did there?), I`ll get back to it - happy stitching, peeps!

holidays, unexpected doll`s houses and sewing rooms (Collection 252)

Phew, it`s good to be back! Although you wouldn`t know from the frequency of my posts, I was actually on holiday in the past 3 weeks - meaning: abroad (no holiday from stitching! My Twelfth Night cushion is steadily growing, thank you very much). We spent some glorious, sunny days in Hungary, visiting my family - OK, by `spending` I mean `surviving` and by `sunny` I mean `death rays that will scorch you within an inch of your life and make you sweat from places you didn`t even know could sweat as soon as you move, even if that slightest movement is just to attempt to breathe some hot air in`. But the main thing is: it was fun.

While I was away, Cross Stitch Collection 252 hit the shops, and in it there`s the gorgeous Maria Diaz sewing room that I stitched a few months ago - here it is on the cover:

Please excuse the creases right at the sewing room`s frame - this magazine has been through a lot, same as me, in my native land that I now affectionately call The Oven. (And while I`m typing this, I just spotted: what gorgeous orchids in the bottom right corner!) ;)

Anyway, here`s my (as usual) badly lit photo of the finished picture, after 52 hours and some tweaking, unpicking and re-stitching as there was an error in the pattern, but eventually we got there:

I think it looks much better stretched and framed (and professionally lit & photographed, lol):

I love how even after stitching the whole piece, there are still some details that I`m only seeing now, in the photo! :) It was a pleasure to work on, although if I`m honest, I spent some foul-mouthed minutes (read: hours) on the fiddly BS and FKs on those flowers - I even took some (even more terrible than usual) close up photos:

I guess every stitcher`s different, and even the same person approaches the same task in a different way, depending on their mood; one day, you enjoy the challenge of a little `fiddliness` after the monotony of just cross stitch, the next you just want to get on with it and finish a project asap, especially two days before the deadline. All I seem to remember is that I sighed a big sigh of relief when these petals were done - I hope it won`t discourage anyone from sewing this, though! (Am writing very confidently here in the firm belief that there can`t be more than 2-3 dozen people out of 7 billion who actually read this). :D

Oh, and lookee what Postie brought me while I was away: the doll`s house has found its way back to me!!! I`m ecstatic and can`t wait to put it on my Wall of Glory... OK, I haven`t got one as such but there`s the Durene Jones sunflowers and Maria Diaz`s Santa`s Journey on the bedroom wall, so now I can hang the doll`s house next to them, awesome! :) Hope you`ve all had a great summer, happy stitching!

HAED Moon Hare - WOCS 232/233

Finally, the long wait is over! Just received my copy of The World of Cross Stitching this morning, and Part 1 of the Moon Hare is in it - yay! I`m ecstatic!

I stitched this in February and March - the magazine says it takes approx. 15 weeks, which is roughly correct if you only have a couple of hours a day to stitch. It took me 252 hours to complete it, and towards the end, with the deadline looming, I had to pull some all-nighters, but it was all worth it and anyway, I caught up with my sleep within days. ;)

This was the first HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) chart I`ve ever attempted - remember The Starry Night I`d bought about 2-3 years ago? I`ve always loved that Van Gogh painting and in my enthusiasm, I even got the fabric, the colours of thread I`d need... and then I lost my courage. To start with, I even got stumped as to how to organise the 49 different shades - the largest number I`d seen in a design thus far, magazine charts usually use a lot less. And the sheer size of the fabric, I mean, how am I supposed to hold that kingsize sheet in my hand, as I don`t use a frame or even a hoop... So, in the end, poor Vincent ended up in the drawer under the bed.

And then this commission came along: 88 colours on a 22" by 18" piece of aida - nothing like jumping in straight at the deep end, right? And to my surprise, I found that I loved it: no matter how clumsy I felt first with all that extra fabby - I just rolled it up and pinned the top and bottom with two bulldog clips (then did the same on the right hand side too, only I stitched that half upside down):

Similarly, it didn`t matter how many shades of thread I had to juggle - although I quickly discarded the idea of the over-complicated system I`d worked out for Starry Night: it turned out that the easiest way to see through all 88 wee bags of thread is to simply stack them in a tray in numerical order. I also learnt that even if at first it seems a waste of time to mark the symbols that come next, it is something worth doing as it`ll save time in the long run - so I marked the symbols I was about to stitch with bright yellow, then with a darker colour as I completed them. Wanna see my psychedelic chart? :D

I`m glad this hare came along because - I think I`m not exaggerating when I say this - it taught me not only some technical know-how about cross stitch but even some life lessons. I`m glad I took on a challenge that I was first weary of but eventually conquered, and the fact that I succeeded has given me the confidence to start my own HAED... although not just yet, because atm I`m stitching my own (HAED-style!) photo conversion, and I`m glad to say, I`m sailing through it! :D It`s going to be a Twelfth Night cushion cover, I`ll show you when it`s done - in the meantime, here`s Bunny Wabbit`s 252 hours summed up in a minute - enjoy! :)

flower shop - Cross Stitch Collection 251

The latest issue of Collection hits the UK shops today and in it there`s another beautiful Maria Diaz design, the wee sister of the doll`s house I stitched a few months ago. After that biggie, this flower shop was a refreshing "mini" and with its 65 hours it very snugly fit into my photographic schedule, lol. So here are my 5-hourly pics of the project, and finally the framed version from the magazine - I`m not sure if there`s a single photo here that`d show you the beautiful olive shade of the fabric... but it is gorgeous, I lurved stitching on it! OK, the photos:

Hmmm, I wondered what was different: I forgot to string them together into a `movie`! Apologies for the extra scrolling - I don`t know if it`s any consolation but if your wrist feels a bit tender, I can totally relate: I`ve been working flat out for the past N weeks, mostly on Christmas designs... yep, it`s that time of the year! ;) Plus I`m stitching a tapestry for DMC, my first one ever, and I`m enjoying it immensely (even though it puts a different type of strain on my wrists), can`t wait to show you! :) Oh, that reminds me: this flower shop`s turned me into a `cover girl` again - I love it! Since Collection uses the current issue as their profile pic on Facebook, I can see it now every day for the next month, mwahaha! Thank you for reading my ramblings and scrolling 5 miles to see all my pictures - happy stitching! :)

The World of Cross Stitching 230 - Fathers` Day cards

Lol, please don`t ask about the granny square! Its growth can be measured in mm, rather than cm, since my last post. As always, Life has happened: am stitching 3 projects simultaneously, my own cushion idea and two commissions. The plan is to crochet at night, as a wind-down, but I`m at that early stage with the stitching when I do not dare to put it down, I just keep going until I fall asleep, because I don`t know how long each`ll take. Plus, with my usual acute perception of time - i.e. I never have any idea what day of the week, etc. it is -, the deadlines are not something tangible (yet) either, just random numbers sometime in the future. I was surprised the other day, when the librarian stamped the books and the return date is now in June - how did that happen? It was Christmas only a few weeks ago...? (By the way, am working on lovely Xmas pieces just now for the magazines, and being 6 months out of sync also doesn`t help someone as woolly-headed as me when it comes to Time - I usually tell what day it is by watching which bins the neighbours put out). #calendarbyrecycling

Anyway, I thought I`d better grab this opportunity to blog for a few minutes before the school run, since the latest issue of WOCS hits the shops today, and in it are the lovely Lucie Heaton cards I stitched. Actually, they`re not all cards - it was a great project to work on because all 4 classic car pics were of different sizes: a card, a bookmark, and two larger pieces. I started with the largest one of the lot (my DH would be shouting the name of this car now but he`s away to work) - shall I call it an Aston Martin DBXZ85874HKL? Whatever. Here it is:

Hehe, probably it`s a Jaguar. Anyway, here`s the whole lot of them together:

And this is how they`ve been made up in the magazine:

Well, the card and the bookmark were quite obvious, but I was wondering what they`d make with the other two - a glasses case and an iPad cover! I love this set, I think it looks awesome - as long as you don`t grab your tablet with gardening gloves or shove your glasses case in your dirty overalls pocket... but as hard as it is to find the suitable stitchy project for the men in our lives, I think these vintage cars are perfect. I remember thinking at the time I was stitching these, seeing Hubby`s eyes getting a bit misty, that I might stitch this... Aston-Jaguar-MG GT5XYZ (?) for him for Father`s Day - ha! Personal project?? When will I ever learn? ;)

However, on a more positive note: do you remember George, my cuddly knitted hippo?

You can read his story here, where I also promised to keep y`all posted: so the latest info is that George has moved to Ireland - the lady who`d originally commissioned him never got back to me, but last week a sweet Irishman bought George for his girlfriend - and, I hope, they all lived happily ever after! :D Happy stitching, everyone!

a crafty evening

Last Friday, my friend Jo took me to a craft event, organised by some of her friends from the East Neuk of Fife (we used to live in St Monans for a while too, hence the connection). It was a lovely evening, based on the idea of trying out various crafts "kids style" - you know the feeling, when you take your children to an event like this, and you stand there and drool while they`re colouring in, etc., wishing that you could join them because you love colouring, can even do it within the lines, but you`re not going to embarrass yourself (and your children!) by elbowing your way in at the kiddie table...? Well, Friday night was for us, frustrated big kids.

I had so much fun! Apart from meeting `old faces from St Monans` and having a good chinwag with them - and also with some lovely ladies I only just met but we had an instant connection, thanks to cross stitch -, I tried all kinds of crafts, old and new... not to mention the scrumptious selection of soups and cakes at two tables, where you could also grab a card and copy the recipes displayed. At the cakes table (first stop, needless to say), I managed to get my hands on the recipe of a most delicious Dundee cake - yay, my Mum will be so pleased, we`re both big fans since last summer, when we got a heavenly cake from the House of Bruar, near Pitlochry, the likes of which I haven`t managed to find anywhere ever since... until last Friday night, thanks to Lesley.

To my great regret, in the end I didn`t have time to colour in a single one of the beautiful mandala designs provided, nor did I have the chance to visit the knitting or card making tables, there were so many things to try and only a couple of hours - maybe next time! ;)

However, I did manage to give ceramic painting a go. There were these teapot `blanks` provided and glass painting pens in various colours - I drew a sunflower (what else?) and even got a gift bag to transport it in (which later I can also decorate, yay!). I think I`ll `cook` my artwork first, though, before I put the first soggy teabag on it, I just haven`t used the oven yet since Friday... but maybe, one of these days, I`ll bake a Dundee cake...? ;)

I know it looks like a gerbera, but believe me, it`s a sunflower :)

I took along some stitchy magazines as well, plus some of my stitched pieces that have been returned to me, and people were very interested in how and why I got into model stitching, and they also loved seeing the `real life` models of some of the magazine photos. It was a pleasure to see - the way I imagine it used to be - women sitting around a table, chatting, while their hands busy with the needle; some haven`t done any cross stitch for over a decade and were now happy to be reacquainted with the hobby... and of course, the real joy of seeing someone trying it for the first time.

Oh, and let`s not forget my personal Aha! moment for the night: after watching dozens of  YouTube videos and getting more and more frustrated because I simply cannot see the holes in crochet (I don`t always know what/where the chain is, so I stab my hook willy-nilly and end up with some shapeless thing, instead of e.g. the oval I had in mind). So anyway, thanks to the lovely Sue, I have FINALLY mastered the granny square!! Woo hoo! Last night I started a blanket with this sock yarn I`d bought ages ago from Lidl, when I wanted to try out knitting socks (conveniently forgetting that I don`t like the feel of knitted stuff against my feet, I barely put up with cotton socks), so anyway, I have 100g pale blue and 100g variegated, we`ll see how far I can go with these. At the moment, my blanket is about 10 cm square but now that I know the basics, the sky`s the limit! Happy crafting, peeps!

Cross Stitch Gold 120 - duck cushion

Uncharacteristically of me, I`ll keep this short and sweet - my back`s a bit knackered so I can`t sit too long in front of the computer. So here is the aforementioned Duckie, designed by Anne Mortimer, from Cross Stitch Gold 120 - first, as usual, my badly lit 3 photos, and then the magazine`s own bleached one of the finished cushion. Happy stitching, everyone!

I really enjoyed stitching this piece, the duck itself was a breeze and once I had the outline,
I sailed through the background as well

I don`t know if you can see it alright but both the blue background and sandy frame are stitched with variegated thread

Finished duckie - again, you probably can`t see but the wee flowers and leaves have lovely backstitch detail

Cross Stitch Collection 249 and Cross Stitcher 292

Yesterday I went to town and bought my monthly fix of Suguru (my latest craze; first, there was Sudoku, then Kakuro, and now I`m addicted to Suguru). Anyway, while I was in W H Smith, I also purchased some stitchy magazines - it seems my pieces have somewhat flooded the market recently, rofl!

First up, issue 249 of Collection, a.k.a. Part 3 of the doll`s house:

Also, in the same issue there`s the Permin still life I stitched a while back:

As I say in the magazine (under the pseudonym `Our Stitcher`, lol), I love stitching still life because this is the closest I, devoid of all drawing talent, can get to producing a painting, and unlike seasonal or *shivers* cutesy things, these works of art look good on any wall, any time. Apparently, this is part of a larger design - pity I didn`t get the big picture, so to speak... I would`ve loved to stitch the whole lot! ;)

However, after this 27-hour project, I had another one to keep me busy for 18 - this gorgeous floral plate by Maria Diaz for issue 292 of Cross Stitcher:

I only have 2 progress pics - one `halfway through` and one `finished`... but at least both are badly lit, rofl! Thank you for stopping by, in a few days I`ll be back with my duckie in Gold 120, and then that`s my `market domination` over for another few months at least. At the moment, I`m working on a cushion but it`s hardly developed beyond the Fleeting Idea Stage and thus I don`t want to share... oh, and soon I`ll start a BAP for my parents for Christmas... but I won`t be able to share this, either, for obvious reasons. So please rest assured that I`m constantly stitching - and from time to time I`ll inundate you with photos, in between big gaps of silence. Happy stitching! :)

Twilleys of Stamford glasses cases

Good job I`ve reminded myself earlier today: I was so concentrating on the latest issue of WOCS that I almost forgot another two of my `debutantes`. I stitched these two funky glasses cases around last October... and, apparently, somebody else stitched matching bookmarks to go with them - I wonder why they were split between two stitchers like this? Anyway, I was in such a rush around that time last year that I never took pictures - probably just as well because they look so much better all made up and professionally photographed on Twilleys` website.

So here`s the link - and enjoy browsing the rest of their products too ;)

 Twilleys of Stamford

`Exotic Blooms`

`Jazzy Blooms`

The World of Cross Stitching 229

Although you wouldn`t know at first glance but the latest issue of WOCS is so `me` that it`s surprised even yours truly! ;) I`m not only talking about my own pieces in it, but the magazine as a whole - from the Dachshund on p. 13, featuring the Riolis kit I`d stitched a year or so ago for my Gran, to the model on p. 37 that I stitched for the Hen Fun kit for Bothy Threads. I also recognise model pieces or kits that friends of mine are/have been/will be stitching, oh and of course there are my Fathers` Day cars previewed from next month`s issue... However, I`d better stay with issue 229 for the noo, as it has not only one but TWO of my stitched pieces in it (cf. buses analogy).

So, the first one is a gorgeous cushion from Amanda Gregory. Now, you might remember that the only colour I don`t like is purple, so it says a lot about the design that despite its hues, I still like this cushion. It`s an interesting thing about model stitching, that it very often yanks you out of your comfort zone and you end up stitching - moreover, surprisingly, enjoying working on - designs that otherwise you wouldn`t have chosen for yourself. When picking my own, I`d go `too big, too small, too purple, too much backstitch, fractionals, French knots, yada yada`, but if it`s a commission, you just get on with it - and you`ll find the sense of accomplishment at the end is the same, maybe even greater.

Before my string of progress pics on this hydrangea, let me show you a close-up - if there`s ever been a project where BS made all the difference, eh? Love it! :)

And now the `short film`: pics taken every 5 hours, as usual, until all the cross stitch was done after 68, then another few hours backstitching (the picture was completed in 78 hours).

Hehe, did you notice how I delayed starting on the purples as long as I could? Tried to stick to the lovely shades of blue (my favourite colour) as long as possible, lol. ;) And if this wasn`t colourful enough, here`s the other end of the rainbow: a most cheerful, sunny cottage, á la Clarice Cliff, by Susan Bates - yet another project that I thoroughly enjoyed in-between two larger ones, so I`m afraid I don`t even have progress pics for this piece, only The Final One:

This project took 42 hours and was so much fun - if you`re feeling even just a teeny bit down, I`d recommend it as therapy: by the time you finish that great big sun alone, you`ll be smiling. ;)

And I love the orange frame they picked for it, as do I the finish on the hydrangea cushion - so all in all, a very good little issue from The World of Cross Stitching, I hope you`ll agree! :)

prodigal stitches

Well, I didn`t expect to have anything to report so soon but then earlier this week, some of my prodigal stitches have returned to me and I could not be happier! :D Lookee what Postie`s turned up with:

I am so thrilled to have these two back! I loved working on them and I also loved the way they were made up for the photo shoot. So now I`m going to find (or make) a cushion to fill Amanda Gregory`s bunny cushion cover (from Gold 109 - you can read more about how it was made here) and I also need to find a hoop big enough to frame the sunflowers the way you can see the picture in Gold 113. I have stitched quite a few Durene Jones designs (you can read my blog post about this sunflower picture here) and have enjoyed every one of them, from cards to BAPs, from bold colours to traditional Christmas charts - so it`s a special delight, and the perfect ending to this gift-filled week, that my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cross-Stitch-A-to-Z) got a Like from her - how awesome is that?? Every time I think of it, or look at my stitchy goodies, I can`t stop grinning - all in all, an unbelievably good week! ;) Happy stitching, everyone!