Stitchy Saturday – Needlecraft Haven Advent Exchange

Each Saturday, I will feature either something I’m currently stitching, something I’ve just finished stitching, or something I’ve just designed. I hope you’ll all join me in displaying some of your own work and leaving a link to your post in the comments below.

Crazy January Challenge – Project #15

Crazy January Challenge
Project #15: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Sampler by Kincavel Krosses
Info: white 14-count aida; DMC 4210

This is another last minute substitution. I originally listed the Bibliophile Blackwork Bookmark, but I really just didn’t fancy stitching a blackwork piece tonight and switched to this little sampler instead. I love the variations in the colour of this floss. They’re quite subtle but, I think, effective, and I like how this looks so far.

So, that’s all fifteen projects started. Now all I have to do is finish them all by the end of the year! I’ll be giving updates on my progress the first Saturday of each month as part of my Stitchy Saturdays, but I may occasionally pop up a post ni between those if I’ve managed to do a fair bit on a project, so I hope you’ll keep visiting!

ATCs For September

Group: Cross Stitch ATCs
Theme: Flower Power
Stitched by: Me!
Sent to: Lorraine Grimshaw, Swansea, Wales
Information: The main part of this Assisi rose design is stitched in a variegated floss, but the backstitching and border are stitched in rose-scented DMC (the fabric is white 18-count aida). The backing card has a pale blue floral design and I cut the edges with fancy-blade scissors for the scalloped effect. Finally, I finished the ATC with some rose-coloured ribbon and pearls.

The design is a freebie from Needlework Tips and Techniques.

Group: Cross Stitch ATCs
Theme: Letter B
Stitched by: Me!
Sent to: Lynn Stevens, Surrey, UK
Information: I liked the simplicity of this art nouveau letter with the highly stylised rose. It also gave me another chance to stitch with my rose-scented DMC! The letter itself, and the backstitching on the rose, is in Belle Soie silk – the design is stitched on white 14-count perforated paper. The backing card is the same pale blue floral card I used for the Flower Power ATC and cut the edges with the same fancy-edged scissors, but turned the other way for a different finish. Finally, I added three glittery butterfly embellishments which are raised from the card by using 3D sticky foam for a bit of added depth.

The design is from the December 2009 issue of CrossStitcher Magazine – Art Nouveau ABC by Diane Machin. It was the featured Alphabet of the Month.

Group: Addicted to Cross Stitch ATCs
Theme: Pigs
Stitched by: Me!
Sent to: Anna Itsma, Netherlands
Information: This is my first ATC for exchange with this group and I adore pigs, so I wanted to stitch something sweet. Pigs often get a bad rep for being stinky and dirty, so This Little Piggy is pristinely clean and sweetly scented as I once more used my rose-scented DMC on white 18-count aida. I covered the plain white backing card with some pretty pink hand-made paper and added a flower cut from some wrapping paper in the bottom left corner. Next I cut the edges with wavy-edged scissors and finished it all off by adding some tiny pink crystal embellishments (the top one is a tiny heart).

The design is part of a larger farmyard sampler (Sheep, Pig and More) from Cross Stitchers Club. I added the text myself.

Group: Cross Stitch ATCs
Theme: Flower Power
Stitched by: Rachel Bailey, Wales, UK
Sent to: Me!
Information: This very clever and effective Flower Power ATC was designed by Rachel especially for this exchange. I love how the lettering is incorporated into the centre of the flower – ingenious! The colours are so cheery and vibrant – they really pop!

Group: Cross Stitch ATCs
Theme: Letter B
Stitched by: Emma Rowlett, Telford, UK
Sent to: Me!
Information: This cute snake looped through the letter is just so sweet! I love how Emma carried the theme off the fabric with the stickers spelling “hisss”, and the wavy-edged card – so effective.

Group: Addicted to Cross Stitch ATCs
Theme: Pigs
Stitched by: Karen Beaton, Melton, Australia
Sent to: Me!
Information: I adore this rainy day pig splashing in the puddles. And those rainbow-coloured raindrops are so gorgeous and sparkly. Just adorable through and through!

 

Disney Characters ATC Exchange

Group: Cross Stitch Forum
Theme: Disney Characters
Stitched by: Me!
Sent to: Heidi Collins in Birmingham, UK
Information: I simply couldn’t resist this cute design of Pooh Bear posing while being kissed on the nose by a butterfly! He’s stitched on ecru 22-count hardanger in DMC floss. The backing paper was actually a pretty floral wrapping paper and I added a few metallic butterfly stickers before trimming the edges of the ATC with fancy-bladed craft scissors. The ATC is photographed on my copy of Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne, which I’ve had since I was two years old.

Group: Cross Stitch Forum
Theme: Disney Characters
Stitched by: Esme in Wolverhampton, UK
Sent to: Me!
Information: By sheer coincidence, Esme also chose a character from Winnie-The-Pooh – the ever-so-sweet Piglet. He also has a butterfly with him and he looks utterly delighted! He’s stitched on pale blue aida and the ATC is edged with the most gorgeous perle-and-metallic finish braid. The photograph doesn’t do it justice!

A decade in the making…

While clearing out a cupboard yesterday morning, I came across a small package of cross stitching stash from when I used to stitch. I quit cross stitching in early 2000 (not long after beginning to see my hubby) – no particular reason other than I fell out of the habit – and only took it up again in February 2009, so these items had lain untouched for ten years!

In that package, I found several blackwork patterns, a dozen or so flosses, some cream 14-count aida (still in the packet with only a little piece used), and a bookmark that I had finished stitching but never assembled into a finished piece.

I have no idea where I got the pattern (or where it is now – I suspect it’s in my Celtic Cross Stitch book though), nor do I know which threads I used (probably DMC, but no idea of the colour codes), and I think it’s stitched on the piece of cream aida that was missing from the packet.

So this morning, I finally washed, ironed, fringed and backed the bookmark with white self-adhesive felt and here it is. Could this be a record for longest time taken to complete a cross stitched bookmark?

Oh, and if you’re wondering, that’s my copy of Bleak House by Charles Dickens that it’s lying across in the photo.

Two ATCs

“Illuminated C” and “Koi”

These are the two ATCs I stitched for the May exchange at the Cross Stitch ATC Facebook group.

The first theme is “The Letter C” – the plan is that all 26 letters will be covered, but not in alphabetical order (just to keep us on our toes!). I chose my design from Illuminated Letters by Lesley Teare – the alphabet featured in an issue of The World of Cross Stitching (I don’t know which issue – I swapped a chart with a member on a forum to get these), and I plan to use these designs for my whole alphabet series. It’s stitched on white 14-count aida in various DMC threads and only just fits on the card, so next time I’ll be using a higher count of fabric!

The second theme is “Oriental”. I found this gorgeous little koi design which is free to download from Cross Stitch Happy and just knew it was the one for me! I didn’t use the suggested colours, but instead picked colours out of my existing stash. I also replaced the eyes and most of the little buds on the plants with beads, just for a little extra dimension. Finally, I added the Japanese character for “koi” in the upper right-hand corner. The koi represents love and friendship, so this beautiful fish was the perfect choice for an exchange. I like him so much I almost wished I could have kept him for myself, so I think there’s a distinct possibility I’ll stitch him again for a card or some such thing. This version is stitched on pale blue 14-count aida in various DMC threads and beads I had to hand.

A Biscornu for May

Design: Blackwork Biscofleur by Kell Smurthwaite, Kincavel Krosses
Materials: White 14-count aida; DMC 310 floss; black tassel; black ribbon; soft toy stuffing

I thought I’d give a 15-faced biscofleur a try as I’d made a regular 15-sided biscornu before, but admired the “tulip” shape of the biscofleur. It was a lot simpler to put together than I had thought it would be.

I designed five blackwork faces and stitched three of each, with the exception of the fifth design, of which I stitched only two and replaced the third with a simple blackwork border around my name and the date.

The designs will shortly be available for download on my design blog (click on Kincavel Krosses above).

Mothers’ Day Card

Design: Matka Boska (monochromatic) by xhaftx (free design)
Materials: Brown 14-count perforated paper; Anchor 1302 (variegated); DMC 3770; brown marbled card

The original design has a halo above the heads (I suspect it’s actually meant as a Christmas card), but as my mother is one of the least religious people I know, I omitted them from the design, leaving just the mother and child. I loved the effect of the creamy tones in the variegated floss for the figures – it kept them from being more static, as I suspect they may have been if stitched in monochrome (although, I have actually seen it stitched beautifully in blue).

Rather than just affix the stitched paper to a pre-made card, I thought I’d try something a little different. I stitched a message for inside the card on another piece of perforated paper and backed them both with a thin marble-effect brown card which toned beautifully. Then I blanket-stitched the left-hand edges of the perforated paper together to make the card and hey presto!

I’m quite pleased with how it turned out and I hope my Mam will like it too.

Mothers’ Day Bookmarks

Design: Freebie kit from Cross Stitch Crazy Magazine issue 136
Materials: Kit from magazine; blue self-adhesive felt

I changed the lettering on part of the chart to read “Grom” instead of “Mum” (the word was also originally in chunkier lettering which I wasn’t very keen on anyway) and left out the random stitches that were scattered across the bookmark as I preferred how it looked without. When it was all stitched, I backed the bookmark with blue self-adhesive felt. This is a Mothers’ Day gift for my Grom.

Design: Freebie from Mia Stitch
Materials: white 14-count perforated paper; DMC 92 variegated floss (green); green self-adhesive felt

The original design is the outer edge only, so I filled in the centre with two very simple inner borders of stitching that would not detract from the outer design. I then backed the bookmark with green self-adhesive felt and carefully cut around the design one hole out from the stitching so that the bookmark would have an irregular edge, making a nice change from the usual rectangular shape. This is a Mothers’ Day gift for my Mam.

Book Club Forum BIG Bookmark Stitch-Along

Design: By Papillon Creations (newsletter freebie design)
Materials: Hand-dyed 28-count evenweave from a Polstitches Grab Bag (possibly Nature’s Grace); DMC 208, 3805 and 3819; Madeira Sterling 04; Dark blue sticky-backed felt

Last year I hosted a 15-sided biscornu stitch-along at The Book Club Forum for those members who were stitchers as well as readers. This year I thought it might be fun to entice them into stitching a bookmark (well, it’s appropriate in that it’s related to both our passions!). I may even have attracted a few folks who are completely new to cross stitch, which is fantastic.

I changed the colours from the originals of pale blue, lilac and gold-yellow to violet, magenta and pale green with a touch of metallic gold added to it. It’s stitched with two strands of floss (except the green and gold combo which is two strands of each as the metallic thread is very fine) over two threads, so that the 28-count fabric holds a design the same size as if it were stitched on 14-count Aida.

I added a border alternating stitches of violet and magenta and stitched my name and the year in tiny lettering in the bottom right corner.

I made a small tassel using all the flosses I’d used for stitching and fringed the edges before backing the bookmark with dark blue sticky-backed felt (it makes everything look neat and protects the reverse stitching.

And if anyone’s interested, it’s photographed lying on my Bill Amberg Collection leather-bound copy of A Room With A View by E M Forster.