Cross Stitch Crazy magazine 195 Nov 2014

Saturday's post brought the latest issue of Cross Stich Crazy magazine.  One of the reasons I continue to subscribe is that I love to see stitchy mail and most issues have something I would like to stitch

The free gifts this month include a Christmas chart booklet by Joan Elliott, a separate chart and an accessory pack with some ribbons and a heart

I like a lot of Joan Elliott's designs and there are some cute charts in here for cards or ornaments. My particular favourites are the word ones.   I like these booklets because they include backing papers which are useful. 

Most of the designs in the magazine either don't appeal or are too similar to others I have with one notable exception.  There is a lovely Christmas design by one my favourite designers, Lizzie Kate.  There is also an interview with the designer 

I like to add to my Christmas stitching every year and this is going on the MUST STITCH pile.   Unlike most LK designs this is only charted for standard DMC, Anchor and Madeira.   I plan to use my stash of hand dyed threads instead and will probably also use some buttons or charms. Love it and my needle is twitching in anticipation already 

TUSAL August

I am loving the way that starting this blog has led me to so many new and interesting places.

I've joined the TUSAL - see the image with link in my sidebar if you want to find out more.

I already had started an Ort Jar earlier in the year as a result of an online chat somewhere and this is my August update

I'm a few days late but I hope that won't matter for my first time.

The jar is cut glass lead crystal which was a charity shop find (£2). It's actually a preserve jar as the lid has a gap fro a jam/honey spoon but I would never use it like that and I like cut glass.  

When I started the Ort jar it was quite dull but there are a few brighter threads in there now.  I think it's pretty and practical. 

My magnolia tree thinks it is Spring!

This photo was taken this morning - the magnolia tree blossomed as usual in Spring so I was somewhat surprised to see this.

Magnolias are one of my favourite flowers and I and reminded that i have a lovely Lanarte kit in my stash which I must stitch in the not too distant future.

2014 Smalls SAL. First finish

I joined this SAL this month when I discovered it.  Today is the monthly check in

I've made a pincushion using a free pattern by The Primitive Hare

It's stitched on 32 count linen which was white before I tea dyed it.   The thread is DMC.  the patch comes from my box of scraps and is one of my favourite fabrics which has been used for a quilt and a cushion surrounding a piece of cross stitch. Buttons from my button box.  

Fabric and threads from Jodyri Designs

On Saturday the postman brought an envelope of wonderful goodies - hand dyed fabric and threads from Jodyri Designs who is new to me.  I was introduced to her fabulous goodies by the great stash enabler MrsMilkyBarKid

Decided to place an order for the August limited edition fabric and threads which is called The Milky Bar Kid.   I chose 25 count Lugana and 28 opal linen and they are gorgeous.  Shades of pink, blue and yellow.   Not sure what to use them for yet but will have great fun deciding.

Here are the threads

This is the Lugana 

This is the opal linen which is much brighter so although the 2 pieces are the same colour in the range they look very different due to the different way that fabrics take the dye.

Cross Stitch Collection magazine 240 Sept 2014

Another magazine to look through and add to my To Stitch One Day

Last month I thought I would love the sewing set patterns but when I saw them in this month's magazine I wasn't too keen as there is too much backstitch.  It's quite pretty but I've seen similar that I like more

I LOVE fabric so am always interested when a new or new to me fabric is featured and there is a cute design of birds on branches where the branches are printed onto the linen.  As the base fabric is Cashel which is one of my absolute favourite fabrics for cross stitching I may have to invest in a piece.

The other design I love in this issue is Say Cheese by Emma Congdon.  I'm thinking this might be one of my Smalls designs for the SAL    The sentiment touched a chord

Signing Up Day

Today I have joined the 2014 WIPocalypse and created a separate page to track my progress on my WIPs and also offered to stitch a square on a LoveQuilts quilt.

This is a lovely charity which arranges for stitchers to cross stitch squares and then has them made into quilts for children with life limiting conditions.

I stitched one a while ago and when I saw that a new quilt had opened on the theme of Superheroes I just had to sign up as one of my completed projects this year was a Superhero name piece and I plan to use some of the characters from this pattern but without the letters.

It's a design by weelittlestitches which I bought from their Etsy shop

Goodies from StitchyAngel

Saturday's post brought a wonderful package to my door.

I had started following StitchyAngel's blog and noticed she had a tab for Sale/Trade.  I looked at it expecting to see charts, perhaps fabric but no there were actual stitched items for sale.

I bought her set of 4 Mini Chatelaine Samplers and 3 needlerolls!

They arrived on Saturday morning and were beautifully packaged in tissue paper and I love them all.

They are beautifully stitched.

My home is full of stitched items - on walls, on surfaces and in use and although most of the items have been stitched by me I also have beautiful things from exchanges and round robins as well as a couple of pieces I have bought at Craft Shows.  These are mainly in techniques I don't do such as a lovely Tiger Lily in goldwork and some stunning landscapes in machine embroidery.  Plus most of my framing has been done by professionals and the only large quilt I have finished was professionally quilted on a long arm quilting machine.

The needlerolls will go into display of stitched "smalls" which includes needlerolls made by me and 1 received by me in an exchange.  The mini Chatelaines will go on the wall but I will need to move some things around to accommodate them.  I'm sure they will be much admired (and I always say when I haven't made them). Thank you Sally for sharing your lovely work.

2014 Smalls SAL

I know it's August but I only just found this SAL for Smalls so I have asked to join in

I'm not the sort of stitcher who likes to stitch on just one project at a time so I love to intersperse some of my bigger projects with little items that can be finished more quickly.
I also love to have little stitched items around the house - some to use such as scissor fobs, pincushions and needlecases and some just for display.  And of course they make lovely little gifts.
So the only thing to decide is which design to stitch for August.  I have a large collection of small freebie designs so will be looking through these at the weekend.  I keep small pieces of fabric in a separate box so will also be going through that.  It make take some time but I know I will enjoy it and will end up with more projects on my TO STITCH list.
My To Stitch list and my Stash suggest that I have found the secret of eternal life as I need to live to about 400 to stitch everything.

Mirabilia SAL 2015

MrsMilkyBarKids vlogs on You Tube are fascinating and one of them includes a suggestion for a SAL starting in January 2015 for Mirabilia designs - any design by the wonderful Nora Corbett.

I've stitched some Mirabilia designs in the past and they are among my very favourite pieces with Titania (stitched on opalescent pink hand dyed fabric) and Sleeping Beauty (stitched on lavender hand dyed linen) being 2 I would pick as designs which gave me great pleasure stitching them and then looking at them.  Although Titania is currently in residence at my parents' home as my Dad asked for it one year.

So I know how much time they take to stitch and I don't have anything like as much stitching time available at the moment as I did when I stitched the Mirabilias.  But I just couldn't resist the idea of the SAL, especially when I started to read about the choices of other stitchers.   So I've signed up and created an Instagram account which is where I will share my progress pics.   Just need to decided on which design and then collect the supplies together before January 1st.

If I was going to stitch one of the big designs then Cinderella would probably be top of the list

But that dress would take a long of stitching time.

The other larger design I am considering is Elizabeth

Still a lot of stitching but no background, not as many colours as some Mirabilia designs and not very many beads either.   I love the effect of beads but find they take me ages to do.

So I am considering stitching one of the mermaids.  I have stitched 3 and they don't take as long because their fins aren't as big as the dresses.

I have a piece of Polstitches fabric called Dolphin Delight which I would love to use for a mermaid.

Having spent some time on the Fabric Viewer site the 2 I think would be best on this fabric are Shimmering Mermaid and Mediterranean Mermaid.

And if life really gets in the way of a Mirabilia commitment then I will choose one of the smaller Nora Corbett designs with these 3 top of the list:  Gigi, Needle Fairy and Bluebell.

I would love to stitch them all one day.........

Any comments which might influence my final choice welcomed.

World of Cross Stitching magazine

It doesn't seem like 4 weeks since the last issue of WOCS dropped onto my mat but it must be.

It isn't my favourite magazine as many of the designs are too "cutesy" for my taste but I still enjoying looking through it.

The free gift this month is 3 Christmas (!) designs by Margaret Sherry which I like and would consider stitching for an ornament or a coaster or as a card for a fellow stitcher that I knew would appreciate it and not discard it with the rest of the Christmas cards.  I've done a Christmas card exchange the past couple of years so these designs could be considered for this year as there are quite a few Margaret Sherry fans in the group.

The only other design I earmarked for possible future stitching was an Assisi alphabet using variegated thread (lovely).  I like the font used so I could see lots of possibilities for this - personalised coasters, scissor fobs, needlecases, fragrance sachets etc.

New fabric stash

I love the words and expressions US stitchers use and one I have recently come across is Stash Haul to describe the results of a shopping trip for stitching stash.  So this post is about a recent Stash Haul for fabric.

Willow Fabrics is one of my favourite online stores for Zweigart fabrics so when they told me they were having a sale I just couldn't resist.   I actually get great pleasure from just looking at and stroking fabric as well as stitching on it, especially linen.

Belfast linen (32) is simply beautiful to stitch with and look at when finished.  I bought Misty Blue, Lagoon (am thinking maybe a Mirabila mermaid or Lady Pirate for this), Olive Green and not in the sale Natural with red dot because I've seen a fabulous chart that uses this fabric.

Cashel linen (28) is probably my favourite fabric as my eyes are starting to struggle with 32 especially when the light isn't great.  So in Cashel I bought Granite and Vintage Peach

I couldn't resist a couple of pieces in Fein Ariosa (22) as these make lovely cushions.  Colours are Lemon Grass and Turquoise.    The colour of the lemon grass hasn't come out very well.  It is definitely green

28 count Brittney is a nice fabric for cross stitch and the colours I bought are called Vanilla, Lilac and Dark Pink (which isn't actually very dark)

The next photo is of a pack of 5 FQ for £10 which I consider to be a real bargain.  My favourite of course is the natural linen with red check but I like them all.  The cream/gold will be ideal for Christmas stockings

On the subject of Christmas stockings I like to use 25 count Lugana for some so here are pieces in Ice Blue, Potato and Christmas Red

I also bought a piece of 20 ct Bellana in avocado green, 24 hole congress cloth in black, some green aida band and a cushion cover kit of yellow roses

Finally I added Evangeline pattern by Lavender & Lace.  I've stitched a lot of Marilyn Leavitt Imblum's wonderful designs and it's very sad that there won't be any more.   I wasn't keen on this when it was first released but looking at it again I love the figure. I think it's the  colour of the fabric that was putting me off and that's easy to change 

Christmas framing collected

LCollected 2 pieces of Christmas stitching from the framers.   I have quite a collection of Christmas stitched pictures, ornaments, cushions and quilts so even at that time of year it is obvious that "a stitcher lives here"

Both of these were completed a while ago.

This one is a design by Passione Ricamo.  It is stitched on rustic aida.  If I was stitching it now I would use Evenweave but it looks ok

The smaller piece was finished on 24 12 12.   The chart which came with the buttons was a gift as part of a stitching exchange from many years ago.   I remember getting the chart and pulling the threads and fabric immediately.   I stitched about 2/3 and then it became a UFO.   Don't know why.  Probably because other projects with deadlines took precedence.  After I joined the Cross Stitch Cafe on Moneysavingexpert I made more of an effort to finish some of my UFOs and this was one of them.

It is stitched on dark teal Belfast linen (32 count) with DMC for everything except the red border and door which is a Needle Necessities variegated cotton plus heart and star buttons and white seed beads for the snow.  I know that  Needle Necessities are now ThreadWorkz but mine is NN so must be quite old.    

I keep being distracted by all the activity at the bird table since I added a suet and fruit tray.  Avian squabbling broke out but I don't think there have been any casualties. 

Cross Stitch Crazy 194 October 2014

Subscription copy of Cross Stutch Crazy was delivered yesterday.   Can't believe it is dated October!

Just had a look through it and picked out 2 designs that I might stitch.

First of all a lovely Japanese geisha designed by Lesley Teare.   Really like the choice of colours

Forest Friends is a very different style of design which would be perfect for a nursery or toddler's room, even for a birth sampler.  It is designed by Jayne Schofield.

The preview of next month looks great with a fabulous Christmas design by Lizzie Kate which is already on my must stitch list.

Scissors from The Sampler Guild

Shepherd's Bush have been a favourite designer for decades so when I saw the Shepherd's Fold project I had to sign up 

http://www.shepherdsbush.net/shepherds-fold.htm

I get mine from Fobbles a lovely shop in the Lake District which I would love to visit one day

https://www.fobbles.co.uk/bom-mysteries.html

So far there has been the box top and a scissor fob plus pincushion kit.  I haven't started stitching them yet but know I'm going to love them. 

Shepherd's Bush have a section showing "fun things" to put in the box and I fell in love with the Little Love purple scissors.  I do have a bit of an obsession with scissors and scissor fobs so when I found a page on The Sampler Guild website dedicated to embroidery scissors I was drooling.   I could have ordered one of each.  The site doesn't have online shopping.  I called and left a message and a lovely lady called Linda who runs The Sampler Guild called me back.  I emailed the details of my order and paid by paypal. Scissors arrived very promptly.  Great service and wonderful goods.

The pumpkin shaped scissors have already been given to my friend together withe coaster I stitched and a Just Nan needle slide and I forgot to take a photo but they are all here

http://www.thesamplerguild.co.uk/TSG%20Scissors%20Shop%20Page.htm

These are the purple ones to go with my SB scissor fob and another pair in blue "just because"

I can see me buying more as gifts for stitchy friends together with a stitched scissor fob

These 2 have longer blades

This tiny pair with an Eiffel Tower design are ear marked for a friend who loves France

And finally! I couldn't resist these 2. Daisy and Hearts Atopple

Well I did say I had a bit of an obsession with scissors.