Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2015 i Cross Stitch Collection

Meet the designer... Maria Diaz “Being a creative bunch, our whole family loves making gingerbread houses and my boys like to try and outdo their Granddad Tony's ambitious creations. When Lincoln, the first grandchild, was about three years old we thought it would be a lovely bonding moment for him to make a gingerbread house with my father. Unfortunately, due to creative differences, everyone now has to have their own. All the more gingerbread to eat!” An easy design that is colourful and packed with fun Make a gingerbread house without any of the mess with this lovely stitched design – and there's no chance of it collapsing as you attach the final sweet! We love the soft quilted design on the roof and the bright front door. To make…

There’s an autumnal chill in the air, the maids’ bells are jangling and the dust sheets are off the chandeliers - it can mean only one thing: Downton Abbey is back. But for cross stitch designer Sheena Rogers, the blockbuster series has been on her mind for months. Already the maker of several Downton designs, she’s created an unofficial Carson pattern just for us. “Downton Abbey itself, otherwise known as Highclere, was just crying out to be immortalised in cross stitch,” she remembers. “I thought it would be a great challenge to design the castle, with all its windows.” After the Christmas special filmed at Inveraray Castle, she designed a mini cushion based on the castle, named Duneagle Castle in the series. After this, Sheena says: “I thought I would…

Part two of your Christmas sampler You will need... 32HPI evenweave (or 16HPI aida), Murano evenweave, off-white, ref:3984/101, 24x16in (61x40.5cm) Stranded cotton as listed in the key Cotton fabric backing fabric, off white Dowel ¾ diameter x 11in (2cm diameter x 28.2cm) A pair of wooden cabinet knobs 1¼in (3.4cm) Thick twisted cord 39½in (1metre) Sewing kit – usual essentials including matching thread Fabric for the stitched piece supplied by Willow Fabrics – visit www.willowfabrics.com or call 0800 0567811 Turn to page 62 for hints and tips! Preparing your fabric START by stiching the top half of your sampler. We have printed the bottom section of our seasonal block sampler in this issue. To begin stitching you will need part one of this chart, the top section, which appeared in…

Collection 251 Old-fashioned florist’s shop by Maria Diaz Travel set to give as a gift Beautiful butterflies from Permin to frame in an embroidery hoop Exam congrats card Giant cushions with fun tropical motifs Make your own vintage style button sampler Chart of the month – Scrapbook style rose study by Durene Jones Collection 252 A burst of summer colour with Lesley Teare’s gorgeous bouquet Carry off first prize at the village show with our preserve covers Make our special delivery red postbox card Stitch our fresh kitchen herb collection Chart of the month - A crafter’s dream! Fashion your ultimate sewing room by Maria Diaz Collection 253 Stitch up a magical flower fairy by Lesley Teare Fall in love with Jenny Barton’s Autumn sampler Make a personalised pencil case…

Scrummy stitches At this time of year our desire for sweet treats is stronger than ever, and these gorgeous designs from Lesley Teare could be just the thing to keep our waistlines from expanding too much! Lesley says they were really pleasing to devise, beginning with a series of sketches to work out how she wanted them to look. “I charted some cupcake cards for the Cross Stitch Tea Time book and I was delighted with them,” she comments. “The colourful shapes lend themselves to large, satisfying designs, but don’t take too long to stitch as they use just whole stitches and no backstitches.” The size of the designs are 10x10 inches (254x254 mm) so are ideal for framing or as a centre design for a cushion. Other tempting designs…

DAINTY MAKES You will need… 28HPI linen (or 14HPI aida), Zweigart Cashel, cream, Ref:3281/233, 12x9½in (30.5x24cm) Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 26 tapestry needle Stitching the design WORK your design in the centre of one rectangle of linen. To find the centre, fold the fabric in half both ways; the crease in the middle will correspond with the centre of the design. STITCH all the cross stitch in two strands of stranded cotton over two threads of linen, and the backstitch and French knots in one strand. How to make your bag 1 PLACE the stitched linen and backing fabric right sides together. 2 MACHINE stitch around three sides of the bag, leaving the top open. 3 TURN over the top edge of the bag, twice. Press…

You will need… 14HPI aida, white, 10x10in (25x25cm) Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 26 tapestry needle Black velvet or similar for the backing fabric, 8x8in (20x20cm) Soft toy filling For stockist details see page 60 Stitching the design FOLD your fabric in half both ways and start stitching at this point to make sure the design is central on the fabric. Work the cross stitch in two strands of stranded cotton, and the backstitch in one strand. How to make a mini bust ONCE all of the stitching is complete, you can then make up the design into a mini bust. 1 PLACE the backing fabric face up on a flat surface, then place your stitching face down on top and pin the two pieces together.…

Stitch the King’s wives New from Goldleaf Needlework are these historical charts that complete the Vanessa Wells series of the six wives of Henry VIII. Five lucky winners will each receive a set containing a Catherine Parr CL115 and a Catherine Howard CL114 black and white chart to the value of £13. You can find individual charts of each of the six wives for £6.20 from www.goldleafneedlework.co.uk, kits also available. Enter by post to the address below, please label your entry ‘Kings Wives Giveaway’. Show time! If you’re looking to get lots of stitchy gifts and inspiration for Christmas, we’ve got just the giveaway for you! We have teamed up with the organisers of the Crafts for Christmas and Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts show, ICHF, to offer 15 lucky readers…

Star letter The writer of our star letter will receive a Heritage Crafts kit from the fabulous Cat’s Rule! series by Peter Underhill. The kit, Sleigh Belle (CRSB1283), is worth £17.25 and features a cute cat getting into the Christmas spirit. It comes as a kit with 27 count evenweave, stranded cotton and a clear chart and instructions. Go to www.hcrafts.com  for more details. Well done Abigail Le Chevalier who will be receiving her kit very soon. Birthday blooms Here is a picture of my completed House of Blooms pattern, featured in the July 2015 issue. I have just finished it for my mum’s birthday and she loves it. I really enjoyed working on this design, which took me two months to complete. Abigail Le Chevalier, Jersey Collection…

ANN’S ORCHARD www.annsorchard.co.uk 01342 311545 For contemporary and traditional bead and needlework kits, plus handmade frames to display them in BARNYARNS www.barnyarns.co.uk 0176 569 0069 For Anchor, DMC and Madeira threads and all kinds of haberdashery supplies COTTON PATCH www.cottonpatch.co.uk 0121 702 2840 For fabrics, books, wadding, notions, accessories and haberdashery CRAFT LAMPS www.craftlamps.co.uk 01373 454448 Stocking a fantastic array of craft lamps including desk, floor and magnifying lamps, including DaylightTM lamps DKH CREATIONS www.dkhcreations.co.uk For cross stitch kits, threads, aida and essential accessories DP SOFTWARE www.dpsoftware.com 01454 612598 Software for creating charts for cross stitch and tapestry E-FRAME www.eframe.co.uk Bespoke and ready-made picture frames and mounts for displaying your stitching HOBBYCRAFT www.hobbycraft.co.uk 0845 051 6599 For cardstock, paper, paint, glue and crafting supplies JOHN JAMES NEEDLES www.jjneedles.com 0152 783…

Getting started Try these three ways to get going, then choose the one that suits you best Loop start When stitching with two threads Cut a single thread that’s twice as long as you need, and thread both ends through your needle. Come up through the fabric and make a half stitch, then pass the needle through the loop that’s formed at the back to secure it. Loose end start When stitching with any number of threads Bring your needle up through the fabric, and be sure to leave a little piece of thread at the back. Hold this thread underneath the area to be stitched so that you will secure it with your first few cross stitches. Waste knot start When stitching with any number of threads Knot the…

This adorable little chap is something that I almost made up simply because I liked the drawing. I think he may have originally been inspired by a line drawing in a Dover publication. If you haven’t discovered these, they are a treasure trove of royalty-free image books for artists. You’ll find them here – www.doverbooks.co.uk . I warn you, you won’t be able to stop at one! I have searched through my extensive library for the original source material for the deer but I cannot find it. I loved the shape and turned it in to this simple motif known as the Prancing Deer. I have included the pattern on a few designs over the years. I’m often asked about what inspires my designs and it’s never…

These plump and jaunty robins are the essence of winter. This versatile design works as a repeat or on its own – you could even stitch a single robin for a small Christmas card or gift tag. Take time over your counting when working the branches to make sure all the repeats look the same. For tips on how to get your French knots just right, see page 63. DAINTY MAKES You will need… 28HPI linen (or 14HPI aida), Zweigart Cashel, cream Ref no: 3281/53, 5in (12cm) x the length around your cake or tin Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 26 tapestry needle Lace for the edges of the cake band, white, 1in (2.5cm) For stockist details see page 60 . Stitching the design MEASURE your…

Meet the designer… Durene Jones Christmas was clearly the main inspiration behind this design, but a slightly more serious view of Christmas. I wanted my angel to convey a sense peace and joy and for her to have the look of a guardian angel coming to someone at Christmas. The trickiest part of the design, as always with people or animals, was getting the expression and look of the face right. Getting the fabric on the dress to look like it was flowing but still natural, was also tricky. It involved a lot of very closely shaded colours. As a stitcher, I would allow extra time for the finishing off of this design, sewing on the beads, and doing the french knots, and of course getting her face sewn on…

Both designs in this sewing set are stitched from the same chart but the pin cushion is worked over two threads and the scissor keeper is over one. We love the effect and it's got us thinking about what other favourite designs we can stitch in miniature! DAINTY MAKES You will need… 28HPI linen, Zweigart Cashel, natural Ref no: 3281/53, 3¼x4in (8.5 x10cm) for pincushion; 3in (8cm) x distance around spool for scissor keeper Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 26 tapestry needle Backing fabric for pincushion Toy stuffing Wooden spool 3½in (9cm) high Stitching the design WORK the pincushion using two strands of stranded cotton over two threads of linen for the cross stitch, and one stand for the backstitch and French knots. The scissor keeper is…

This timeless hanging decoration will add a charming touch to any Christmas wreath. It would look equally festive hanging from a door knob – add some cloves and a cinnamon stick and it will fill your home with the scent of Christmas. DAINTY MAKES You will need… 28HPI linen (or 14HPI aida), Zweigart Cashel, parchment Ref no: 3281/53, 6x6in (15x15cm) Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 26 tapestry needle Backing fabric, 5x5in (12.5x12.5cm) Toy stuffing Velvet ribbon, brown, › x10in (1x26cm) For stockist details see page 60 Stitching the design WORK all the cross stitch in two strands of stranded cotton over two threads of linen, and the backstitch in one strand. How to make a hanging decoration 1 CUT the stitched design to the same size…