Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2016 i Cross Stitch Collection

Autumn Trees, £4.73 This trio of quirky trees in autumnal shades is the perfect contemporary cross stitch project for this time of year. Designed by Tina Fitzpatrick, we think they would be ideal for a nursery, or any other room in your home, for that matter! The design uses full cross stitches only, and is available as a digital chart, complete with suggested thread shades. Download the chart at www.sewingseed.com. Silhouette Tree, £3.40 We love Alice Alan’s take on traditional blackwork – this windswept tree is full of energy! Choose the colour that best fits the mood you’re trying to evoke – white threads on blue creates a shivery winter version, while brown on cream is more autumnal. With 179 by 180 stitches, this is a design you’ll love to…

You will need… 28 count evenweave, natural, 16.5x11.5cm (6½x4½in) White felt 16.5x11.5cm (6½x4½in) heart back; 7.5x7.5cm (3x3in) snow White cord or bakers twine for hanging loop Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 24 tapestry needle Toy stuffing Stitching the design STITCH your chosen animal using two strands for the cross stitch, adding randomly placed snowflakes and French knots in two strands. Make a heart 1 DOWNLOAD the heart template from www.willowfabrics.com. Use the template to mark the shape onto your evenweave, making sure it is straight and your design is centered in the top half of your heart, then cut out. Attach the felt snow below your stitching using small running stitches. 2 CUT a heart from felt and sew to your stitching right-sides together. Leave a gap…

Star letter The winner of our star letter will receive Bright Eyes, a cross stitch kit by Hannah Dale for Bothy Threads. The kit comes with speckled aida fabric, and features a floppy-eared rabbit nestling amongst the bluebells. Bright Eyes is available from www.bothythreads.com  for £27.49. Well done Samantha Jane, who will be receiving her prize very soon. Prize pansies I finally got to finish the beautiful pansies that were featured in issue 231 from January 2014. I enter a local show every year and this year I have been recovering from surgery on my leg for over a year. Stitching has been my rock and helped me so I thought I would stitch the lovely pansies while recovering. I love Lesley Teare designs. I added a beaded…

“I was taught to do things very precisely and on a small scale” Yoh Nye Sakurai may have been born in Japan, but his heart belongs to the Isle of Wight. The talented cross stitcher has lived on the island since falling in love with his husband, James, who grew up there, and finds the picture-perfect villages to be an endless source of inspiration. Yoh first came to England to study furniture restoration, influenced, he says, by his paternal grandfather, who owned a small furniture factory, and his father, who makes and designs furniture. He worked at a small upholstery business in Oxfordshire after he qualified and then began to explore the idea of starting his own business. “I’d done some needlework as an upholsterer but hadn’t really done any…

Meet the designer... Deb Lester These are actually my own three children as fondly remembered by their Nana, my mum Sandy Littlejohns. She created the original versions of these designs a while ago now and while they are all grown up (the youngest is 17), this is how I love to remember them, playing in the snow without a care in the world. The littlest was always trying to keep up with his siblings and refused to be left out of anything. Our nostalgic winter scenes recall happy days sledging These pretty winter scenes are an ideal complement to traditional Christmas decorations. The children may be based on Deb's own children, but we think they recall snowy memories from all our childhoods – speeding though the snow with rosy red…

Collection 264 • Celebrate shoes with our giant modern sampler • Stitch your own craft shop drawn by Peter Underhill • Make a summer picnic set • Send a pretty floral wreath with a birthday message • Create Jane Greenoff’s Watbo scissor keeper • Give a beautiful wedding keepsake designed by Lesley Teare • Stitch a modern metallic peacock feather cushion Collection 265 • Find the first half of our giant Venice street scene • Save your place with our Art Deco bookmarks • Stitch a stunning dolphin portrait designed by Jayne Netley Mayhew • Make a summery picture with our Kilner jar flowers • Top your home-made jam with our sweet cover • Share some bunny hugs with our adorable picture • Stitch a wild rose sampler Collection 266…

Our magical new design by Deb Lester captures Father Christmas as he puts his gifts under the tree while everybody sleeps and his reindeer wait patiently on the roof. As you'd expect with Deb's designs, this lovely picture is packed with details. We love the moonlit tree festooned with lights, the cat walking past a snowman and the decorated living room. This is a challenging design, not least because of it's size, frequent colour changes and use of blending filament for the large areas of snow. You'll also need to get your head around vertical and horizontal half stitches and fractionals, plus seven shades of backstitch. As ever, our giant chart and step-by-step guide will hold your hand every step of the way. Make it yours You will need... Zweigart…

Stitched up stories We love a good story to listen to while cross stitching, and are excited about an exhibition currently being hosted at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) at Hampton Court Palace. Stories in Stitch offers the chance to immerse yourself in childhood favourites, all recreated using techniques such as stumpwork, raised embroidery and appliqué. Look out for Mary Poppins sailing over the rooftops, a princess worrying about the pea buried beneath her mattresses and Humpty Dumpty trying not to fall off his wall! From fairytales to nursery rhymes to myths, dramas and films, they’ve all been stitched and sewn beautifully! “We have had such fun selecting all the pieces for this exhibition and it has triggered many memories and stories of our own,” says RSN chief executive…

Pains of Love One lucky winner will receive a Pains of Love kit (RRP £44.99) from Bothy Threads. This kit is one of a series developed from art work by Moira Blackburn. This lovely sampler uses full stitches only and is stitched on 16 count parchment Zweigart aida, with pre-sorted stranded cotton, needle, stitch diagram and instructions, plus an alphabet and numbers for personalisation. The finished size is 43x38cm (17x15in). More details about this kit and other kits in the series can be found at www.bothythreads.com. Enter by post to the address given below, please label your entry Pains of Love kit giveaway CSC 268. Finest quality needles The name John James is synonymous around the globe with the very best of needle manufacture, quality and reliability. We have a…

You will need… Zweigart 28 count Cashel opalescent snow, ref: 3281/1111, 28x28cm (11x11in) Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 26 tapestry needle Frame with a 16.5x16.5cm (6½x6½in) aperture For stockist details see page 58 Stitching the design FOLD the fabric both ways to find the centre and start your stitching here. Use two strands of stranded cotton for the cross stitch, and one for the backstitch. Collection makes... JUST FOR YOU Make gift tags using the stocking designs – you can change the colours to make it personal. LOVELY LABEL Stitch a mini stocking for each member of your family, then add their name in backstitch and use to label everyone's stockings on Christmas eve, Stocking sampler…

Stockists   Seen something that’s inspired you? Here’s where you can buy it… ANN’S ORCHARD  www.annsorchard.co.uk 01342 311545 For contemporary and traditional bead and needlework kits, plus 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, and accessories and other 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. CROSS STITCH GUILD  www.thecrossstitchguild.com 01285 713678 Online shop selling books, kits, supplies, tools and chart design software. DKH CREATIONS  www.dkhcreations.co.uk For cross stitch kits, threads, aida and accessories. DP SOFTWARE  www.dpsoftware.com 01454 612598 Software for creating charts for cross stitch and tapestry from drawings…

Getting started Select your needle TIP To attach beads, use a beading needle or a size 28 tapestry needle. 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…

Tell us about yourself I’m a retired cashier and supply tech, sharing a home with my loving husband of almost 40 years. I was a US Army wife for 20 years while raising our son and daughter who now have families of their own. When did you fall in love with cross stitch? My love for cross stitch started in 1992 when I was given a small stamped kit as gift. Once I finished that little kit, I bought a counted cross stitch book and the rest is history. What sort of things do you most like to stitch? I love fairies, angels and designs with people in them. I’ve never liked stitching full coverage pieces because I want to get to the beautiful subject in the centre quickly. What’s…

Meet the designer... Jayne Netley Mayhew “The cool frosty scene in which I have placed my cuddly bear family could be given more sparkle by working with one strand of white and one of DMC Light Effects Pearlescent E5200, rather than just two strands of white. Use this for the white areas around the bears and don’t forget all the snowflakes. For less of a sparkle, but a wonderful sheen, replace the white worked in the background with DMC Satin S5200. Don't be afraid of mixing thread types like this, there's an array of different sorts, from sparkles to linen effect. If you were working on a flower design, you could replace areas of colour with something that has more shimmer. I sometimes just change the thread on the flower…

“Our stunning designs are sized to fit in an embroidery hoop to hang from your Christmas tree” Our striking decorations show three nativity scenes in simple black and white silhouette with gold details and lyrics from traditional Christmas carols. They are sized to fit in a 10cm (4in) embroidery hoop, so you can hang them from your Christmas tree with festive gold ribbon. We also think they'd look lovely hanging from ribbon strung along the banister. At eight hours stitching time each and using just two shades of stranded cotton, our lovely designs are just the thing to stitch to refresh yourself between larger projects in the run up to Christmas. Make it yours You will need… Zweigart 28 count Quaker Bantry antique white, ref: 3993/101, 18x18cm (7x7in) for each…

You will need… Zweigart 28 count Cashel vintage blue, ref: 3281/5139, 28x28cm (11x11in) Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 26 tapestry needle Wooden embroidery hoop; 15cm (6in) diameter For stockist details see page 58 Stitching the design FOLD the fabric both ways to find the centre and start stitching here. Use two strands of stranded cotton for the cross stitch, one strand for the backstitch and French knots. Snug as a bug Tip… Hot water bottle cover Stitch your design onto a large piece of evenweave and sew into bag with a cord drawstring to make a snuggly hot water bottle cover or cosy pyjama case. Turn to page 15 for full instructions on how to mount your finished stitching into a hoop…

This kitsch-tastic trio of animals are really cute when embellished with bells and bows. You can download the star background then print onto thin white card to make your finished stitching into bright cards. If you struggle to make your ribbons into symmetrical bows, you could buy pre-tied bows from a craft shop, or replace the bows with pretty pom-poms. You will need… 14 count aida white, 9x9cm (3½x3½in) for each card Stranded cotton as listed in the key Size 24 tapestry needle Blue ribbon for bow Silver bell Card to fit design or downloaded file printed onto thin card Stitching the design START stitching in the centre of the fabric. Complete all the cross stitch in two strands before adding the backstitch in one and two strands, and the…

You can buy a digital edition of Cross Stitch Collection – ready to read whenever you want. Single issues and subscriptions are available and every issue you purchase is stored in your magazine library permanently. Once the magazine has downloaded, an internet connection is not required so you can take your magazine with you, wherever you go. You’ll also find a huge range of back issues online too – go and have a browse to see what you’ve missed! Go to Apple Newsstand for iPad and iPhone www.bit.ly/AppleCSCollection Go to Zinio for Android or PC/Mac www.zinio.com/crossstitchcollection EVERY ISSUE features easy-to-use charts you can zoom!…