Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2017 i Cross Stitch Gold

“This sleepy character makes a glorious focus for this autumnal cushion, which will be lovely to stitch as the nights draw in but will also be nice to enjoy all year round” Meet the designer Carol Thornton Watercolour artist Carol sketches and paints her gorgeous works of art before turning them into cross stitch designs. She creates charts for various magazines and has attracted legions of fans who love her distinctive style of artwork, which translates beautifully into cross stitch. “I know so many people who would love this – it’s a wonderful project to stitch as a present”Heather Nugent, Charting Assistant You will need FABRIC Zweigart 14-count white aida measuring 45x45cm (17›x17›in) THREADS Stranded cotton as listed in the key NEEDLE Size 24 tapestry needle EXTRAS Backing fabric of…

Celtic challenge When I saw the Celtic angel in Gold 136, I was drawn to it immediately – the depth of colour, the movement in it – and I knew I had to stitch it! I’ve only been cross stitching for a year, and this was my first go with beading – it won’t be the last as I found it fun. The hardest part by far was the metallic thread – that stuff is tricky! But I’m so happy I did it, I just love the design. Please keep featuring inspirational charts! Alison Barrett, Canada Sarah: A great achievement, Alison – especially as you’ve not been stitching long!…

A PIECE OF CAKE Ready, Steady, Bake! is one of the latest designs available from The Karen Carter Collection for Heritage Crafts and we can't think of a better design to give a keen baker to hang in their kitchen. Colourful, filled with fun details and festooned with bunting, this is a really lovely project to get your teeth into (as it were!). If you like this, Sewing Room is another fantastic design from this series that will appeal to any special needlecrafter in your life – or why not simply keep it for yourself? Buy this kit for £22.49 from www.hcrafts.com  or call 01889 575256 Prickle your fancy! Nature lovers are in for a treat as Bothy Threads has launched four new designs by Hannah Dale this…

“With its simple colour palette, this ornate pattern makes for a traditional-style Christmas project with a contemporary edge – the best of both worlds!” Meet the designer Durene Jones Prolific designer Durene Jones creates cross stitch charts for a range of stitching magazines. Her work is well loved for its modern and colourful tone, but she is a versatile designer and can turn her hand to any theme or style. Before starting on her creative cross stitch career Durene worked as a graphic designer. “I can’t think of anything nicer to place on the table on Christmas Day to make this big occasion all the more special”Abigail Barker, Special Projects Coordinator You will need FABRIC Zweigart 28-count dark cream cashel linen (3281/233) measuring minimum 35x70cm (13¾x27½in), or longer as appropriate…

THE EXPERTS JO BENNER Jo is an experienced stitcher and crafter, who writes for several cross stitch magazines. She can help with chart queries and stitching know-how, as well as product questions. FIONA BAKER Fiona is the Technical Editor for Cross Stitch Gold and our sister magazines. She is a talented cross stitch designer, too, and can answer any of your stitching queries. SARAH TREVOR Sarah has worked on cross stitching and craft magazines for over seven years. She’s an avid stitcher, and is ready and raring to help you with any of your craft or cross stitch dilemmas. SCISSOR QUEST Q Knitting is my first love but now I’m a keen cross stitcher. I have some things in my craft box that I can use for cross stitch, but…

“I hope you’ll enjoy these bright snowmen when you start on your Christmas stitching. They’re easy and fun to make and look so sweet!” Meet the designer Lesley Teare Lesley is an experienced cross stitch designer, with a degree in Printed and Woven Textiles, and many years of design experience. She is renowned for creating designs for a wide range of stitching magazines, and has a range of cross stitch books to her name too. Lesley lives and works in rural Suffolk, where she enjoys gardening and country walks with her labrador. “These snowmen are just adorable, and the designs are relatively quick to complete so they make for a relaxing stitch in between bigger festive projects”Sarah Trevor, Editor You will need FABRIC Zweigart 28-count white evenweave measuring 25x25cm (9›x9›in)…

Getting the look I’ve used just a minimal amount of backstitch in this design – this helps to achieve that hazy, watercolour-effect. There’s a touch of dark grey backstitch for outline in a couple of places where I needed a little definition, but otherwise this design relies on whole cross stitches only, and I’m so happy with the final look of it – especially to see it looking so plump and cute on a cushion! If you stitch it, please do send a photo to the address on p11. Don’t run out! Several thread colours are used extensively in this fox design and it’s important that you don’t run out and have to interrupt your work while you dash to your nearest craft shop. Check that you have enough skeins…

“I loved designing this Christmassy scene, especially the Victorian-style gown and the little girl’s pretty dress. Metallic thread for the edging of each gives them a festive look” Meet the designer Shannon Wasilieff Canadian designer Shannon has always been passionate about creative pursuits, but it was when she started designing cross stitch that she truly found her calling. Her talent is evident in her beautiful designs, and her great eye for colour and detail helps to make her unique creations into true masterpieces like this one. You will need FABRIC Zweigart 28-count cream cashel linen (3281/222) measuring 45x40cm (17¾x15¾in) THREADS Stranded cotton and metallic thread as listed in the key NEEDLE Size 26 tapestry needle; beading needle BEADS Mill Hill seed beads as listed in the key EXTRAS Frame and…

“I love the poem, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, and it helped to inspire my jolly St Nick for this design” Meet the designer Maria Diaz Maria has always had a passion for needlecraft, since learning to sew as a child on her great-grandmother’s ancient foot-treadled Singer machine. After art college she landed a job as a printer that led to her becoming DMC’s first in-house designer, where she worked for eight years. She is now an independent designer and lives in the Midlands with her two sons, Lincoln and Hudson. “If you want to do something a bit different, this gorgeous design would also look fantastic stitched onto black or dark blue fabric to create a look of the night sky in the background”Fiona Baker, Technical Editor You will…

“It was so much fun selecting the colours for this design. Autumn is my favourite season, which meant this scene was an absolute delight to create! I hope you’ll enjoy stitching it too…” Meet the designer Carol Thornton Watercolour artist Carol sketches and paints her gorgeous works of art before turning them into cross stitch designs. She creates charts for various magazines and has attracted legions of fans who love her distinctive style of artwork, which translates beautifully into cross stitch. “It’s not just those autumnal browns and oranges that make this design such a winner – the crisp blues of the sky provide a beautiful contrast with the rest of the design and have the realistic look of a clear autumn day”Fiona Baker, Technical Editor “This is such a…

“A cheeky elf carrying presents for Santa makes a great focal point for this home-made stocking – it’s a wonderful design to stitch for little ones this Christmas!” Meet the designer Faby Reilly Faby has always loved drawing, sewing and embroidering. She started designing cross stitch charts in 2008 and loves sharing her passion with others. Her work has attracted a legion of fans, who love the delicate details of her stylish needlework designs. “Any child would be excited to hang up this special stocking on Christmas Eve – it’s positively bursting with fun and festive cheer”Sarah Trevor, Editor You will need FABRIC Fabric Flare 28-count Icy Topaz evenweave measuring 70x55cm (27›x21›in) from Sew It All THREADS Stranded cotton and metallic threads as listed in the key NEEDLE Size 26…

“For these four designs I have selected birds that are a common sight in British gardens – especially in the winter months, when they rely on a little help to find enough food” Meet the designer Fiona Baker Fiona has always had a passion for art and design from an early age, and loves the creativity as a designer and also in her role as Technical Editor for Cross Stitch Gold, as well as our sister magazines Cross Stitch Crazy and The World of Cross Stitching. “I love robins as they’re such friendly, curious little birds – so I think this will be the first design I’m going to stitch from this set”Abigail Barker, Special Projects Coordinator You will need FABRIC 28-count Topaz Ice and Sunlit Water hand-dyed Jobelan evenweave…

Stitch them all… Although these snowmen look very much at home in their hoops, you could try stitching all three and mounting in a three-aperture frame, if you’re looking to create a more substantial Christmas decoration. They make a great set. Gift it! These little pictures are made up of lots of different small motifs, and any of these would make a sweet matching tag if you decide to give one of the hoops as a present. Choose your favourite – whether it’s the wreath, robins or a Christmas tree – and make a tag to go with your design in no time.…

Stitching room Here is a photo of my recently finished cross stitch project – a sewing room designed by Maria Diaz… who would not want a room like this? It’s so colourful with all the cotton reels, ribbons, buttons and lots of wonderful fabric. If I had a sewing area like this I’d be a bit more inspired to use my sewing machine more often! Linda West, Isle of Man Sarah: I quite agree, Linda – it’s certainly a stitching space to which we can all aspire! Heavenly heraldry I currently subscribe to Cross Stitch Gold digitally and enjoy every issue. After reading the letters page last issue, I decided I would send you a photo of my customised coat of arms from Elite Designs. I made it for my…

Star bright You’ll need a little backstitch and a bunch of beads to create the beautiful star at the top of the Christmas tree. Remember to use two strands of thread to attach the seed beads and use a thread colour that matches, so that it won’t stand out against the bead. Fine detail I’ve used petit point to give the faces a more delicate finish. These tiny stitches on the eyes and the mum’s mouth should be worked over one thread of the fabric, rather than two.…

Hello deer The reindeer were a joy to design and I wanted to make them look as realistic as possible. I studied the shape of this species of animal from photos and videos in order to render the deer effectively in cross stitch – right down to their mighty hooves and distinctive antlers. I then set about adding some festive garlands to adorn both deer, as well as a scattering of backstitch in metallic thread to give them that all-important Christmas sparkle! Magical moon The enormous full moon is one of my favourite aspects of this design – it really feels as though it has a lunar glow about it. I aimed to achieve this effect by adding blue (DMC 3755) and light blue (DMC 3841) half stitches, radiating around…

It’s in the detail There’s a whole cluster of cream-coloured French knots in the bottom left corner. These create three-dimensional detail and as a result offer additional depth to the design as a whole. There are instructions below right for making these and I’d recommend you don’t substitute seed beads as the matt texture of the thread in these knots makes for a much more realistic plant than a seed bead would. Backstitch beauty I felt that black would be too harsh for the backstitch detail in this design. This is why I’ve used light stone grey, brown and hazelnut brown for the backstitch outlining. This offers a much gentler effect and is more in keeping with the palette of thread colours I’ve used. I have only used backstitch to…

Easy as A-B-C It’s really simple to add a child’s name to the stocking, but just remember to measure your letters and plot your word out carefully (ideally on plain graph paper) before you start stitching. Golden girls (and boys!) Metallics are a must for special Christmas pieces like this, and I’ve used DMC Diamant in dark gold and pewter to add seasonal sparkle to some of the parcels in this design. Remember to use a thread conditioner to make the threads easier to work with.…

UK stockists COATS CRAFTS UK For stockists, visit www.makeitcoats.com Call 01484 681881 DMC CREATIVE WORLD For stockists, visit www.dmccreative.co.uk Call 0116 2754000 MADEIRA For stockists, visit www.eqsuk.com Call 0116 2710033 PDA CARD AND CRAFT Visit www.pdacardandcraft.co.uk SEW AND SO Visit www.sewandso.co.uk Call 0800 0130150 SEW IT ALL Visit www.sewitall.com Call 01280 821777 SIESTA FRAMES Visit www.siestaframes.com Call 01202 813363 THE CRAFTY KITTEN Visit www.craftykitten.co.uk US stockists 123 STITCH Visit www.123stitch.com Call 1-800-996-1230 ABC STITCH THERAPY Visit www.abcstitch.com Call 1-281-205-7507 ARTS CRAFTS USA Visit www.artscraftsusa.com Call 1-866-621-7779 JULIE’S X STITCH Visit www.juliesxstitch.com…

How to read our charts All our charts are printed in both colour and symbols. Each square on a cross stitch chart contains a symbol, and each symbol corresponds with one stitch. The key that accompanies the chart tells you what thread colour each symbol corresponds to, and how many strands to use for each cross stitch, backstitch or French knot. It also gives you the design's dimensions – you'll need these to cut your fabric to size. The thread numbers listed in the first column of the key refer to the brand that we've used to stitch the design. Conversion numbers for two other brands are given, but they're not always exact equivalents. Avoid mixing more than one brand in the same design. Sometimes you'll need more than one…