Blackwork Biscofleur

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

PMS and Chocolate Subversive Sampler

Design: PMS Subversive Sampler by Kell Smurthwaite, Kincavel Krosses
Materials: 28-count latte evenweave; DMC linen flosses in chocolate and caramel shades

Baa Baa Blackwork Sheep Mini Sampler

Design: Baa Baa Blackwork Sheep by Kell Smurthwaite, Kincavel Krosses
Materials: 16-count white aida; DMC 310

I designed this mini blackwork sampler to hang in my hallway at home - I tried to put across a bit of a folksy feel and liked the idea of a play-on-words reference to the nursery rhyme.

Two Cards for Friends

Kokeshi Doll Card
Stitched on white 14-count aida

This was a little freebie kit on a cross stitch magazine and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to stitch it for Paula. Paula collects Kokeshi dolls and all things Japanese, so I thought this would go well with her collection. I hope she likes it!

It was a lovely little quick stitch but I only just managed to get it finished as there was barely enough thread in the kit for three of the colours (yellow, orange and dark grey) and even with me being extremely economical with the threads (as I always am), I was struggling to get the last few stitches in before the floss ran out. Still, I think it was worth it as this little Kokeshi doll turned out rather well. The only change I made to the design was the mouth – she originally had a mouth of only two stitches side by side, making her mouth rectangular, so I added two 3/4 stitches underneath to make her smile.

Home Sweet Home Card
Stitched on cream 22-count Oslo in Venus floss

My friend, Tracey, has just moved to a long-awaited new house, so when I saw this little cottage design in a magazine, I jumped at the chance to stitch it. It’s a small design anyway, but stitching it on 22 count fabric made it a tiny miniature. As the count was higher, I stitched all but the border in a single thread (the border is two threads).

I didn’t follow the colours given with the design, but instead used some of the Venus flosses I had just received, which have a lovely, gentle sheen and are beautifully soft to work with.

I hope Tracey and her family will be very happy in their new home!

A Biscornu for April

Design: Lilac Time by Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey (freebie design)
Materials: 25-count evenweave from Polstitches grab bag (possibly Rhubarb and Custard); DMC threads, deep red buttons; deep red ribbon; soft toy stuffing

I had planned on stitching this biscornu design in the original purples, but when I chose my fabric, which had shades of pink and yellow through it, the raspberry tones looked better and I changed my plans. The design is stitched two over one.

I had spotted an unusual 6-faced biscornu at the Stitch Creations blog and resolved to try one myself. It turned out to be very simple to do – as long as you have an even number of stitches for your back-stitch border you can do this easily as the four smaller pieces have to be exactly half the height and width of the larger ones. You then stitch each of the small faces onto a large face with the point of the small face at the centre of the large one. Then you attach the second large face and you’re done.

The design for the small faces is one I stitched off the top of my head in keeping with the design of the larger faces and one of them has “Kell, April 2010″ stitched on it instead of the pattern.

Two 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.

Mothers’ Day card for my Grom

Design: From Aliolka Blogspot (in Russian – beautiful freebie designs!)
Materials: white 14-count perforated paper; DMC 94, 99 and 124 variegated floss; card; flock stick-ons

I downloaded this lovely little bird design some time ago, not knowing when or for what purpose I would use it, but knowing that it would certainly get stitched. I was right – I was flicking through my collection for a design to use as a Mothers’ Day card for my Grom and this one jumped right out at me!

I’ve only ever seen it stitched in monochrome – usually in a single solid colour, but occasionally in a variegated thread, but never with different colours for various sections. I quickly decided I’d like to see how it turned out using three colours – a garnet variegated for the bird, sapphire variegated for the flower and a soft green variegated for the stem and also the lettering which I added. I also really enjoy stitching on perforated paper as it means I can cut very close to the design (just one hole away fro the stitching), so I cut around most of the design, leaving just the block under the bird squared off for the lettering. This meant the pretty patterned card I had chosen wouldn’t be overpowered by a block of plain perforated paper. It also meant I had more space to add the stick-ons.

I’m really pleased with how this card turned out and I hope my Grom will like it too.

Mothers’ Day card for my Mam

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.

Winter Themed ATC

Design: From World of Cross Stitching Magazine by Ursula Michael
Materials: White 14-count perforated paper; DMC Blanc, 107, 597 and 4220; silver beads (from a broken necklace); white snowflake button; silver snowflake charm; white and turquoise cardboard snowflake button

I’ve never stitched an ATC before, so I was rather excited when The Cross Stitch Forum decided on a winter-themed ATC swap. I quickly settled on using perforated paper for this project and chose a small design from World of Cross Stitching Magazine (from just before Christmas). After stitching the design, I chose to add various buttons, charms and beads to personalise it a little more. Then I stitched the details onto another piece of perforated paper to affix to the reverse and slid a piece of ice-blue coloured card in between them to “plug” the holes. I opted to blanket stitch the two pieces together et voila!

Biscornu

Design: From 2010 Pattern-a-Day Cross Stitch Calendar (3rd December)
Materials: 18-count ecru Aida; Madeira silks 0801 12, 1003 13, 1803 12; white ribbon; snowflake buttons; Minicraft supersoft toy filling

My first biscornu of the year for my Basket of Biscornu challenge. I used only the central part of the design from my Pattern-a-Day Cross Stitch Calendar for 3rd December and chose to stitch it in Madeira silks in soft pastel shades of blue, lilac and silvery grey. On the reverse, I left one quarter of the central design unstitched and instead stitched:

Kell
January
2010

I plan to stitch my name, the month and the year on each of my twelve biscornu.

The zig-zag border on both the front and reverse are stitched in two strands, but the rest of the design and the texgt is all stitched in a single strand.

And Another Christmas Card

Project: Christmas Card
Started: 15.09.09
Finished: 17.09.09

Design: Noel Naturally by The Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio
Materials: Metallic card (free with WOXS); 14-count white perforated paper; DMC 30915 (rayon) floss

Continuing with the perforated paper, I thought I’d try rayon floss for the first time. I have to admit that although I love the lovely, shiny effect (very opulent and Christmassy!), I absolutely hated stitching with it! I used a loop start and stitched 2 over 1, but the stuff frays at the ends and catches on the slightest thing so the edges of the perforated paper made it seem a nightmare to use! However, I think I might give it a try on some fabric and see how I feel about it then before abandoning it outright!

I love the miniature sampler style of this design and although the original mock-up I saw was stitched in natural shades, think it looks particularly striking in the rich, purple-red rayon, which is made even more sumptuous by the gold metallic card.

Subversive Sampler

Project: Subversive Sampler
Started: 28.06.09
Finished: 30.06.09

Design: Short and Sweet by Maria Diaz (from Cross Stitcher Magazine April 2009)
Materials: 28-count Jobelan in grey, various DMC flosses, Gutermann seed beads in cream

As a fan of samplers anyway, I couldn’t resist this modern twist on a traditional design – the subversive sampler! I changed the colour scheme slightly from the magazine recommendations, using flosses that I had to hand and that complemented each other and the fabric well, and added a few cream seed beads in the border. The idea was to make it look pretty and delicate till you realise the lettering spells “Bothered”, which makes it a little punchier. I think this one might go on my desk at work as my colleagues have a sense of humour and I return to work after ten months of maternity leave in another two weeks!

Snips and Snails Sampler

Project: Snips and Snails Sampler
Started: 26.06.09
Finished: 27.06.09

I happened upon this tiny birth sampler whilst browsing the Sew and So website and couldn't resist it. The design is by Carolyn Meacham and the kit comes complete with plenty of flosses to complete the project (although it doesn't specify, I believe the threads to be DMC). The framed size is just 6.5 inches by 7 inches, but I think this simple sampler is just so charming! It's an incredibly quick stitch and would be a lovely gift for anyone who has a friend with a baby boy - it could even be stitched last minute and given to the proud parents very soon afterwards!