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

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.

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.

Starburst Blackwork Biscornu

Design: Starburst Blackwork Biscornu by Kell Smurthwaite, Kincavel Krosses
Materials: 18-count ecru Aida; Red Heart 187 floss; white ribbon with turquoise stars; ssilver Celtic beads; Minicraft supersoft toy filling

My second biscornu of the year is a pattern which I designed myself. Because the design on the front is very intricate, I left the reverse almost completely blank with only a star motif in the centre and at each corner, and the details of my name, the month and the year. The silver beads were taken from a necklace I had which broke. They were so pretty I had to save them and I thought the silver went well with the turquoise of the stitching.

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

Needle Case

Design: Blackwork Egg by Kell Smurthwaite
Materials: 14-count ecru aida; DMC 111 variegated floss; white felt; white satin ribbon

I’m hosting a stitching swap over at Cross Stitch Forum which has me rather eggs-cited. We’re all stitching an egg to set dimensions, everyone has free reign over the design and the finish of the pieces. All the stitching has to be finished in time to send so that they will arrive for Easter (which is 4th April this year) and of the twenty participants, five of us have a nice, big “DONE” next to our names. It’s lovely to see the pictures trickling in and seeing how everyone has stitched their own eggs.

I designed my own blackwork egg and stitched it in DMC 111 variegated floss, which is a lovely gold-to-brown toned thread. The intention was to make it look a bit like a golden egg without having to use metallic gold floss as I hate using the stuff (it’s a bit of a faff, it frays and I always end up with my stitching looking a total mess). For my finish, I settled on a needle book, so I stitched the exchange details on the piece for the back and sewed two flaps of felt onto each of the inside pieces. Then I whip-stitched everything together, adding a piece of ribbon at the open edges so that it can be tied closed. I’m quite pleased with the finished piece and can hardly wait to see the rest of the eggs all stitched and ready to eggs-change!

Blackwork Cherry Blossoms

Project: Blackwork Cherry Blossoms
Started: 08/08/09
Finished: 11.08.09

Design: Blackwork Cherry Blossom by Maria Diaz (from Cross Stitcher Magazine)
Materials: 14-count Charles Craft Soft Touch Aida in Dusty Rose; freebie flosses from Cross Stitcher Magazine; Venus 2611

This was an incredibly quick stitch and very enjoyable as the subtle shades give a very pretty and delicate effect. This design will become one side of a small decorative cushion for my Grom’s Christmas gift.

It's stitched on Charles Craft “Soft Touch” Dusty Rose 14-count Aida with the main 5 colours being the freebie flosses from the latest Cross Stitcher magazine plus another floss I just happened to have on hand. I only used two strands of floss, however, as I thought it looked a bit lumpy using the suggested three and I wanted a finer finish than that.

I’m planning to stitch a different design on the other side of the cushion (possibly the four butterflies freebie design from My Aunt’s Attic) in similar colours, so that it’s reversible.