Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 124 i Cross Stitch Gold

Meet the designer Joan Elliott Joan is a much-loved American designer who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York Fairies make popular subjects for cross stitch at the best of times, but never more so than in winter and I’ve made the most of the natural beauty of this time of year with my glorious design. It’s a luxurious piece, worked in a range of stitches, using a cool colour palette of threads, with seed beads in ice and silver to add further to the frosty theme. Can you think of a young girl who’d love nothing more than to receive this stitched gift from you? If not, I’m sure you’ll find a place for it in your own home this winter. You will need FABRIC Zweigart 28-count white evenweave…

Meet the designer Lesley Teare Lesley designs for many of the best cross stitch magazines, as well as for cross stitch books The poinsettia is a flower that evokes all sorts of festive memories, and my bell pull is designed to give you that feeling of nostalgia, while at the same time brightening up your home in the cold winter months. It’s worked on evenweave for an exquisite finish, and is decorated with seed beads for an added touch of luxury. You can buy bell pull hangers from craft shops, as we have done, or make your own from wooden dowelling or children’s clothes hangers. Elongated designs like this also lend themselves well to tablecloths, and you could use one of the flower groups to decorate a napkin. That would…

A slower pace Life is so busy these days, and most of us yearn for a time when life was much simpler. This design is your chance to indulge in that. With each stitch, imagine taking a ride through unspoiled countryside, gazing at the landscape and enjoying the slower pace. Painting this design was like therapy for me, too. I felt so relaxed by the end of it. See it in stitches I love how my artwork has translated into stitches, with all the shading and detail Still there for Cross Stitch Gold readers to enjoy. Although I’m not a stitcher myself, I can certainly appreciate the skill involved, and the joy that must come from creating a beautiful picture using just a needle, some fabric and thread. How satisfying…

New skills It’s always good to learn new things, and I was pleased to incorporate some variations on eyelet stitch into these designs. Eyelet stitches are often worked in the same colour as the fabric, for a subtle effect, but I’ve chosen some soft colours to help them stand out. You’ll find instructions below on how to work them. Flip the shades The shading on these designs is pretty simple, so it’s possible to change the colour schemes if you have other threads that you would prefer to use. Set them all out to make sure they coordinate, then write the shade alterations on the key.…

Meet the designer Debra Page Debra lives in Devon with her family and a menagerie of pets. She is well known for her detailed wildlife designs Like many stitchers, I love cats. They’re the perfect balance of cuddly and independent, and a house always feels like more of a home with one around. The fellow in this scene was inspired by one of my own cats, who spends an inordinate amount of time sat on the windowsill, staring outside. I often wonder what’s going through his mind as he surveys the scenery. I’d love to know! I imagine this cat is admiring the fresh blanket of snow and making plans to cover it in paw prints later that night, as well as wondering where the snowman suddenly appeared from! I…

Meet the designer Durene Jones Durene loves creating vibrant, colourful cross stitch designs for Cross Stitch Gold and our sister magazines One of my favourite parts of the festivities is getting the Christmas box down from the loft and decorating the tree – ours is full of colourful ornaments, some very much like the fun baubles here. To combine my love of Christmas decorations with cross stitching was my idea of heaven! They’re stitched on 16-count aida, which makes a nice change from the usual 14-count and allows for more detail. And they can be removed from the card by the recipient to hang on their own tree, so you’ll be sending more than just a card. Back the stitching with card, or stitch each design…

Silver screen I may be a grown-up but I’m a sucker for films about icy kingdoms, especially a recent one starring an ice princess and her sister – if you’ve seen it then you’ll know the one I mean! A sore head With so much going on in this detailed design, I found myself prone to headaches while I was creating it. When I started to feel one coming on, I immediately took a break from my work, even if I felt compelled not to! If you suffer from headaches while stitching, you will probably benefit from taking regular breaks, too, before the symptoms have a chance to set in.…

A different count I’ve chosen 14-count aida for this project, as there aren’t any fractionals. However, if you prefer stitching on 28-count evenweave, it’s a straight substitution – just stitch over two threads of the fabric instead. Strange shape It can be difficult to design for projects like stockings, working out what goes where, and trying not to cut anything important off! To begin with, I sketched out my idea as though this project was a portrait rectangle. Then I overlaid the stocking shape, before tweaking the layout slightly to fit.…

Flower fan I’ve always loved the splash of colour poinsettias bring when they come to life in winter. My poinsettia surprised me by flowering right through the year – and it’s still going strong! I used it for reference on this project. Repeating itself With long designs, it’s good to have some repetition along the length so the piece looks consistent. You’ll see similarities between the flower groups on my design, however they aren’t identical as I wanted it to be interesting to look at, and to stitch.…

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 six years. She’s an avid stitcher, and is ready and raring to help you with any of your craft or cross stitch dilemmas. SPEEDY STITCHING Q I’m so slow at stitching and I think it’s the way I use the needle. I tried to be quicker by going through two holes at once, but…

Meet the designer Durene Jones Durene loves to create bright and lively designs. She used to be a graphic designer before venturing into cross stitch The folk art style is one that has always captured my imagination. The idea that you can combine very basic ideas and motifs to make something rather beautiful is fascinating to me as a designer. Hence, creating this project for Cross Stitch Gold was a total joy. As you’d expect from a naïve-style piece like this, I’ve designed it using stitches that are also straightforward, the fanciest being the French knot which is used to add detail to the birds, flowers and foliage. Like many folk art projects, there’s a line of symmetry down the middle – here, it somehow makes me think of a…

Bags of beauty SewMuch2Luv was launched by Karen Torres in 2011 and has gone from strength to strength. Karen’s love of sewing shines through in her products, like this beautiful Big Bottom Bag (bottom) and the Calico Kitties Project Bag and matching Side-Kick Bag (top), which are worth around £60 in total. They’re perfect for storing all your stitching bits and bobs, while the hand-stitched wool felt hearts on the zipper pulls add a lovely finishing touch. To buy or view the range, visit www.etsy.com/shop/SewMuch2Luv We have a set of all three bags pictured to give away to four readers. The text keyword is GOLD124BAGS. See the blue box below for full entry details. Delightful dolls These adorable English Doll, Irish Doll and Scottish Doll charts come from CrossStitchObsession, a…

Eye eye It can be difficult to get facial features right on cross stitch designs, especially the eyes. I’ve kept it pretty simple here, with straightforward backstitches for the eyes, and a series of little backstitches for the angel’s eyelashes. Up close As these designs are worked on 16-count aida, you might find it especially helpful to use a magnifier when stitching. If you don’t already have one, they are readily available online and in haberdashery shops.…

Large Clip-on Magnifier This handy magnifier can be clamped to frames, table tops and desks. The 46cm (18inches) arm for longer reach combines with a 13cm (5 inches) lens with x1.75 magnification. Price £25.00 Code CM1 Sonata Seat Stand A versatile, fully adjustable sit upon stand. Holds hoops, Bar Frames and roller frames up to 12". Features include 360° rotation, quick flip top and height adjustment. Frame as shown not included. Price £19.98 Code SONATA StitchSmart Floor Stand This stand has an unique swivel system allowing 360° rotation. Height and working angle are adjustable. Available as a complete unit with stand, LED light-magnifier and chart clamp, or just the stand on its own. Stand with LED light-magnifier and chart clamp £149.99 Code D24047 & D25020 £79.99 Stand only Code: D53047…

Norma Jean Here’s the portrait of Marilyn Monroe I recently did for my friend. She had her living room renovated and I decided to make her this gift, as she loves Marilyn. Although it looks really easy, the backstitches were tricky, but all in all Marilyn looks great. My friend was so delighted that now she wants another picture from this collection. Marta Wichlacz, Poland Sarah: This design is so striking, and captures Marilyn at her best – I love it! A work of art I have been working on this picture for seven years, but have done dozens of other smaller projects during that time! Although Girl With a Pearl Earring is big, it was easy to stitch because it only uses full cross stitches. I found myself returning…

Bygone days Inspired by Victorian postcards, these new kits from DMC are just the thing to get you in the festive mood. The nostalgic scenes were designed by Gold regular, Maria Diaz, who perfectly captures the feel of a simpler time, when Christmas was all about family, and having fun in the snow. Each design measures 20x30cm (8x12in) on 14-count antique white aida, with much of the background left unstitched, so there’s still time before Christmas to stitch one to send with love to your family to enjoy this festive season. There are four kits in the range including Santa is Coming (left) and The Christmas Tree (right), which cost £28.99 each. Visit www.dmccreative.co.uk  or call 0116 2754000 for local stockists Scandi style The latest Rico design booklet…

Meet the designer Richard de Wolfe Richard lives on a horse farm in Canada, where he paints scenes of farm and rural life, as well as the wildlife all around him What better way to take in the sights and sounds of winter than in a horse-drawn sleigh, gliding over the fresh snow? Such romantic stories sprung to mind as I painted this scene: a Christmas morning ride, the family tradition, all wrapped up in blankets with bells jingling, and a roaring fire to huddle around afterwards. The Victorians certainly knew how to travel in the snow, and as the scene took shape, I felt a growing urge to jump into the picture and back in time! Nostalgic pieces like this are always popular at Christmas, and for good reason…

Meet the designer Faby Reilly Faby has always loved drawing, sketching, creating, sewing and embroidering. She started designing cross stitch in 2008 If you like to work cross stitch alongside other needlework techniques, then you’re sure to enjoy these four designs. Each one is framed by an ornate border, worked in one strand of backstitch. I’ve also used eyelet stitches for the snowflakes – if you haven’t worked these before, that’s another string to add to your stitching bow! Seed beads add some sparkle, while the crowning glory is the presentation – circular stitching hoops, bound with festive ribbons and a little extra for hanging. Suspend them from the mantelpiece, hang them in the tree, or display them in the window for the perfect finishing touch to your home at…

Stateside style NEW ENGLAND HOMES: WINTER (XSS4), Bothy Threads, £27.49 What’s in the kit Black and white chartZweigart 14-count ice blue aidaStranded cottonTapestry needleBeads and star sequins Size of finished design 24x21cm (10x8½in) Stitching this kit Based on a painting by British artist Sally Swannell, this cross stitch kit actually features a traditional American town house. The snowy scene is worked on ice blue aida, so you won’t need to stitch the background; instead you’ll get to work on sweet details such as the hanging birdhouses and the colourful presents in the sleigh. The design is worked mainly in whole stitches using 18 shades of cotton, with white metallic thread blended with white cotton to add a touch of sparkle. Work black backstitch in one strand to define the design,…

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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…