Stashmas Decoration

Project: Stashmas Decoration
Started: 30.08.09
Finished:31.08.09

Design: (Front) One of the Winter Escape designs by Rhona Norrie from Cross Stitch Crazy magazine issue 130. (Back) Snowflake design by Kell Smurthwaite© and lettering from 120 Cards for Every Occasion freebie booklet from WOXS magazine issue 153.
Materials: 32 count Dragon Hand Dyed Jobelan in Heavens Above; Anchor 1211 (variegated turquoise) floss (2 over 2); beads from an old necklace

I’m taking part in the Stashmas Exchange on the Cross Stitch Forum – instead of a Christmas gift, we send a Stashmas gift (worth a maximum of £10 or the monetary equivalent) of anything stitchy-related. I decided to include a small stitched gift with mine to commemorate this year’s Stashmas Exchange, so I made this little decoration.

The design for the front came from the latest Cross Stitch Crazy magazine and I added some beads from an old broken necklace that I had, just to add a little sparkle and glamour. For the reverse, I designed a little snowflake and added a commemorative message in lettering that was from a freebie booklet  that came with World of Cross Stitching magazine a while back (120 Cards for Every Occasion). I then made a tassel (to which I added another bead) and a ribbon loop for hanging. It’s all just whip-stitched together and stuffed with regular soft toy stuffing. I think it turned out quite nicely and will be a lovely addition to the Stashmas gift I send out.

Dragon Silhouette

Project: Dragon Silhouette
Started: 01.06.09
Finished: 19.06.09

Original design by Kell Smurthwaite ©

This is an entry for an art competition on the theme of Myths and Legends over at the Crafts and Creatures forum. I liked the idea of creating something that would potentially be quite simple (due to the short time limit for competition entry) and hit on the idea of only using a few bold colours and a silhouette for a striking effect. After thinking about it for just a little while, I figured a dragon would be the most instantly recognisable in silhouette and set about sketching a rough draft and then transferring it onto graph paper. There are a tonne of fractionals, which made stitching it a bit of a bother on Aida (I sometimes wished I’d gone for an evenweave instead), but I think it turned out quite well in the end.

It’s stitched on off-white 18-count Aida in DMC 444 (yellow border), 606 (red background) and 310 (black silhouette).

I’ll let you know how I get on in the competition!

WiP Updates

I have a whole bunch of works in progress at the moment, so I thought I’d update them all at once:

Wedding Sampler:
I haven’t got much further with this, but as the deadline is at the start of  September, I know I have plenty of time to complete it.

Bold Blooms:
This little freebie kit is a lot of fun to stitch. There aren’t many different colours in it and the effect of depth and perspective is created by using only one strand for distance and two strands for close up. I think it will look very pretty when completed.

Stitching Friends SAL Exchange:
This is a sitch-along exchange I’m doing with my new friends at The Cross Stitch Forum. The deadline is 1st September, so again, I have plenty of time to complete this one.

Rainbow Cats Bookmark:
This is a gift I’m working on for a friend who is always very kind to everyone and deserves a little treat. She loves books and cats, so I thought I’d combine her two loves on this bookmark which is a design by Carla-Jane of Raevyn Designs.

Dragon Silhouette:
I’ve designed this piece myself for an arts and crafts competition on the Crafts and Creatures forum. The deadline is the end of the month, so this is the one I’m doing most work on at the moment!