Two More Christmas Cards

Project: Christmas Cards
Designs: Both by Kell Smurthwaite ©
Materials: Fabric from a Polstitches Grab Bag (I think it’s English Rose 28-count linen); Venus 2706 floss; aperture cards (cream oval and pale pink marble square)

I decided to have a go at charting my own designs and sketched these up pretty quickly as they’re relatively simple designs, but I think they turned out quite nicely. Both are stitched using the same floss and fabric and neither took very long to do. Having completed these two from design to finish, I think I’m now motivated to try designing more to see what I can come up with.

Assissi Autumn Bookmark

Project: Assissi Autumn Bookmark
Started: 08.07.09
Finished: 14.07.09

Design: Assissi Autumn by Rhuann Designs
Materials: DMC 301, 433, 680, 898 and Polstitches hand dyed fabric from a grab bag (I suspect it’s 28-count sampler linen in Chestnut)

The design is a freebie from Rhuann Designs (one of four – one for each season) and although the example shown on the website appears to have been stitched in variegated floss, I thought I’d try using solid colours in autumnal tones and I think the completed project looks very effective. The tassle is my first attempt at making my own and uses the same colours of floss as the stitching.

This is a gift for an online friend who very kindly loaned me a book, but I’m considering doing all four seasons as a small sampler for myself at some point in the near future, as I think they’d look lovely all together in a frame.

Stitching Friends Stitch-Along Exchange

Project: Stitching Friends Stitch-Along Exchange (Cross Stitch Forum)
Started: 28.04.09
Finished: 25.06.09

Design: From Le Blog de Lisette
Materials: Polstitches linen in Fallen Leaves / Venus 2482 floss / Cream Gutermann Seed Beads

This is my first ever stitch-along exchange and I’ve loved the idea of using the same basic design but playing around with the different materials to make something unique.

I settled on some linen I received in a grab bag from Polstitches – I think it’s the colour they call Fallen Leaves – and a deep turquoise floss (Venus 2484) which complemented it well to stitch the entire design. I replaced some of the stitches of the border with cream seed beads and added a couple of real buttons I picked up from John Lewis (they’re very pretty blue sparkly ones that I thought went well with the overall colour scheme) and a tiny gold scissors charm in place of the three stitched buttons. On the reverse, I thought it would be nice to commemorate the exchange by including the details (title, date and my own involvement in stitching it) and make it into a small cushion.

I know some other members of the forum have translated the motto into English or another language, but I decided to leave mine in the original French – it reads, “Stitched gifts, Gifts of Friendship” which I think is a lovely sentiment.

I’m very pleased with how it turned out and am looking forward to sending it to its new home at the beginning of September!

Civil Partnership Sampler

Project: Civil Partnership Sampler
Started: 23.04.09
Finished: 29.04.09

Two of my very best friends are finally tying the knot in July, so I decided to do this little sampler to commemorate their Civil Partnership. It was something of an experiment as I’ve never used silks or evenweave before this project and I have to say I loved using both! The silks are Kreinik Silk Mori Milkpaints; the doves are stitched in 723 (Light Wheat), the hearts and flower is in 114 (Medium Lenten Rose), the leaves are 414 (Medium Hemlock) and outlined in 434 (Medium Moss Green), the lettering and all other outlining are 515 (Dark Tidewater Blue). I did the border in 114, 414 and 515. The seed beads are in cream, pink and purple – I got them from John Lewis.

The fabric is a 30-count hand dyed evenweave I got in a grab bag from Polstitches; I believe the colour combination is called Friendship (pinks, blues and purples), so it’s perfectly suited to this sampler.

The design itself is from a book I’ve had for years – Cross Stitch Cards and Keepsakes by Jo Verso – and I added the border myself.

Now all I have to do is find a suitable frame for the sampler and it will be ready to give to my friends as a gift on their very special day!