Festival of Quilts 2010 - the biggest show in Europe!
Above: Best in show 2009 - Pat, Holly and Sue Nickels.
The most eagerly anticipated event in the patchwork and quilting calendar The Festival of Quilts 2010is back for its 8th year and is set to be the largest quilt show in Europe.
It's organised with the support of the Quilters Guild of the British Isles and over the last seven years has earned a reputation as 'the most
inspiring quilting event in Europe! boasting a host of gallery exhibitions from leading international
artists and groups.
Above: 'Jaunty Ladies' quilt
But, lets not forget the fabulous selection of over 250 companies selling all those hard-to-find patchwork and
quilting supplies. You'd better bring your shopping bag because this show's hard to beat for variety and style!
This year, they're also offering visitors a trip to The Quilt Academy with a programme of nearly 100 masterclasses, lectures, and Quick & Easy workshops, to choose from.
When? 19th to 22nd August What time? 10.00am to 5.30pm
Our favourite stitchy friends cycle 55 miles - for charity!
Here at CrossStitcher we like to help our friends out, especially our stitchy friends so we thought we'd let you know about a 55 mile cycle (yes, 55 miles!) that a few of our favourite stitching companies are taking part in.
Subscribers - find your Margaret Sherry chart on the Crafts Circle!
If your a subscriber* you may have noticed that in our most recent issue (229) there was a very important element missing from your subscriber-only pages? Your exclusive Margaret Sherry chart!
Well, don't worry. You're not going to miss out because we're not that mean! We've actually given the chart to our friends over at the Crafts Circle. They're going to upload it for you this week, so you won't miss out. Obviously we don't want to totally give the design away so here's a little thumbnail teaser. (Having said that, we're sure you can guess from the picture what kind of puurr-fect pet she's chosen this month...)
Click here to visit the Crafts Circle - just remember you'll need your subscriber number to log in.
If you're a subscriber to CrossStitcher then you're going to love this...
As a special treat Emily Peacock has designed this fabulous Circus ABC, exclusively for subscribers. (That's you!)
It's due to start in issue 230, which goes on sale on Thursday 12th August. Each month after that we'll be bringing you a new letter from her funky alphabet for you to collect and enjoy. Plus, keep a look out for other circus inspired charts we'll be bringing you along the way.
These letters are wonderfully on-trend and super colourful and quite frankly that's enough to win us over but here's what Emily had to say about her new font...
"The love of the circus crosses generations, holding memories and associations for us all. Under the Big Top resides a world of excitement, spectacle and daring. Circus themes translate perfectly into cross stitch and worked in bright and uplifting colours, they are bang on trend.
"These circus font can be used individually or to spell out words and names. Why not explore your own sense of fun and creativity by combining letters and images to create your own show stopper?"
Download your FREE mount for Margaret Sherry's cat in a teacup!
Margaret Sherry has won us over once again and this time it's with a cute cat in a teacup! Who wouldn't want to stitch this design? He's so adorable - we're sure you're all itching to get started.
You'll find this chart in issue 229, which is on sale right now.
Simply print it out (on card if possible), cut our the circle aperture and mount your stitching behind it. Fold it in half and you've got yourself a pretty little card! Or you could easily put the mount in a simple A5 frame and keep it for yourself... we would.
Margaret Sherry has designed this exclusively for CrossStitcher issue 229, which is on sale now so don't miss out!
Monday July 19, 2010
Make a garden lantern with our FREE boat chart!
In issue 229 my Make it! column shows you how to create a simple beach-style lantern for your garden using an old jar and a cute sailing boat motif. It's really easy to create this look and the lanterns look really sweet when you pop tea light candles in them... I've made three already!
You'll find all the instructions in my column on page 78, but if you haven't got your copy yet simply download the chart right here to get started today.
If you don't fancy making a lantern why not download the chart anyway and use your imagination to create something else with it... you could make it into anything from a bookmark to a greetings card and because it's so dinky it's great for beginners too.
Issue 229 is on sale until the 12th August so don't miss out.
Until next time...
Friday July 16, 2010
Get this lovely Shruti sewing box when you subscribe today!
Get this gorgeous and practical mini sewing box from Shruti when you subscribe to CrossStitcher today! It's useful, stylish and features cute sewing inspired image on top - perfect for storing your needles and threads in style.
Plus, look at all these other subscriber benefits:
Save 20 per cent on the shop price of each issue of CrossStitcher
Special subscriber-only pages and a free cover gift every issue
This month we've been busy coming up with lots of clever ways to stitch accessories for your home that don't involve stitching until the early hours of the morning to get them finished... although we do appreciate some of you do this anyway - for fun.
Look out for a scrummy set of garden party accessories by Zoe Patching (below, right) that include cherry napkins, cupcake cake bands and gorgeous summery bunting.
Plus, don't miss Lucie Heaton's cracking hen collection (below, left) - they're truly irresistible and will bring a touch of farmhouse chic to any kitchen.
If you're on the market for a larger project to get your teeth into then check out the new-style Flower Fairy (below, left) from DMC or our seriously manly retro Grand Prix styled poster by Maria Diaz (below, right).
Plus, to make sure you get through your summer stitching projects with ease, we're giving every reader a John James Pebble with a hand-picked selection of needles - absolutely FREE!
What more could you honestly need! Don't miss out...
CrossStitcher issue 229 - on sale today!
Tuesday July 13, 2010
Enter issue 229's competitions now!
CrossStitcher issue 229
hits the shops on Thursday this week! If you'd like to enter this
month's competitions, here are the links to the
online entry forms. Good luck!
Come Dine With Kate - an exhibition with character!
We know this isn't strictly on track with the usual cross stitch posts we write but we just couldn't resist showing you a few snaps from Kate Jenkins new exhibition Come Dine With Kate, which opened yesterday at the Rebecca Hossack gallery, London.
Her entire collection is crocheted (which is jaw-droppingly cool to begin with) and when you mix that up with a few sequins and punned titles, her 3D creatures become unbelievably charming.
We especially love Pork Pie and Mutton Dressed as Lamb - not that that's an accurate representation of the team or anything...
French Knots - you either love them or you hate them!
And Fourteen Countess seems to love them! Although we're pretty sure she'll have had enough of them after this project.
She's created this amazing monogram letter entirely out of French Knots and we have to say, we're really very impressed. Not only with the finished piece but with the amount of patience she must have.
Coordinating her letter 'B' with the pattern on the material had given this a stunning 3D finish that we're all quite jealous of... do you think if we ask nicely she'll stitch us one?
Guest blogger - Mr X Stitch shares his railroading experiment
When Mr X Stitch began cross stitching, he enjoyed the simple creativity of it as an accessible form of embroidery.
Today he's trying his hand at railroading his stitches and wanted to share his thoughts... "When I discovered the software that allows you to turn any picture into a cross stitch pattern it opened me up to a myriad of possibilities fro me and I became absorbed in creating new patterns from graffiti, comic book artwork and graphic designs that I liked the look of.
"From there, the evolution to designing my own patterns and making stitcheries based on offhand remarks, snarky phrases or even spam email titles. I had a lot of fun exploring what I could get away with.
"But lately, I've been developing an interest in the process of stitching, and more specifically the value of railroading. It all began when a good friend of mine, Stitchalicious, visited from Germany. She's an extremely talented stitcher and she showed me the benefits of taking the time to get my threads laying flat.
"I won't lie, it's taken me some time to find my groove. Previously, I'd just stitch away without a care in the world but now I'm
finding that a bit of extra time spent making sure the stitches sit next to one another is more rewarding in the long term.
"For this experiment (above) I've taken a highland
cow chart and inverted the pattern so it's stitched on black aida instead of
white and will turn out blue instead of brown. But wait for it... I'll be adding glow
in the dark backstitch too! "Rather than invest in a specific laying tool, I've found that my twin pointed quick stitch needle does the job nicely. And over time I've surprised myself by adapting to the new, slower, approach to stitching, but it feels like the right thing to do.
"I might not be able to crack the pieces out as quickly as I could, but the improvement in quality is worth it. I'm sure it's a Zen thing..."
Have you tried railroading yet? What did you think? Let us know what experiments you've been trying out with your stitching lately...
Monday July 05, 2010
Craft candy - a day out in Sheffield
We've been doing a lot of research on craft fairs this month. Partly because we know we can't afford an exotic holiday this summer so we want take a few day trips instead... but also because we're really happy to hear that the nations love for 'handmade' is making a come back and this craft fair in Sheffield is a prime example.
Craft Candy, Sheffield's original crafts consortium (as they like to be known) promote craft in their city through fairs, workshops and community events. Now, that's what we like to hear - people getting together and crafting things for the fun of it. What an excellent idea!
It's being held at the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield and entry is FREE. Check out their site: www.craft-candy.org or email hello@craftcandy.com for more details...
Friday July 02, 2010
The Papered Parlour - FREE workshops to celebrate 4th July!
Set up in 2009 by two young visual artists, The Papered Parlour is a new independent craft venue in London that’s taking handmade craft
to the next level and getting the whole neighborhood involved...
Tucked down an alley in the heart of Clapham, their space is
decked out just like a parlour. A home from home where they run workshops,
host performances and put on exhibitions… and this Sunday they’re holding lots
of FREE workshops to celebrate the 4th July in frivolous crafty style!
Look at all the free workshops on offer…
AMERICAN STYLE QUILTING WITH CASSANDRA ELLIS
Come learn a new skill and lend a hand in creating a
beautiful handmade quilt that will be donated to their local church just across
the way…
ANDY WARHOLESQUE SCREENPRINTING WITH THE PARLOUR GIRLS
Drawing inspiration from America’s finest printmaker, the
parlour girls will guide you through the basics of DIY screenprinting. Bring
your own t-shirts, tote bags and fabric and you can revamp your wardrobe too!
ROTHKO FOR KIDS
Bring out your child’s inner abstract expressionist as they
keep your little ones occupied with Rothko inspired painting.
And what’s more - there’s music and food to keep your ears and
bellies happy too. Serving up a traditional 4th July spread, the genuine North
American Parlour girls will have their red, white and blueberry cakes, hot apple pie
and cold lemonade at the ready... sounds delicious!
So, if you live near London town why not get yourself down there,
learn some new crafting techniques and make some new friends too?
After all, it won't cost you a dime.
Wednesday June 30, 2010
LAM Designs - website review
We first stumbled across LAM Designs on Etsy when we saw a fabulous cross stitch clock design but now we've discovered she has a blog and a website to her name too... and they're really rather nice.
So nice in fact, we thought that the crafty Laura Mason was worth a mention here on our website for you lot to see. Creating embroidered gifts and unusual textile pieces, her love of fabrics buttons and ribbons really shine through. After attending the Royal School of Needlework her passion for tea also emerged and you'll see reference to this in many of her fun designs.
What's especially humbling about Laura's work is that it's all made in her spare time, in her little house in Surrey! They're gorgeously finished off, ooze country-cottage styling and to be honest we know you'd pay an absolute fortune for gifts like these on the high street. We think her work is cute and colourful just like her website, so take a look and be inspired.
Psst! Take a look at this cute interview with Laura in the Spring edition of UK Handmade too...
Seen a great website lately? Let us know and you might see it here next week...
In issue 229 my 
