"As a professional cross stitcher, one of the downsides is being stuck in the studio by yourself, stitching away, packing up orders or doing admin, with no interaction with the outside world or with customers.

"So when events like the BUST Craftactular roll around, it's a chance to escape the routine and meet customers and fellow makers and generally have a crafty day out.

 

"As I live in Glasgow, it meant a long train journey down to London for me and my giant suitcase full of well-wrapped cross stitch samplers.

"Saturday, the day of the show, dawned bright and fair and we donned our sunglasses and headed to York Hall, Bethnal Green, to set up in the beautiful Victorian hall, with lots of other designers.

 

"We had a little cross stitch enclave, with myself (Miso Funky) and Phil (Urban Cross Stitch) setting up stands near one another!

 

The Miso Funky stall, set up and ready to go

"We had a great day, meeting lots of great designers and visitors to the show, including our friend Mr X Stitch and many people interested in getting started in cross-stitch, as well as introducing people to cross stitch via a more contemporary route than the traditional charts and patterns many come to it by.

"All too soon, it was the end of the day and time to pack up and head back to our hotel with a much lighter suitcase and a spring in our step, to celebrate a great day with a drink or two!

"The next Craftacular will be at Christmas time, so make sure you check it out the amazing work on offer from a whole host of independent designers."

Claire Brown, Miso Funky

Here at CrossStitcher we believe that stitching accessories should be as pretty as they are practical, which is why this month we designed this adorable tape measure to match our popular vintage style stitch tin we gave you in issue 222.

The simplest way to attach the lanyard to the tape measure is to just snap the two white ends together, loop the cord in half, then feed the loop through the metal ring on the tape measure and pull the rest of the cord through the loop to secure tightly.

But if you need your tape measure to have a wider range of movement on the lanyard, here's an alternative method of attaching the two together so you can slide the tape measure up and down the cord easily.



And here's a picture of Production Assistant Charlie Moorby and Production Editor Harriet Brunsdon testing it out in the office!

You'll have noticed on our facebook page not long ago we asked you to 'challenge us!' to find that perfect chart you've been looking for!

Last week we found some awesome Dachshund charts for Desarée. This week we've been on the lookout for some cute charts for elephant lover Sarah Barton from London and this is what we've come up with!


1 First off we found this adorable pink elephant chart over at Needlework Tips and Techniques, which is actually free to download!

2 Then we stumbled across this gorgeous African Elephant in the latest Anchor catalogue by artist Collette Rushton. Isn't he stunning?

3 If cute is more your thing you'll love these Heffalump designs available at Sewandso - they'd be perfect for kids.

4 Finally, who can forget the adorable squeaky elephant from The Jungle Book? DMC do this fabulous Jungle Book Alphabet Sampler and we love it!

Seen a great site lately that's helped you find your perfect chart, let us know and you might see it here next week!

Sometimes it feels like to get the most out of your stitching you need to pick a design with everything in it... embellishments, an array of colours and lots of detail keep you occupied. (After all, these things take time so you want to feel satisfied at the end of it - don't you?)

But, sometimes we think it's just as powerful to express yourself in a more simplified way like Wallwork does on Etsy.


Their beautifully co-ordinated designs only use a few thread colours and are simply framed in embroidery hoops, creating a modern twist on wall art.

Plus, since there's not much stitching - they'll be finished in a jiffy so you could make quick gifts out of them too!


Although we don't get much time for stitching here in the busy CrossStitcher office we made time to give this one a go (above) and we hope our humble stitching will inspire everyone to keep it simple and give it a try.

Why not have a go over the weekend and let us know what you come up with?

We’ve seen lots of stitching inspired homeware around lately, but now we’re starting to see products that are designed for you to finish off with stitching! Yay creative-ness! Confused? Here’s what we mean…

First we came across this Panier percé bowl (above) over at Industreal by French designers Guillaume Delvigne and Ionna Vautrin.

The idea behind this is that you choose a thread kit (they all come with the plain porcelain bowl) and then embroider yourself a simple and contemporary piece of craft for your home that’s both fun and functional.

Then we saw this fabulous Stitch lampshade (above) from LampGustaf in Sweden, which comes with a darning needle and yarn in eight colors, so you’re free to design your own pattern onto the mesh shade.

If all that white space looks a bit daunting don't worry because when the lamp launches in May 2010 LampGustaf will be posting downloadable patterns online too. In the mean time check out this video on YouTube and watch the experts show you how it’s done.

Finally, we've even found British designer Andrew Tanner over at Designed in England jumping on the band wagon with his recent collection 'A Stitch in Time' (above) that's based on traditional tapestry patterns.

These limited edition pieces are all handmade and labeled as future collectables but if you fancy creating your own home made heirloom you know where to start! With a lampshade and a darning needle...

PS: Seen any inspiring blogs or designs lately? If so, drop us a line, we'd love to see!

 

... that we're on Twitter?

That's right, we are the epitome of 'cool'. Not only do we have our very own Facebook page but we've also been 'tweeting about' for a while too!



Check out what we've been up to and see the links we love right here!

Tweet twoo!

For those of you who don’t already know - today is Thanksgiving!

The day American people celebrate the Pilgrims first harvest in their new world, or something like that... (Ask Rebecca our Technical Editor, she's American.)

As a treat for Rebecca, we've brought in biscuits, nachos and chocolate covered nuts. Not the traditional Thanksgiving food she's probably used to but we couldn't exactly roast a turkey at work now could we?

Luckily, she's making a Thanksgiving dinner this evening and it sounds delicious: "I'm making pecan and apple pes but we'll also be having turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes, stuffing and corn bread!"

After thinking about food all morning we've found this gorgeous contemporary Thanksgiving Pie by Sue Hillis, and you'll see it's even got a cute fork charm if you look closely enough!

She’s got so much to look at on her website, you’re sure to be inspired by her folksy designs. We love her use of text and bright cartoon images, they're lovely!

It’s obviously a bit late to stitch this for Thanksgiving 2009, but perhaps you’ll find some inspiration for a Thanksgiving stitch next year?

PS: Take a look at her blog too; it’s full of bright and yummy designs... mmm... pie...

This week we've been having a fascinating discussion about crafty websites here in the CrossStitcher office. There's so much out there that we still don't know about, which is why we've decided to ask for your help...

We want to hear all about your favourite cross stitching websites, be it blogs, forums, or just your favourite mail order shop! Do you run a site yourself, or have a friend who does? Tell us about it so we can take a look. Send us an email and give it a shout-out. We'll be showing off our favourites in the magazine and here on our blog, and the best reader reviews will get a small stitchy treat from our stash cupboard!

(Oh, and talking of the internet, don't forget to join our Facebook group!)

Here's a question... have you ever tried cross stitching your own buttons? Apparently it's easier than you might think! Erika Kern over at CraftStylish has a fabulous tried and tested method for embroidering on ordinary fabric and covering plain buttons for embellishing your clothes. She's made hers using freehand embroidery, but it would be easier still to cross stitch a little motif instead. In fact, you'll be pleased to hear that we've got a project along those lines coming up in one of the next issues - keep your eyes skinned for more details.

We also spotted this post by Jennifer Stern on the CraftStylish site - how to cross stitch on something you've knitted! Now there's a challenge for your bank holiday...!

Last weekend I had a fabulous time staying with friends in Bournemouth, who are lucky enough to have a flat overlooking the sea. Coming back to the office seemed somewhat depressing, until I started working on a fab seaside themed project for our next issue and soon felt like I was back on the beach.

For me, there's nothing more relaxing than sitting on the sand with your sunscreen on and your stitching in hand. Now that  holiday season is approaching, don't forget to send us your pictures of you with your favourite magazine in an exotic location for our Stitcher Abroad feature. And let us know what you'll be stitching this summer, too.

We're on the hunt for top stitching stories and want to hear from you. Maybe you're stitching for a special event - a wedding, perhaps, or for charity. Perhaps you've created a project for someone special, a family member, friend or maybe a celebrity. Or perhaps you run, or are a member of, an extra special stitching group. Whatever you're story, we're keen to hear from you. We'll need some good quality pictures to support your story, and it could end up featured in our Over to You section. Drop us a line today and let us share your stitching success.

Trial and error is a big part of learning the ropes of cross stitching, especially if you don't have the benefit of hands-on advice from a more experienced stitcher to help you get over hitches in your projects. We've all been there!

So that's why this month we've asked our top designers and stitchers, plus lots of other experts in the cross stitching field, to share their favourite stitching tricks and techniques with us, to get all that great advice in one place for you...

The trouble is, we had so many brilliant responses that we just couldn't fit them all in the magazine! Read on for even more great stitching tips...

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 "When ironing your stitching make sure it is face down on a nice fluffy towel and iron the reverse so that you don't iron your stitches flat."
Fiona Ovens, home stitcher

"Cut the fabric much bigger than you need, then you can decide after stitching how you want to mount the design without being limited. Also sometimes it's easy to miscalculate and not get the design exactly central. It won't matter because if the fabric is larger you can compensate for this."
Joanne Sanderson, designer

"When using a design for a card, cut a piece of lightweight iron-on interfacing 2.5cm (1 in) larger than the embroidery all around, centre it on the wrong side of the embroidery, fuse it according to the manufacturer's instructions and then cut to the desired size. This will not only keep your edges from fraying but also provides a good backing so the color of the card mount does not show through."
Joan Elliott, designer

"I wish I'd known about the false economy of buying cheap scissors – if I’d bought a few good pairs at the start I would have saved far more than I’ve spent on cheap & cheerful ones."
Anna Kingston, home stitcher

"When I took my first piece of stitching to the framers, I was advised to have non-reflective glass. I accepted the advice, but have avoided it like the plague (the glass that is) ever since, as I feel it gives the work a very dull appearance."
Brenda Keyes, designer

We also got in touch with the experts at the Royal School of Needlework, and they had some great things to say...!

The entire final year of Apprentices at the RSN agreed that the main thing they wished they'd known before they started stitching was: "Rest your eyes frequently and try to do the majority of your stitching during the day as eyes get tired towards the end of the day."

"Keep your hands clean as you stitch. Try not to use cheap materials – only stitch with the best you can afford – it’s an investment. Be brave and enthusiastic."
Bella Lane, final year Apprentice
 
"Try to take lessons to learn the best technique – it's better than trying to learn from a book. When threading crewel wool, loop the wool over the middle of the needle and pinch the wool firmly between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand just below the needle. Pull the needle away with your right hand keeping the wool secure between your left thumb and forefinger then slip the tight loop of the wool through the eye of the needle. A glass of red wine always helps when you finish!"
Kate Farrer, final year Apprentice

"When shading and blending threads –at the start of the work organise threads into colour schemes. Twist multiple threads together to allow you to check the colour co-ordination before you start stitching."
Kim Hardie, Certificated Course Student

"I've found the waste knot technique invaluable. Place the knot at the end of the thread on top of the fabric a distance from where you start stitching but making sure that this distance will be covered by the stitches you are about to work. Once you have stitched over the thread which leads to the knot, cut the knot off. This ensures you have no lumps or bumps at the back of your work."
Dianne Nurse, Certificated Course Student
                                                                                                                                   
"I wish I’d known how obsessive I would become about small details that others would never notice or care about!"
April Birtwhistle, Certificated Course Student

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Got any great stitching tips to share? Let us know for a chance to appear in the magazine!

This month our CrossStitcher newsletter has had a posh new makeover, and we wanted to give our website visitors a sneak preview! We'll be featuring more news, pictures, peeks into the next issue, plus free charts from our top designers. We want to hear your suggestions too, so drop us a line and let us know what you'd like to see.


If you're not already on our newsletter list and would like to have it delivered to your inbox every month, just click here – it's as easy as that! You can unsubscribe at any time.

We've received a couple of emails from readers recently asking if they can still download the letters A-J of Margaret Sherry's alphabet. The answer is YES!

All the charts are still here on the website, but because of the 'blog-style' nature of the site the earlier posts have now rolled off the first page. If you type ‘letter’ in the search box on the homepage, and use the drop down menu below it to restrict the search to ‘Margaret Sherry ABC’, all the posts containing download links to the charts should pop up over three pages.

Let us know if you're still having problems, and we'll send you a list of the direct links.

Happy stitching!