Blushing Roses part 2
This beautiful bell pull features a selection of Old Roses and English Roses, all in shades of pink. From the top of the design you can find Chaucer, Zéphirine Drouchin, Mme Grégoire Staechelin, Bow Bells, St. Celia, Hermosa, Armosa and Mme Isaac Pereire. Cross stitched on evenweave with subtle shading and depth, the whole of this two-part design can be completed in around two months of evenings.

Jacobean Lady
This elegant lady is from 1620, during the reign of James I of England. It is several years past Tudor times but the distinctive ruff is still fashionable. The sumptuous silk fabrics and brocades with silk lace trimmings and sleeves are typical of the Jacobean era. This piece of history can be completed in two weeks of evening stitching.

Nesting Bullfinches
Deep in the thicket, this pair of bullfinches is guarding their hungry offspring. The female builds the cup-shaped nest of twigs and moss and incubates the clutch of 4-5 eggs for 12-14 days. At this time the bullfinch is a woodland bird; the only sign if its presence a soft piping or a fleeting vision of a white rump.
It becomes more visible in late autumn and winter as it feeds on seeds of herbaceous plants and ash trees, but they are shy birds and do not often land on the groud.
In the spring fruit buds become the staple diet. In the 50's and 60's the bullfinch population boomed and was the greatest problem to fruit-growing farmers. However, their numbers have decreased dramatically since and, while they are not considered to be globally threatened, there are now probably less than 200,000 pairs here.

Citrus Fruit Sampler
This refreshing sampler deesign shows a selection of bright, vibrant citrus fruits. Using a subtle blend of colours with one strand of each shade together in the needle, great effects of depth and shading are achieved. With Blackwork to form a border and the names of each Cross-stitches fruit, this is a mouthwatering picture to decorate your home.

Colours and Patterns
for Easter and Spring
It is not by chance that the colours of Easter and Spring aer quite different from those of Christmas. Both reflect Nature's display at the time of year and, for Spring, she specialises in yellows, purples and some pinks. Thus, it seemed to me to be a good opportunity to play around with the new multi-coloured threads from Anchor and devise some Easter egg designs that are quite quick to stitch and, in some cases, very quick.