Issue
129 This issue is full of a variety of super designs,
starting off with this fabulous rosehip cushion. The
realistic rosehips are interspersed with bands of delicate
Hardanger. A reminder of times past is our trio of windmills,
one of which was owned by an ancestor of Mary! Using
some new cards, there is also a collection of winter
views, looking in and looking out of arched windows.
Create a wonderful gift for wine-lovers with a set of
embroidered glass coasters; choose from either a Blackwork
or Cross stitch design. There is a magnificent and dramatic
Cross stitch design based on the inlaid stone panels
produced in Italy, pietra dura. With Back stitch
create a midnight village scene stitched on blue band
with metallic filaments. The Masterclass explores the
use of colour in Whitework with a delicate sampler to
suit all homes.
Feature Designs
Flowers
from Florence The Etruscans and the Romans set a tradition
in Italy of creating pictures in finely cut pieces
of stone. Many fine examples may be seen and this
embroidery is a celebration of just one example
of the style. To emulate the texture and tones
of the stones selected by the craftsmen, several
different, closely-related shades of colour are
used. The result is an unusual embroidery that
is vibrant in its stylised form.
Through
the Arched Windows Very easy and very quick to stitch, these
cards could be just what you need for those last
minute greetings. Each uses one of the new shaped
aperture cards from Craft Creations and, by doing
so, adds a new dimension and interest. Dream of
Georgian houses and old-fashioned Christmases
as you stitch.
Nature's
Rubies Of all the fuits that Nature provides,
the rosehip is one of the most glorious. They
spill over in falls of shining beads from the
hedgerows in a display of victory and invite
yo to gather them. This, of course, is just
what our ancestors did and many a recipe for
jelly and syrup was lovingly followed to ensure
that the larder contained some products fo rthe
savouring of the rosehip flavours throughout
the winter. They may not have known the merits
of vitamin C, in which these fruits are very
rich, but there is little doubt that they knew
the medicinal properties of them and used them
to the full. You can enjoy the wonderful colours
and forms throughout the winter too in this
cushion design and in the little notebook cover
- the perfect gift for a country lover. The
Hardanger areas add textural interest, but can
be omitted if you prefer to work Cross stitch
alone.
Windmills
of
a Bygone Age A few hundred years ago windmills were
quite a new feature of the landscape. They may
have been greeted with joy as a sign of prosperity
or seen as a blight on the horizon there may,
perhaps, have been complaints about the noise
of the sails. For us now, though, they are part
of the nostalgia of an age that has past and
in true British fashion, a number of them have
been restored to theur former working glory.
Starlit
Village Stitch a peaceful village view under snowy
roofs and a starry sky. This design is versatile
and quick to stitch using mostly Back or Running
stitch which makes it ideal for a last minutecard
or gift for Christmas and winter bookcase. Use
the whole design for a delicately sparkling cake
band or pick smaller scenes for many other uses.
Vintage
Year Especially for wine lovers, this set of
three glass coasters - one large and two small
- are perfect for that shared bottle of a great
vintage. In Cross stitch the vivid colours of
the grapes and foliage provide a richness to match
the mood. The choice is yours. Needless to say,
the coasters would make a wonderful gift for a
conoisseur friend and, as the coasters com e in
a superb presentation box, even the packaging
is more than half way there.Quick, easy but very
stylish, perhaps more than one set will find itself
being stitched.
When Whitework gets Coloured There are many types of embroidery that
are traditionally worked in white thread on a
white background or perhaps cream or écru.
There are reasons for this - availability of coloured
threads in the past, laundering of the item (dyes
are more colourfast now than they were a few years
ago) and, often, simply because they look best
that way. Rules on what can and cannot be done
no longer stand just for the sake of being rules,
but some judgment of what is successful and what
just does not work is useful. So, here we shall
look at two forms of work that are often stitched
using the same colour thread as the fabric and
see what effect different colours and tones have
on the finished pieces.
