Our Correspondents
Ever wondered what stitchers like us are up to in different parts of the globe? We’ve asked readers from near and far to become correspondents for us and share with us their cross stitch news…
News and views from CrossStitcher readers around the world
Charlotte Derby, Midlands, UK
Finally, the summer holidays are about to roll round! So I thought I would pen an update regarding our latest escapades in the ‘Come Craft With Me’ group!
Firstly, we are delighted to welcome a new member into our midst… Caroline! Caroline, an ex-collegaue of ours, contacted me about a Bothy Threads kit, ‘Funky Street’, I had sewn, photographed and posted on Facebook. She had admired the pattern and was looking to ‘dust off’ her bag of shame (the countless unfinished projects that we all have stashed!) and revisit a hobby that she had dabbled with in the past... fast forward a few weeks and a mirror image of my ‘Funky Street’ appeared on my Facebook feed, this time stitched by Caroline, with a comment that she was once again ‘hooked’ on cross stitch – result!
Amy, it would appear, still has to master the art of checking the finished size of her project on the front of the kit’s packet prior to purchase! She has some how managed to, yet again, select a humongous cross stitch, which will undoubtedly take several years to complete! Her latest venture is ‘Rainbow Bubble Girl’ by NKF Cross Stitch and upon completion will measure a whopping 42x41cm! What I will say in Amy’s defence is that there has been a marked improvement in the neatness of the reverse of her stitching, but given time I am sure that the old habit of carrying threads across vast expanses of aida will creep back in!
Nicci has deviated slightly and wandered into the world of crochet. Her current project consists of a striped crochet blanket designed by the fabulously talented Lucy of Attic 24. Nicci is currently making great progress and, as always, we are all supportive of this new venture and we look forward to seeing her become a ‘Master of the Crochet Hook’ before too much longer!
Caroline has been busy, since the initial reunion with cross stitch, and is currently working on a pretty ‘Beach Huts’ design from Bothy threads. She also revealed that she enjoys a bit of backstitch and has therefore, unwittingly, volunteered to complete the outline of my ‘I Love Scotland’ project which remains floundering in the depths of my ‘bag of shame’!
We also discussed the merits of embroidery hoops vs embroidery frames. Nicci, Amy and myself preferring to use the latter when stitching. Caroline is currently a ‘hoop’ user but has said she may convert to gain a better, less marked, finish to her future projects. I should also add that my ‘top tip’ for transporting cross stitch frames on holiday is to either place the project in an empty pillow case or alternatively use the bag that new pillows are sold in, as they are the perfect solution to keeping your sewing sealed and sand free!
In terms of my own stitching, I have multiple projects on the go at the present time. I have recently stitched several Jayne Schofield for DMC patterns. Plenty of bright blocks of colour and, you guessed it, the minimum of backstitch! The latest one, ‘Life is Good’, needed precisely four backstitches, which is about my limit!
I have also completed ‘Let’s All Take Care of Each Other’ by Emily Peacock, which was a pattern featured in the February 2012 issue of CrossStitcher, to go up in my classroom as a gentle reminder to my students. This was a particularly poignant project for me as the start of it coincided with my Nan, the person who taught me to cross stitch, being taken into hospital and sadly passing away in February. I took it to be framed by Mark and Sharon at ‘Betty Stitch Kit’ in Quarry Bank, which is my local haunt for all things framing and cross stitch. My next project is currently underway for my son’s Year 4 teacher and is ‘Owls of A Feather’ by Jayne Schofield. I shall be looking to get it finished and framed in time for the end of term, with six weeks to go I am currently on track with this ( just about!)
Over the next few weeks myself and Nicci will be planning our annual pilgrimage to the July ‘Crafts’ show at the NEC. On a mission to stock up on new cross stitch kits and to get our regular fix of craft! I look forward to updating you all again soon with news of purchases, projects and progress!
Until next time... keep stitching! Best wishes from the ‘Come Craft With Me’ girls…
Recent projects of mine 1 2 & 3 Here’s Funky Street that encouraged Caroline to pick up her needle again 4 Amy is currently stitching the bubble blowing girls 5 Charlotte, Amy and Nicci met while working at the same school, and now run a closed group called ‘Come Craft with me’.
Vicky Cole, Nairobi, Kenya
I think I’ve said before that it can sometimes be frustrating here when we can’t always get the sewing supplies we need. However, on the plus side, we are really lucky to have a truly wonderful picture framer. Her name is Noor, and she is brilliant at stretching embroideries and advising on the framing. I visited her to find out more...
Her mother is Indian and her father Iranian. She and her husband, Zahir, started their business 34 years ago, and built it up from a tiny shop. Today they have 17 employees and a large workshop. Originally Noor was trained as an ECG technician, but when she realised that her heart wasn’t really in it, she trained in interior design in Canada, with a large emphasis on colour coordination. She learnt the art of framing from an Italian, and attributes the quality of her work to him. Now she just loves to go to work every day!
I asked her how she starts when a customer comes in with a piece of embroidery for framing. Her starting point is of course any ideas the customer may have themselves, although sometimes she needs to guide them to better colours and ideas, which can take patience and tact! She appreciates that any piece of embroidery will have taken hours and hours of work, and her aim is to frame each piece to give it a real ‘wow’ factor. She is so clever at choosing just the right colour mounts and frames – colours I would not have thought of, and yet which are just perfect. Sometimes framing embroideries can
be technically challenging, for example 3D embroidery such as stumpwork, or work with ribbons or beads, and she can make beautiful box frames to give the required depth. She can also incorporate embroideries into decorative wooden trays. She says she is always happy to take as much time as necessary with each customer to make the right choices, and takes as much pleasure from a successfully finished piece as the stitcher does.
Her shop is in the Sarit Centre in Nairobi, which is where our exhibitions take place, and she has come to our rescue several times, when glass gets cracked or broken when we are hanging our exhibition. We are so lucky to have this wonderful lady who really understands stitchers’ needs.
I am about to leave Kenya for the UK, and will be home for three months until I get both my children off to university. Then back to Kenya to an empty nest, but I will have lots of time to stitch to console myself.
Noor and Zahir’s framers in Nairobi 6 Noor, who was trained in Italy, and her husband both love their job 7
Just some of the many artworks waiting to be framed 8 Vicky is vice-chair of the Kenya Embroiderers’ Guild and is married with two children.
Lisa Thomas, Lake Michigan, USA
Hello from Michigan, we are having a very busy tourism season here. The season starts in May and goes into mid-Fall for the colour tours. Michigan has five great lakes that make up the largest body of fresh water on Earth. Boating, swimming and relaxing on beaches are very popular activities here so I enjoy cross stitching these things. Since we have so many beaches, stitching on the beach is one of my favourite places to be. Having the soothing waves in the background is so peaceful and relaxing for me.
Lately, I’ve been trying to organise my very large stitching stash. I have a very bad habit of using my floss and not putting it back where it goes. Then I can’t find it and I buy more of the same floss. So far, I’ve found two photo boxes full of skeins of floss and floss on bobbins. I’m hoping with better organisation, I will be able to have time for stitching my half-finished projects. My new year’s resolution was to finish as many of my started projects as possible. So far, I haven’t finished any of them and have started on more projects! I guess there is always next year…
My found stash of extra threads 9 The beach at Holland State Park 10 Lisa is married to a dairy farmer and has three children. She lives close to the wonderful beaches of Lake Michigan, USA.