News and views from CrossStitcher readers around the world

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…

AnneMarie Zeltenrijch, St.Ulrich am Pillersee, Austria

Gruss Gott, dear CrossStitcher readers. Spring is over and I can hardly wait to work and afterwards relax in my garden. Nature invites you to see her beauty. Summers in Austria are almost alway sunny and hot, however in September it can start to be cold again so, we enjoy the months ahead. When the snow has melted, people go hiking in the hills and mountains and enjoy the stunning views. The cows are also taken up to the mountain pastures and alms where they stay until September accompanied by the farmers and family members. As you can see on the picture they are enjoying their freedom and the views.

The community, in the little country village were I live, enjoys having celebrations. We call this a ‘gaudi’. My favorite gaudi is the village music festival. The musicians dressed up in their traditional (dirndls and lederhosen) costumes, and compete against neighbouring villages, which is concluded with a large parade.

I hope there will be enough time for me cross stitching now having so much to do! Wishing you a sunny summer spending some time with your stitching in a lazy chair in the garden. “Pfiat euch” from Austria. The cows love their new-found freedom on the mountains 1 Our musical village gaudi, ending in a parade 2 A recent project of mine 3 AnneMarie Zeltenrijch is Dutch but lives in Austria, with her husband and three cats, Bhumi, Ole and Ully. She retired last year.

Fleur Willis, Lincoln, UK

At the beginning of this month I was still hopping about on crutches due to my pelvis injury, but thankfully I am now back on my feet and able to get back to both work and stitching! Stitching with a broken pelvis was quite challenging, because I found it hard to sit upright properly and stitching while lying flat on your back is not easy. I managed to find a good position by placing a couple of pillows under my back and setting one on my lap to lean on. Stitching while using strong pain medication is easier when using smaller count aida. Anything over 14 count became too fiddly and confusing for me to concentrate on and once I lost my place I would be unable to find it again!

I haven’t managed to get a huge amount of stitching done recently because I’m in the final month of my last year of university and I’ve been busy organising my art pieces for display in our final showcase and finishing off coursework projects. I did manage to stitch this quick ‘thank you’ piece from Stitchrovia on Etsy to give to the kind couple who helped me into their house to wait for an ambulance after my accident. I’ve also been printing my own material to use in future projects, which has been very exciting! It is this pattern – lots of little black and white dogs with hearts on.

It’s been a busy month but I’m so glad to be all healed up again! My very own printed fabric 4 Stitching makes the perfect way to say thank you 5 Fleur is a 22-year-old student studying Illustration at the University of Lincoln. She started cross stitching during a hospital stay in her teens, and now stitches for fun and incorporates her hobby into her illustrations.

Joanne Hayward, Reading, UK

Hello everyone, can you believe we are already halfway through the year, time certainly flies by. That is something that has definitely been on my mind the last couple of months as my youngest daughter Scarlett goes of to secondary school this September and will join her big sister Freya who has been there almost two years already!

However before this exciting change happens in our household we have a lovely summer holiday to enjoy. This year we are off to the Isle of Wight, a holiday destination for us since Scarlett was four months old and one which we all love.

This year the girls have already drawn up a list of places they would like to visit, they especially love a trip to the beach at Ventnor, they can play on the sand whilst I can watch them and catch up on some stitching, usually my Christmas items. There is another place I love to visit in Ventnor too and although it’s a bit of a climb from the seafront its definitely worth a visit.

Up in the town there sits a wonderful shop called Rainbows, in Pier Street. It’s a beautiful haberdashery shop selling a huge range of amazing fabrics, perfect for finishing off your stitchy projects as well as buttons, needles and everything you could need. I make a visit everytime we go to the island to top up my fabric stash, the only problem I have, or I should say my husband has, is getting it all in the car to bring home.

Another must visit shop is TAJ Crafts in Pyle Street in Newport. It’s run by two lovely ladies, Tracy and Jo, and has moved to this location recently. I would definitely recommend a visit they have everything a stitcher needs. My elder daughter Freya particularly loves visiting to top up her ever increasing Gorjuss kits collection. Another place that we visit every time we are on holiday. You can also book in for workshops and groups.

If you enjoy craft in general then no visit to the island is complete without a visit to Arreton Barns where there is a large craft village with many craft shops all in one area, from glassmaking to sweets – you can even get your name put on a grain of rice. There is also a fanatastic farm shop here where you can stock up on local produce and treats to keep you going whilst you stitch, I can recommend the pork pies!

Well that’s all from me for now, have a lovely summer whatever you are stitching or getting up to and thinking of me attaching lots of name labels to new uniform, I think that will be my summer stitching this year! My family on the beach at Sandown and the beautiful sunset there 6 & 7 The Needles and a view through an ››

archway at Carisbrooke Castle 8 & 9 Joanne is married, with two daughters. She works in a local primary school as a teaching assistant and although her main passion is cross stitch, loves all crafts and is always busy crafting with her girls.

Charlotte Darby, Stourbridge, West Midlands

I am sure it will strike a chord with many of you when I say that I recently ‘lost’ my cross stitching drive. Having always been prolific in terms of kit completion I recently saw my cross stitch ‘addiction’ take a veritable ‘nose dive’. After a relatively long hiatus I found myself struggling to re-engage with my hobby despite having a cupboard full of unopened kits crying out to be started. I decided I needed a new project and found inspiration following a visit to my local craft haunt – Betty Stitch Kit, Quarry Bank.

Sharon and Mark, the owners, had recently visited a trade-only craft fair at the NEC in Birmingham and had subsequently decided to stock some new cross stitch related projects, which were a departure from the usual thread on canvas format. The new products included several cross stitch felt cushion kits by Rico Design. A very simple but effective principal where the perforated front cover acts as the aida and the kit then includes the back of the cushion, the necessary threads and a pattern to complete the design.

Here was the answer to my crafting ‘drought’ – a very quick and easy project that resulted in a fast and satisfying finish! I was so pleased with the result that I have since returned to purchase a blank cushion cover and used the remaining threads, a few additional colour choices of my own, and a bit of poetic licence to create a second cushion cover to ‘match’.

Rico Design stock an extensive range of these cushion kits which range from floral and geometric patterns to Christmas and designs that would be well suited to a child’s room or nursery. They are also simple enough for a beginner to attempt, and incorporate much more contemporary designs for adults which are away from the ‘passé’ usual adult beginner kits that are favoured by many of the well-known cross stitch brands. It’s also made my decision easier in terms of what to make for my son’s Year 5 class teacher as a ‘thank-you’ gift for when he finishes with her in July this year. Miss Collins will be in receipt of her very own monogrammed ‘M’ cushion! The original cushion kit (cream) and my own version of the kit (grey) Charlotte, and her friends Amy and Nicci, met while working at the same school, and now run a closed group called ‘Come Craft with me’.