Designer Q&A Kathleen Berlew
Q. When did you begin cross stitching?
A. Way back in the 1980s, I worked for a few years at McCall’s Needlework
& Crafts magazine, which featured cross-stitch projects in every issue. I had done some embroidery before, but never counted cross stitch. I tried a few of the designs and was hooked. I even got to stitch a few samples for the magazine. I have been a cross-stitch addict ever since.
Q. Who or what inspires you?
A. I find inspiration everywhere. Many of my design ideas come from nature—the colors, shapes and textures of flowers, leaves, acorns, fruits, vegetables, seashells, etc. I love celebrating holidays, especially Halloween and Christmas, so I get ideas just by thinking about the colors and symbols associated with those seasons. My Irish ancestry also provides me with inspiration, so you’ll find Celtic and Irish motifs in some of my designs.
Q. What is your favorite type of design to create?
A. I like to design different types of projects—traditional, modern, retro and whimsical. When I’m creating a graphic or contemporary design, I like to play with bold colors and lots of negative space. When I want a design to have a more refined look, I blend shades of color to create depth and texture. The processes are very different, but I enjoy creating both types of projects. I also love designing samplers. They allow me to combine different elements of a theme and arrange them in interesting ways.
Q. How do you begin a design?
A. When I get an idea for a design, I make a very rough sketch, and then I choose my floss palette. I just pull a bunch of spools from my box that suit the theme and look good together. Then, using my sketch for reference, I start doodling with those colors in my charting program until the design begins to come together.
Q. What are your favorite colors to use? Fabric?
A. Fall colors are my favorites, and I use them whenever I can. I always have skeins of reds, coppers, golds and browns on hand. I’m a dedicated DMC fan, and some of my other go-to colors are turquoise (597), medium orange spice (721), Christmas red (321) and light hazelnut brown (422). You can tell I use them often because I have their numbers memorized! They just work in so many different designs.
As for fabric, I use a lot of Aida— mostly 14-count, but sometimes 18-count—in a variety of colors. I think it’s less intimidating for beginning stitchers. I also love to work with raw or natural linen.
Q. Who stitches your samples?
A. I like to stitch my own samples whenever possible. When I’m working from one of my charts, I always end up tweaking the design a bit. I might change a few colors if they’re not creating enough contrast, and I can catch any mistakes and fix them before I finalize the chart.
Q. How often do you have to take out mistakes?
A. When I’m stitching from one of my charts for the first time, I take out and redo stitches when I feel that the design isn’t translating from paper to fabric as I expected. It’s not fun, but it’s a necessary part of the creative process. I am most likely to run into counting errors when I’ve been stitching too long. Then I know it’s time to pull out the mistakes and take a break.
Q. Do you ever dream of designs or designing? Do you cross stitch in your dreams?
A. I don’t recall ever cross stitching or designing in my dreams, but I have often gone to bed thinking about a design problem. More times than not, I wake up with a new idea on how to solve it. I am a great believer in sleeping on problems—cross stitch or otherwise.
Q. What multitasking do you engage in while you are stitching?
A. I can’t stitch in silence, so I almost always have the TV on while I’m cross stitching. I catch up on shows, watch movies or binge-watch whatever Netflix series I’m into at the moment (British mysteries are a favorite). Of course, I do more listening than watching.
Q. What do you do when you aren’t designing or stitching?
A. I like to do all kinds of needlework—sewing, crocheting and knitting. I write a blog, KBB
Crafts & Stitches (www. kbbcrafts.blogspot. com), where I share simple needlework and craft projects, as well as downloadable cross-stitch charts. I love to read and cook too, but stitching usually takes priority.