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Saturday 1 December 2012

Faery Magick

So as some of you may know I am part of a Giant Art Swap on FB and I love it. Second time round and I knew I wanted more than just a little faery magick, I wanted something bigger so I decided on this~


Instead of stitching a heart I added a silver charm which looks lovely, once finished I attached her to a organza bag.  I also made the earrings and a faery wand filled with Swarovski Crystals.  The wands can help you connect to the fae.  Emma was very pleased and so was I, not only that she loved it but I loved her gift too x

Rachel x

Friday 9 November 2012

Nefertiti

I wanted to make a special card for my brother this christmas so after looking through magazines and not finding anything I got out my file filled with pages pulled out of old magazines and there I discovered Nefertiti.  My brother is a huge fan of Egypt and I knew she would be perfect.

It has been ongoing for a year though but a few weeks back I decided not to let the metallic thread get the better of me.  I love the end result and the tantrums with the metallic thread was so worth it, I will share some tips on how to use this thread.

I found using a longer length of metallic thread worked better, it seemed to not tangle as much.

To thread through the needle take one single thread and loop  at the end as if you are making a shepards crook, push through the eye.  This way you are not damaging the end of the thread.

To stop further tangles use some water on the thread, not a lot but enough to dampen.

Make sure you keep an eye on the thread as you stitch, there is a tendency for the thread to tangle, not sit properly as a stitch and if you are not careful you will be re threading often.

After a few stitches I found it better to snip a short amount off the loose bit of thread on your needle as this dangley bit tends to multiply into many threads and gets into a knot when stitching.

Metallic thread is a pain but stick with it as the end result is amazing and will be worth the tears.



Have fun stitching!

Rachel x

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Faery Stocking 2

Faery Stocking 2

These faery stockings are addictive so much so that I made another with more on the go.  I love the colours and you can use different ones to the chart, the back stitch is easy and you can stitch one in a few hours which let's face it is a bonus.

Please see my blog "Faery Stocking" for more details on which magazine to find them in.



Deck the hall with designs of faeries, tra la la

Rachel x

A Faery Stocking

A Faery Stocking

See I did say I had become inspired with the christmas designs!  I love faeries so just had to stitch this one.  The design comes from "Cross Stitch Crazy" issue 170 and is a big stocking but I decided to make the faeries individually because I really didn't want to be taking too long with them.

Once I had stitched this one I knew what I was going to do with her and in the week I had been out and about shopping and came across a pack of the mini stockings.  I must admit it is a bit fiddley but I just love the outcome and she is perfect for a christmas tree.



I'm so pleased with this that I can't wait till the tree goes up!

Rachel x

Elf With Letters

Elf With Letters

Evening everyone,

Hope I find you all well.  I've been buying my favourite cross stitch magazines, you know the ones, they have the christmas designs in! and I've been inspired to take up some thread and a needle and make some special items for christmas.

"The World Of Cross Stitching" issue 195 got me particularly excited with some cheeky elves and I couldn't resist stitching this cheeky elf with his letters, my letter to Santa is in there somewhere I'm sure!  Initially I was going to stitch just the elf and then once he was done I thought I would stitch the letters and enjoyed that so started stitching more until he was complete.

This design will not take you long and the colours are well suited, before too long you will see him coming to life.  I just need to make my mind up on what I will attach him too, I have some material and went from a cushion centre piece to a mini wall hanging and I'm still not sure which means at this rate it will be chritmas!



Love 

Rachel x

Tuesday 2 October 2012

A Witch For Samhain (Halloween)

Hello everyone,

Been busy stitching and once I started my little witch I couldn't put her down so she took me about a day to complete.  I thought it would be a lovely idea to stick her to a notebook as she is for a swap and that way the recipient can have a useful item with a lovely picture to look at.  Taken from The World Of Cross Stitching issue 195.



Rachel x

Saturday 15 September 2012

Dragonfly Pouch

Hello everyone,

I began stitching this beautiful dragonfly and found it a pleasure to stitch, sometimes you just want to create a piece that won't take long and this was perfect.

Once I had finished this piece I knew I wanted to do something different with it so decided not to add to the card provided so I took myself off to a online auction where I discovered some draw string bags and so here is my finished piece (was not easy stitching onto the bag I can tell you lol)




Happy stitching everyone

Rachel x

Tuesday 31 July 2012

A Cute Mouse

I love cover kits from the magazines as they are perfect for those times when you have 5 mins to spare.  I did enjoy stitching this lovely mouse but..........most of the back stitching was half stitches (in the centre of a whole stitch) and was quite fiddly plus tended to make your neat stitches look messy as you push the needle up or through.  The card really sets your finished piece off and now he needs a home.....................


So my next project, mmmmm well I do have a ruby wedding sampler to start as it is my parents 40th next year plus I have to finish some egyptian pieces, the only thing putting me off Nefertiti is the gold thread! pulling your hair out is a understatement lol.

Rachel x

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Disney Princesses

What little girl doesn't love the Disney Princesses and within every grown woman that little girl still lives.  Cinderella and Snow White were free with magazines a few years ago and I just couldn't resist, really love the end results.



Rachel x

My Cross Stitch In Q&E

In 2006 I stitched "Witzy & Boof" from Little Suzy's Zoo and sent a picture off to Quick & Easy with the hope that they would print it in the magazine and they did!



This took me 2 months to complete and was a present for Beth a cousin.

Rachel x

Obsession For Colour

Over the past 15 years I have been collecting the Skeins, obsession eventually took over and I just had to have them, I keep them in storage boxes and in numerical order.  I'm quite proud of my collection of DMC threads and they come in very handy for when I want to take on a small project from one of the magazines.  I'm quite lucky though that my hubby is understanding of my hobby even when it takes over the rooms in the house but he has his own hobbies so that helps.


I just love the mix of colours, so beautiful.  I think it's time I added more to my collection!.

Rachel x

Sunday 24 June 2012

Teddy For A Baby

While I was pregnant with my first child I decided to cross stitch  a teddy with the purpose of sewing the finished article onto a baby blanket with a few different stitched teddies from the same range but this was quite difficult and time consuming so it just stayed the one.  Unfortunately I trimmed the edges too close to the stitching :( so it never ended up on a blanket.


I guess it will stay in the box with UFOs as he is 15 now and wouldn't appreciate it lol.

Rachel x

Love Spoons

Don't you just love these, the real ones are so beautifully carved from wood so I thought I would stitch a few and here they are.


I can't remember the magazine as these were stitched 10 years ago, still haven't framed them! I will have to spend a day washing, pressing and framing with the intent of giving them as presents.

Rachel x

All Our Yesterdays

I love "All Our Yesterdays" cross stitch kits, the victorian clothes are lovely and I would have loved to have worn them as a child.  Faye Whittaker is a fantastically talented lady who captures the essence of childhood.

I choose "Raggety Ann" and I can't remember the name of the other kit because I wanted them to represent my 3 children.  I completed them over a 2 year period on and off, you know what it's like lol!





Looking at the bottom one I don't think it was finished when I took the photos, I still need to wash and press before framing but I'm really pleased with how they have turned out.

Rachel x

Introduction

This was a blog that I had set up by accident when I set up my The Faery Enchantress blog and so I had an idea today, why not have a stitching blog so here it is.

I've been stitching for many years and like many of you have taken photos of the work you do but where do those photos end up? yep that's right in your pc or in your photo drawer and not looked at.  I love the memories each cross stitch brings back to me so I have decided to put all my work on this blog, so over the next few days I will be digging out photos to add.

Rachel x