Table of contents for May 2016 in Cross Stitch Gold

I’m so pleased that summer is just around the corner. I love nothing more than stitching outdoors at every opportunity and the light evenings mean I speed through my projects faster than ever. Which is just as well, as we have plenty of irresistible designs to tempt you this issue! With many of our favourite flowers in full bloom this summer, I’m sure you’ll find the perfect design to make you smile! Bring to life Maria Diaz’s fairy in her enchanted garden (p4); create a pretty pink lilies table runner (p12); or grow our abstract patterned cushion to life with stitches (p20). You can also recreate fond memories of a childhood camping trip with Durene Jones’ pretty caravan of love (p46), or perhaps a romantic trip to Venice with Michael…

Cherry on top I have just this finished Cherry Cupcake design that I bought from Lesley Teare’s online shop. She has great charts and is always there for any help if needed. It only took six weeks to stitch as there wasn’t any backstitch. I enjoyed stitching it and I framed it on a canvas, which will hang in our kitchen. I’ve stitched two of her cupcakes so far and have one more from the set left to stitch. Emma Wright, Okehampton Sarah: This looks good enough to eat, Emma. Why not reward your hard work with a sweet treat? You deserve it! Thank you! I recently won two cushion kits from the Golden Circle Designs competition in issue 123. I wanted to write and say thank you very much!…

Meet the designer Joy Waldman Joy is an award-winning watercolour artist from Massachusetts, who specialises in florals, seascapes and whimsical children’s art Lilies are the kind of flowers that really make a statement – whether they’re growing tall in the garden or arranged in a beautiful vase, you can’t fail to admire their perfect petals and heavenly scent! This design has been expertly adapted from one of my watercolours, Rhubrum Lilies, and manages to perfectly capture the colours and subtle shading of the original artwork. You might choose to frame your finished stitching and hang it on the wall, or you can create a special-occasion table runner like we’ve done here. I’d be proud to serve lunch or dinner from such a beautifully laid table, and I love how the…

Meet the designer Fiona Baker Fiona is the Technical Editor of Cross Stitch Gold and our sister magazines, as well as being a talented cross stitch designer It’s lovely to create a practical item that also adds a decorative touch to your home, and a cross stitch cushion offers the best of both worlds. This floral design is very traditional in one sense, with its sampler-style bands of motifs. And yet it’s also slightly unusual, in that it doesn’t fill the entire cushion area – the top third of the cushion is left as clean, crisp white evenweave. This gives the effect of the flowers growing upwards, and creates a lovely contrast between the fabric and the pretty pink and green shades in the stitching. I’ve…

THE EXPERTS JO BENNER Jo is an experienced stitcher and crafter, who writes for several cross stitch magazines. She can help with chart queries and stitching know-how, as well as product questions. FIONA BAKER Fiona is the Technical Editor for Cross Stitch Gold and our sister magazines. She is a talented cross stitch designer, too, and can answer any of your stitching queries. SARAH TREVOR Sarah has worked on cross stitch and craft magazines for over six years. She’s an avid stitcher, and is ready and raring to help you with any of your craft or cross stitch dilemmas. CREASE CRAZY Q Have you got any tips to stop me scorching my work when ironing it? My stitching gets so creased and, having yellowed a couple of projects, I’m nervous…

As easy as abc Talented cross stitch designer Felicity Hall is giving one lucky Cross Stitch Gold reader the chance to win her entire circus-style alphabet – perfect for stitching as stylish wall art or personalised cushions for your home. Each individual letter chart is worth £8, meaning this prize is worth £208 in total! To see more of Felicity’s colourful designs, log on to www.felicityhall.co.uk or call 01732 490003 to order by phone. We have one alphabet chart to give away. The text keyword is GOLD129ALPHABET. See the box below for full entry details. Bumper fabric bundle Fabric is one thing you can never have enough of in your stash, so that’s why we’ve teamed up with Zweigart to give 10 winners three pieces of beautiful fabric. Each fantastic…

Mother and child ELEPHANT’S JOURNEY (110929), Vervaco, £38.36 What’s in the kit Black and white chart 28-count ecru evenweave DMC stranded cotton Tapestry needle Size of finished design 30x26cm (12x10½in) Stitching this kit Desert elephants living in Africa migrate long distances to search for food and water, and this emotive scene captures one such journey. It’s a stunning piece, worked in rich oranges for the sunset backdrop, plus rusty browns, natural greens and a number of similar greys for the elephants themselves. It’s brought to life on ecru fabric, which complements the thread shades perfectly. Elephant’s Journey is worked entirely in whole cross stitches, with no fractionals or backstitch. However, it is still pitched to the intermediate stitcher, as it’s a challenge to manage the similar thread shades and follow…

How to read our charts All our charts are printed in both colour and symbols. Each square on a cross stitch chart contains a symbol, and each symbol corresponds with one stitch. The key that accompanies the chart tells you what thread colour each symbol corresponds to, and how many strands to use for each cross stitch, backstitch or French knot. It also gives you the design's dimensions – you'll need these to cut your fabric to size. The thread numbers listed in the first column of the key refer to the brand that we've used to stitch the design. Conversion numbers for two other brands are given, but they're not always exact equivalents. Avoid mixing more than one brand in the same design. Sometimes you'll need more than one…

Meet the designer Maria Diaz Maria is a respected freelance designer who draws much of her inspiration from nature, books and art galleries Just like me, this pretty fairy is a bit of a daydreamer – she loves to sit at the bottom of the garden, deep in thought, and watch the butterflies as they flutter amongst the flowers. Perhaps she’s conjuring up ways to spread her fairy magic! I absolutely loved designing this summery scene, and have reflected the glow of golden sunshine in the fairy’s beautiful yellow dress. To complement this cheery colour, I’ve also used shades of green, pink, purple and orange for the abundant foliage and blooms – all of them bright and beautiful to celebrate the season. She looks so pretty in this pink frame,…

Just by Joan I wanted to share a couple of finishes with you, all by Joan Elliott. I just adore stitching anything she designs, but I particularly love her ladies as their faces are always fantastic. The first is The Reader (top left), which I stitched on hand dyed fabric. I like the palette and the use of beads and sparkly threads. I also stitched Swirling Peacock (bottom left) as a gift for my daughter Jennifer’s birthday. It’s so sparkly in real life. She loves peacocks and it suits her apartment very well. My third finish is Canadian Beauty (right). I added a rabbit to honour my son’s dwarf bunny. Now I want to stitch the snow fairy from issue 52 of Gold. I hope you continue to have wonderful…

Setting the table I just love seeing how my design looks as a table runner, setting the scene for a special occasion. In fact, I often combine floral arrangements, lovely linens and pretty china in my own paintings – a beautiful table setting makes a great still-life watercolour. You can see more of my work at www.porterfieldsfineart.com New blooms I always try to have fresh flowers around me, especially when I’m painting. Somehow they just make me feel more creative!…

Meet the designer Michael Swanson Michael is an award-winning artist from Canada who loves to paint Mediterranean landscapes using oils on canvas The waterways of Venice have been a subject of many a great painting in history, perhaps because of the unique light quality that you get in the Mediterranean. I love to paint scenes from Italy and France; to capture a magical landscape, a cobbled side street or a quiet canal, and bring those exquisite colours to life in oils. I tend to choose subjects that I consider challenging, just as I imagine Cross Stitch Gold readers do when they select a design to stitch. This piece is certainly full of detail. It mainly consists of whole cross stitches, however there are a few fractionals and half stitches too,…

Meet the designer Carol Thornton Carol is a watercolour artist, who sketches and paints her designs before converting them into cross stitch This idyllic country scene was such a pleasure to design. I’ve always had a soft spot for chickens, and loved bringing this proud cockerel to life! I especially enjoyed using the gorgeous jade green and sky blue shades to capture the beautiful rich colours that these birds sport in their tail feathers. Turning your finished stitching into an eye-catching clock is really easy to do just buy a mechanism, which are available from craft shops or online, and then turn to page 41 for instructions on how to attach it to your stitching. This charming chicken clock will look right at home in a kitchen, particularly one that…

Meet the designer Durene Jones Durene is a graphic designer who also loves to cross stitch. Creating fun designs such as this one is her speciality Going away on holiday is something I look forward to all year, so coming up with this design really got me excited for the warmer weather and getting away from it all! A cute caravan is something that I’ve always dreamed about owning I love the idea of having a little home from home, and having it decorated so prettily with lots of flowers and bunting would be the perfect finishing touch! I’ve used the bunting motif as a border for the design, which sets it off beautifully. We left a white border and added a bright fuchsia frame, which complements the colours in…

Meet the designer Susan Bates Susan is a well-loved designer who produces charts for lots of stitching magazines, as well as for DMC Creative World I’ve always enjoyed designing underwater scenes, and I remember doing one for Cross Stitch Gold many years ago of tropical fish, which proved to be very popular. I hope you’ll enjoy this shimmering scene just as much. Who can resist a pair of dolphins, after all? They’re such friendly, playful animals, always eager to explore and usually with a host of little friends following closely behind! The smaller fish, and the coral and shells, were a great way to introduce extra colour into the design. I’ve used blue aida for the background, adding layers of deeper blue stitches over the top. As well as creating…

Picture this I have two sons, and living in a house of boys is wonderful, but sometimes it’s nice to release my girly side when I’m designing! I pictured a mother stitching this fairy for her little girl, and tried to imagine a pretty bedroom as the backdrop for the finished piece. Hopefully this visualisation has helped me to create a design girls will love. The wonder of metallics I’ve used two shades of DMC Light Effects metallic thread in this design. Dark gold and light emerald green add a touch of sparkle to this glamorous fairy’s dress. I didn’t want to go overboard with the metallic thread as I think often less is more, particularly on such a colourful design.…

My stepson just had a baby, making me a first time grandma. I saw this dinosaur alphabet from issue 48 of Gold when looking for something cute to put on the corner of a blanket for baby, Elijah. I even found a dinosaur stuffed toy to go with the blanket and adapted the colours in the design to match. Thanks for a great design – my daughter-in-law loves it! Carolyn Holmes, Virginia, USA Sarah: Congratulations on your first grandchild and for completing such an adorable project! I’m sure both the blanket and the dinosaur will be treasured by baby Elijah!…

Aiming high If you often find it tricky to spend as much time stitching as you'd like, or perhaps you have a big project to finish before a special event such as a wedding or birthday, this Weekly Planner Pad from BusyB is guaranteed to come in handy. With space to write notes for each day of the week, as well as a 'To do' section, you can keep track of your stitching goals as well as your everyday chores and social engagements. The pack includes 60 tear-off sheets and two handy magnets, and it even doubles as a mouse mat, too! Get your Weekly Planner Pad for £8.99. To buy, log on to www.busyb.co.uk  or call 0131 5564394 Timeless charm Celebrate traditional needlecraft with this wonderful new…

Romantic getaway Venice is one of the most romantic cities in the world, and is often chosen as a honeymoon destination or a place to pop the question. I would love to think of this design being stitched for a pair of newlyweds as a wedding gift, or indeed to mark a special anniversary. A brief history I was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, but my family were trapped behind the Iron Curtain for years and finally relocated to North America in the 1960s. This move helped my career to flourish – I started out by having fun painting pictures, and then moved on to the demanding and deadline-driven world of commercial illustration. Now, three decades later, I’m back once again to having fun painting and I sincerely hope you like…

Clocking on I really enjoyed creating the circular bluebird design for issue 126, so it was nice to do another one here. With a bit of creativity, you could even turn the bluebirds into a clock, too, just by adding numbers round the edge. Turn to page 26 to find out how to order a back issue. It’s all white I love the effect of a simple white embroidery hoop, as it allows the rich colours to really shine through. It’s so easy and quick to customise a wooden hoop with a lick of paint you only need a very small amount, so using tester pots is a really cost-effective way to do this.…

Pots of detail I love adding tiny motifs to scenes such as this. From the vase of flowers and books on the shelf to the butterflies skimming along in the breeze, there’s plenty to keep your interest while you work on this sweet tableau. Being a huge pet lover, I couldn’t resist adding a friendly dog and cat, too! Keeping it crisp The backstitch detail is key to making this design really pop, so take your time to place each stitch carefully. If you choose to work your design on aida, remember that using a sharper needle that pierces the fabric easily will also help.…

Meet the designer Durene Jones Durene lives in Durham, and is a popular designer who loves to create bright and colourful charts for Gold readers Amidst the weddings, birthdays and general merriment of summer, we musn’t forget to celebrate our dads on Father’s Day! I’ve created six colourful card designs here, based on hobbies or interests, whether it’s sport, music or the great outdoors. But the best thing about these designs is that you can mix and match the different motifs to make a card that’s unique to your dad. Combine the football, the guitar and the newspaper, for example, for a dad with a range of interests. Patterned papers help to make these designs stand out even more, and we think he’ll really appreciate the…