tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61305445301327391482024-03-18T20:24:14.393-07:00Stitches by KryssCross stitch, art, inspiration and everything in betweenLinda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-630269399625379892011-06-16T18:03:00.000-07:002011-06-16T18:03:59.700-07:00UFOs<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think everyone has a few UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) in their craft room. I've been on a bit of a campaign recently to finish a few off. So here's what I'm up to at the moment.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I started this blanket when I was pregnant last year, and obviously got distracted by something else. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixomPEVwpnbQj0cTdPdvQucxY4y4imPCM3tJnFIGFN1ITsdIlSFFvaA2JsOZARcnljTZxmiwh4YL0lmTKTjBvebdjjZqRYW2Gb0zILcSNp3otwy9HSOsvNcMhPRqkto1vMXDL9dkloNKc/s1600/IMG_1361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixomPEVwpnbQj0cTdPdvQucxY4y4imPCM3tJnFIGFN1ITsdIlSFFvaA2JsOZARcnljTZxmiwh4YL0lmTKTjBvebdjjZqRYW2Gb0zILcSNp3otwy9HSOsvNcMhPRqkto1vMXDL9dkloNKc/s320/IMG_1361.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had wanted to try out domino knitting for a while, but finally got around to giving it a shot with this blanket. It started out as a good reason to use up some of my wool stash, but then of course I had to go buy more wool so that sort of defeated the purpose. Still, I plan on finishing it now, and possibly even expanding it further. (Aw, then I'll have to go buy more wool!)</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My crochet granny square rug was started even longer ago, about four years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFD9g8oXIUnd_m2hwlu1oRcLZAyCP4Ik3Khyg1FwJptOdLEp5BTe9QCSYqqE-OKv4rdjQje4a2sFIoM9uVpJpbkdp_0UJahvjAbkJfYgykDmHoxRlZHl8dGZ74RlO9I-B5UE8aeDv_S6A/s1600/IMG_1365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFD9g8oXIUnd_m2hwlu1oRcLZAyCP4Ik3Khyg1FwJptOdLEp5BTe9QCSYqqE-OKv4rdjQje4a2sFIoM9uVpJpbkdp_0UJahvjAbkJfYgykDmHoxRlZHl8dGZ74RlO9I-B5UE8aeDv_S6A/s320/IMG_1365.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYu6P_Qp76NH_R8c6tB68o7SVflxm3GJOstoKZiXZDZzKZsBsvmY55G1VGX51ciytkRDdUDm_8FcWKH7dgZ4kVwzEK-a2YI2kXqIm8lP8WuFvjlQQoCq283PzTMRtoqK6-cl8GhylIJaA/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYu6P_Qp76NH_R8c6tB68o7SVflxm3GJOstoKZiXZDZzKZsBsvmY55G1VGX51ciytkRDdUDm_8FcWKH7dgZ4kVwzEK-a2YI2kXqIm8lP8WuFvjlQQoCq283PzTMRtoqK6-cl8GhylIJaA/s320/IMG_1367.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know that looks like a lot of squares, but I figure it's only about a third of what I need! My biggest problem with this UFO is that I don't have enough of the green coloured wool and the colour is now out of production! So I'm just spreading it as far as I can.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm being really obsessive compulsive with this blanket. I had this idea that the colour combination on every square should be different, so I charted up all the possible combinations and I'm marking them off as they're done. Really, I need to get a life! </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lastly, I bought this kit at a craft show last year from <a href="http://www.morrisyarns.com/">Morris Yarns</a>. I need another scarf like I need a hole in my head, but the colours and pattern were just too tantalising!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5pebmP6EH17TETDA0p4EStskEuB7B-QkYSPm3ksjiYgxVJMUknOFpF9XA5fpyZJ1QV2ecSmXNeGsnLtdQfGCUcd-m4lrnoZ2GmrkWrCbHE5mR7MKTwZ99Er4C_85REBn2z-qFyr-8A0/s1600/IMG_1369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5pebmP6EH17TETDA0p4EStskEuB7B-QkYSPm3ksjiYgxVJMUknOFpF9XA5fpyZJ1QV2ecSmXNeGsnLtdQfGCUcd-m4lrnoZ2GmrkWrCbHE5mR7MKTwZ99Er4C_85REBn2z-qFyr-8A0/s320/IMG_1369.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-5jKGmQ9CfQENCkakUM-zZT7JNYwTEYvXrs9GADIMbD4aZoFmkmjmUVlBxXhmBov7_KxbaG9pMCOIqwSdpSgBOO5TsEYXe_h2qnUECm8KAnzAyBKnagmTujlYyVfdsLTnkDSeH6g6mI/s1600/IMG_1371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-5jKGmQ9CfQENCkakUM-zZT7JNYwTEYvXrs9GADIMbD4aZoFmkmjmUVlBxXhmBov7_KxbaG9pMCOIqwSdpSgBOO5TsEYXe_h2qnUECm8KAnzAyBKnagmTujlYyVfdsLTnkDSeH6g6mI/s320/IMG_1371.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You never know, I might actually wear this one, it's so beautiful! Either way, it's good practice at crocheting.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, all of that is keeping me off the streets at the moment. It's actually very satisfying to finish off a few projects which have been sitting around for so long.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-70532450865975485972011-06-13T15:41:00.000-07:002011-06-13T15:41:25.307-07:00Messy but fun!<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was my husband's birthday yesterday, and he's notoriously difficult to find good presents for. We both have rather expensive hobbies (craft for me, collectable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Bowl">Bloodbowl </a>miniatures for him) so we tend to buy a lot of our own things as we need them, rather than waiting for birthdays. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But this year was easy. I had seen <a href="http://www.handprintsonthewall.org/2008/05/18/really-cute-kids-handprint-crafts/">this brilliant link</a> on Pinterest (I was right, all my free time is going into that site at the moment, it's so much fun!) and knew it was a great idea. So here's our attempt.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENaGKJBn4SoqosLq2fCk7HZSzy4_YgLt6Op5t1q9UXLjkM6Zhm_q4tivX4tK_CZa49Z4nvyqH11GYMmob8Qc2GOcqkL3Llk7fO-w5M6yBGJXcksDasrA5uXUs_OOQmEYA96WoauG2Q3c/s1600/IMG_1360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENaGKJBn4SoqosLq2fCk7HZSzy4_YgLt6Op5t1q9UXLjkM6Zhm_q4tivX4tK_CZa49Z4nvyqH11GYMmob8Qc2GOcqkL3Llk7fO-w5M6yBGJXcksDasrA5uXUs_OOQmEYA96WoauG2Q3c/s400/IMG_1360.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It came out really well, especially since I seriously underestimated just how difficult it would be to get a 10.5 month old to place her palm on a piece of paper without making a mess! But we both had fun making it, and my husband loved it.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As for my craft projects, I'm still having a break from cross-stitch and currently crocheting granny squares for a rug I started years ago. I'm basically going back and cleaning up some old UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) while I figure out what my next big project is going to be. I'll post some pictures of the granny squares later on in the week.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until then!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-22545977831939991702011-05-26T17:48:00.000-07:002011-05-26T17:48:17.837-07:00Pinterest - There goes my free time!<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I recently found a new website which has definitely captured my interest! <a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest </a>is a clever site which allows you to "pin" photos from all over the internet and collect them into albums. A friend told me that it sounds a lot like <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> (which I've never really used before) but Pinterest seems to have a particularly feminine, crafty and artistic bent to it which I'm loving. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1359165072"></span><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbudnd5wVgGM60PPwULgbk4EZxAYVyloSwsZ2_JR9GWmarXtl-zvsO_CNCPHicHbgN2T-eJ_XCombT5YV81t4tDDoJEXwyJRuJy_miag0txy2CqNY1OPucoBDRpEoL6nQQA99sI67gcoE/s320/Pinterest.jpg" width="320" /></a><span id="goog_1359165073"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So I've spent the last couple of days looking around the site, putting together albums of my own interests (including gorgeous homes with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, which you can see <a href="http://re.pn/b/1xjL">here</a>) and of course, a collection of inspirational craft ideas (which you can check out <a href="http://pinterest.com/stitchesbykryss/art-and-crafty/">here</a>). The site allows you to follow other people's albums as well, so you can find collections which suit your interests and have pictures from them pop up whenever you log in.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The site is currently invite only, but as a new member I have six invites to give you, so if anyone is interested, drop me an <a href="mailto:stitchesbykryss@gmail.com">email </a>and I'll send one over to you.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'll give you one tip however: turn off the email alerts! Everyone is looking through everyone else's albums and repinning, and you don't need an email every single time that happens!</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I get the feeling that I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this site, just seeing all the beautiful things that the world has to offer! I've already found a bunch of cute craft projects and a really clever idea for my brother's birthday this year. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And now, to drag myself away from the internet and go do some grocery shopping. *groan*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-31024854970986539792011-05-19T16:51:00.000-07:002011-05-19T16:51:58.396-07:00Froofy<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before my daughter was born, I went on a cross-stitching and knitting frenzy. We had been trying for a while, and I had been restraining myself from making lots and lots of baby things before we finally fell pregnant, just in case we never got there. The day I found out I was pregnant, it was on for young and old!</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She's 10 months old now and she's grown out of most of her newborn clothes. It's coming up to winter here, so I thought it was time for a new hat. Here's what I put together.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX60Aql9MVWtH3KHxAr1g3JuIJ-ShyU7fMTtOiG-kbNHEbK6cWjnHYznMjv5rPaV5YIUe9Avp7FT5sfvRQANONtZkqm7rBDyd8UqJamqqJFf7h_Rz4Twj0dxfUbEYH_hNHrE5edISP7iA/s1600/IMG_1333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX60Aql9MVWtH3KHxAr1g3JuIJ-ShyU7fMTtOiG-kbNHEbK6cWjnHYznMjv5rPaV5YIUe9Avp7FT5sfvRQANONtZkqm7rBDyd8UqJamqqJFf7h_Rz4Twj0dxfUbEYH_hNHrE5edISP7iA/s320/IMG_1333.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNYRoavdppoIFHnn83dYmQH3tZi71-NGOMOFxR9gw78PI_Q2A61geXaStS_dlmtUt_HHv0fA3ZYgtNIatWJdcL3VwS26wrmt91-yVu8oagj6QbXUtahCBR-PCvkPPfqimbjavO1KMXug/s1600/IMG_1307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNYRoavdppoIFHnn83dYmQH3tZi71-NGOMOFxR9gw78PI_Q2A61geXaStS_dlmtUt_HHv0fA3ZYgtNIatWJdcL3VwS26wrmt91-yVu8oagj6QbXUtahCBR-PCvkPPfqimbjavO1KMXug/s320/IMG_1307.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Purple, of course, but I actually bought more balls of this wool (Lincraft Surprise) in pink and orange/red shades, so she might just get more hat/scarf sets! It was a lot of fun to make, and didn't take too long at all. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My husband called it "froofy". But he's a boy, so what are you going to do?? </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, I thought I would post up the pattern so you can knit this too. The wool doesn't need to be variegated, but I would suggest doing the crochet flower in a contrasting colour so it stands out.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> </div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia;">“Froofy” Hat/Scarf Combo</span></u></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Size:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">For a 12+ month old (my little one has a large-ish head, so I stitched it big with lots of room to grow)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Materials:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">100g 8 ply wool (I used Lincraft Surprise in Aubergine Mix)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">4.5mm knitting needles</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">4.5mm (size 7) crochet hook</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Large needle for sewing in ends/attaching flower to hat</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Scissors</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Method – Hat:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Cast on 80 stitches. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Knit first 6 rows in Moss Stitch as follows:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 1 (RS): *K1, P1*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 2 (WS): *P1, K1*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 3: Repeat Row 1.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 4: Repeat Row 2. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 5: Repeat Row 1.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 6: Repeat Row 2. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Continue knitting in stocking stitch (knit right side (RS) rows, purl wrong side (WS) rows) until hat measures approximately 13cm from bottom.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Shape crown as follows:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 1: *K6, K2tog*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Purl all WS rows.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 3: *K5, K2tog*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 5: *K4, K2tog*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 7: *K3, K2tog*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 9: *K2, K2tog*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 11: *K1, K2tog*, repeat * to * until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 12: K2tog until end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Cut yarn to leave a long tail, and thread tail onto needle. Pass threaded needle through remaining stitches on the knitting needle (there should be 10 stitches) and pull tight. Use remaining thread on needle to stitch up the back seam of the hat. Sew in all ends neatly.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Method – Crochet Flower:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Please note: instructions are in English crochet terms.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Ch8 and join with a SS.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Round 1: Ch3 (counts as 1tr), work into ring 1tr, *6ch, 3tr*, repeat * to * 4 more times, 6ch, 1tr, then join with a SS in the third chain of the 3ch at the beginning of the round.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Round 2: *1ch, then 1dc, 1htr, 7tr, 1htr, 1dc into the chain arch, 1ch, skip 1dc, SS into next dc,* repeat from * to * 5 more times. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Fasten off with a tail, and thread tail onto a needle. Use remaining tail to sew flower onto the hat in desired position. Sew in all ends neatly. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Method – Scarf:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Cast on 15 stitches.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Work every row in Moss Stitch as follows:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">*K1, P1*, repeat * to * until end, K1.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Cast off once scarf is at desired length (mine was 82cms).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Method – Crochet Edge (Large Picot):</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Please note: this edge should be worked in multiples of 3 plus 2.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 1 (WS facing): Work a row of dc along the edge of the scarf. Try to create 17 stitches. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Row 2 (RS facing): 1ch, 1dc into next dc of previous row, *ch5, SS into first ch of that 5ch, skip next dc, 2dc*, repeat * to * until end. Fasten off and sew in all ends.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Enjoy!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-2330201350153096752011-05-15T16:30:00.000-07:002011-05-15T16:30:09.709-07:00What's new, Pussycat?<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I <a href="http://stitchesbykryss.blogspot.com/2011/05/excuses-excuses.html">promised</a> I'd show you my latest stitching project, so here it is. I am stitching up one of my newer designs from a vintage Australian magazine cover, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/69650345/the-rose-pdf-cross-stitch-pattern">The Rose</a>.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVWbwHkrfjl3cK06fBduygsO-zqGFyQCl1YNHtLD1sZfUM1ckKY_1BcglygYRByOVz4812T3wbjs6Ziuxfvh2rnwvuQop4zFbvWk-irNgMkoT8kT96O3cfu6x_qlTuhpHupIIA9mjlrs/s1600/IMG_1296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVWbwHkrfjl3cK06fBduygsO-zqGFyQCl1YNHtLD1sZfUM1ckKY_1BcglygYRByOVz4812T3wbjs6Ziuxfvh2rnwvuQop4zFbvWk-irNgMkoT8kT96O3cfu6x_qlTuhpHupIIA9mjlrs/s320/IMG_1296.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34Pm2yZ1kSKc6Z1EzUnT3FjYEeSo5Akrf21dkIbGzpPVvPKYxgch4gtnTB-6dHB_74kwihRXdbYIGDae0_Urb-6CKkaGEzw0Y8xruuJ6ip0TsLOY-_94yB4P2ReWwXKGiCIRvsQQgk90/s1600/IMG_1299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34Pm2yZ1kSKc6Z1EzUnT3FjYEeSo5Akrf21dkIbGzpPVvPKYxgch4gtnTB-6dHB_74kwihRXdbYIGDae0_Urb-6CKkaGEzw0Y8xruuJ6ip0TsLOY-_94yB4P2ReWwXKGiCIRvsQQgk90/s320/IMG_1299.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And here's what it will look like when it's finished:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6HOksUD8DYW4Jzc33jtwbR4cJwwudannJnVI3JoEVz9RG49l59tu85fuxCmdLxXvNScL-mBb9UWUZNvJOKukzbGf1afbIRfevPDUoqcw0twSmQs54VWxrHTWFv8el-sd9Zff1PaVFW4/s1600/093+-+The+Rose+%2528flat%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6HOksUD8DYW4Jzc33jtwbR4cJwwudannJnVI3JoEVz9RG49l59tu85fuxCmdLxXvNScL-mBb9UWUZNvJOKukzbGf1afbIRfevPDUoqcw0twSmQs54VWxrHTWFv8el-sd9Zff1PaVFW4/s320/093+-+The+Rose+%2528flat%2529.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I've also been knitting a bit, just making a few new cosy warm beanies for my little girl. They're so quick and fun, so I think I'm going to make a few of them! More on those as I make a bit more progress.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I hope your projects are going as well as mine! Have fun.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-41397461721175593572011-05-10T15:14:00.000-07:002011-05-10T15:14:49.654-07:00Excuses Excuses<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So, anyone who reads blogs regularly will be very much familiar with the post I’m about to make.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve been slack about updating the blog. Sorry everyone. Here’s the shortlist of excuses:</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">1) I’ve started managing a blog for my husband’s practice, and they’ve been keeping me busy! I’m hoping I can start up a small business running blogs for people who are interested in having one but don’t know the technological know-how to do it themselves. (And yes, that was a blatant piece of self-promotion, so contact me on </span><a href="mailto:cynosure.linda@gmail.com"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">cynosure.linda@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> if you’re interested in something like that for yourself or someone you know!)</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">2) Sick grandmother, check. (I wish that was a joke, but my grandmother had a couple of heart attacks and has had to be moved out of her home into a nursing home, so that resulted in a trip up north for a while.)</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">3) I finished my giant cross stitch, so I’ve been a little burned out on stitching for a while. It went well in the exhibition I talked about (it won third place!). But I have started a new project which I’m tentatively planning for next year’s exhibition. </span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">4) Most of all, my little girl is nine months old and on the verge of starting to crawl. She developed her first tooth last week! She’s a little angel, but she still runs me ragged. That said, I’ve already started planning her first birthday party, which I’m really looking forward to!</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyADqQTC8oLjseWZ4vcadOG74rzDpzp6cfUmlP08RrWcj7Nre6bEF1qIOr138tJ_B9JehDofLnMnfgRjYbZSXNY0DJN3kHA0POEmcIU34rzPYC7DQj4Wkaiz6s-Z_acuQCp0-neeCm2U/s1600/IMG_1225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyADqQTC8oLjseWZ4vcadOG74rzDpzp6cfUmlP08RrWcj7Nre6bEF1qIOr138tJ_B9JehDofLnMnfgRjYbZSXNY0DJN3kHA0POEmcIU34rzPYC7DQj4Wkaiz6s-Z_acuQCp0-neeCm2U/s320/IMG_1225.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shameless baby picture, check.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">5) And my own health went haywire this week, which is hardly an excuse for my not having updated the blog up until now, but hey, I get some sympathy, right?</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I promise I'll (try to) do better in the future.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">More on my latest cross stitch project later in the week. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-77460505419869073652011-03-29T14:24:00.000-07:002011-03-29T15:26:29.675-07:00Status: Cross Stitch finished.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCxX_oSBoYnh8zjo5BFojZrbabASmOOQqArEAqMIb1oZL9GbFM-4yiNCZrC4yCLv7V2T3_rI9uc4HcEkjs743qeDTx_V93I6Kiiyp45Erdbl3fT7s_bmK3VN7qkdzrvuvQOG3ARlbjwQ/s1600/IMG_1197+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCxX_oSBoYnh8zjo5BFojZrbabASmOOQqArEAqMIb1oZL9GbFM-4yiNCZrC4yCLv7V2T3_rI9uc4HcEkjs743qeDTx_V93I6Kiiyp45Erdbl3fT7s_bmK3VN7qkdzrvuvQOG3ARlbjwQ/s320/IMG_1197+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBNYqpuQG5xyjI5esnwF-7nXL2i-SCOD48HR_75uvbpu8SG0jogOP5SzVYfikeOgzRdwjIuslOGW_z-XfmaaEIBH1B-Gr_9QX_vO2b9orkYsEO7LKbBDducIxCqFypRlXSVUCEuGIEjw/s1600/IMG_1215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBNYqpuQG5xyjI5esnwF-7nXL2i-SCOD48HR_75uvbpu8SG0jogOP5SzVYfikeOgzRdwjIuslOGW_z-XfmaaEIBH1B-Gr_9QX_vO2b9orkYsEO7LKbBDducIxCqFypRlXSVUCEuGIEjw/s320/IMG_1215.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPV1UlafNzZve8UCK6FcCdd-AkCQmmKAb7cooEzFZFIGm0ikDGTG7OIFC4YLO2hoKCdk3fRmCxCZUyzAqaZyJ1MIVw8POPYQbKaO4ClhNEr2KGK90j90lZGGZ7DNgYQCWqO-P5KfJoFv8/s1600/IMG_1214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPV1UlafNzZve8UCK6FcCdd-AkCQmmKAb7cooEzFZFIGm0ikDGTG7OIFC4YLO2hoKCdk3fRmCxCZUyzAqaZyJ1MIVw8POPYQbKaO4ClhNEr2KGK90j90lZGGZ7DNgYQCWqO-P5KfJoFv8/s320/IMG_1214.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6FI3G-4Ryg-FwJjIqAF1N3Hvsq4Vk8YfZgHaLO_00wJpHSyqOSsAg4ApHbWyggch848BFp0gHi7TkwSlJEya3p6173b4X_8UPfCYs7LFOK-1JB302lyRiNpvNRc_2IK83QGGtlaIEGI/s1600/IMG_1207+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6FI3G-4Ryg-FwJjIqAF1N3Hvsq4Vk8YfZgHaLO_00wJpHSyqOSsAg4ApHbWyggch848BFp0gHi7TkwSlJEya3p6173b4X_8UPfCYs7LFOK-1JB302lyRiNpvNRc_2IK83QGGtlaIEGI/s320/IMG_1207+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJDEttqEoC_XX4U2me8SrUexS1h8UKFr_QzLVXnptCQOD_dWBWGuIxMwJ9pWyZOaZ6ylyLmf8v5bOAoZaLBx-h7j3Fom7VO0nP6aR-zCZfMVgca0e4YlxfanK82HPpuZAOH7JUVNAgu0/s1600/IMG_1201+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJDEttqEoC_XX4U2me8SrUexS1h8UKFr_QzLVXnptCQOD_dWBWGuIxMwJ9pWyZOaZ6ylyLmf8v5bOAoZaLBx-h7j3Fom7VO0nP6aR-zCZfMVgca0e4YlxfanK82HPpuZAOH7JUVNAgu0/s1600/IMG_1201+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJDEttqEoC_XX4U2me8SrUexS1h8UKFr_QzLVXnptCQOD_dWBWGuIxMwJ9pWyZOaZ6ylyLmf8v5bOAoZaLBx-h7j3Fom7VO0nP6aR-zCZfMVgca0e4YlxfanK82HPpuZAOH7JUVNAgu0/s320/IMG_1201+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="left"><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBNYqpuQG5xyjI5esnwF-7nXL2i-SCOD48HR_75uvbpu8SG0jogOP5SzVYfikeOgzRdwjIuslOGW_z-XfmaaEIBH1B-Gr_9QX_vO2b9orkYsEO7LKbBDducIxCqFypRlXSVUCEuGIEjw/s1600/IMG_1215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBNYqpuQG5xyjI5esnwF-7nXL2i-SCOD48HR_75uvbpu8SG0jogOP5SzVYfikeOgzRdwjIuslOGW_z-XfmaaEIBH1B-Gr_9QX_vO2b9orkYsEO7LKbBDducIxCqFypRlXSVUCEuGIEjw/s1600/IMG_1215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I think I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves, because I've run out of words when it comes to this project.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">If you're going to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, it will be exhibited in the Arts and Crafts Show. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left"></div></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-57926916857249590072011-03-27T18:13:00.000-07:002011-03-27T18:13:14.434-07:00The Creative Breakroom<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Hi everyone, just a quick little note today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">A fun new forum has just opened up for people who are interested in all things crafty. Originally a part of the Etsy forums, and then the Unofficial Etsy Forums, the <a href="http://www.creativebreakroom.com/index.php">Creative Breakroom</a> is going to be a fun place to hang out. Come find us over there and say hello!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-59451923552051254352011-03-23T14:15:00.000-07:002011-03-23T14:15:00.279-07:00My Palette Cleanser<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I had a whole post written to update everyone on what was happening with my Gabriel and Mary project (discussed <a href="http://stitchesbykryss.blogspot.com/2011/02/gabriel-and-mary.html">here</a> and <a href="http://stitchesbykryss.blogspot.com/2011/02/status-update-almost-done.html">here</a>). Last week, it was looking like a total disaster. I had finished stitching, unpicked all the guide lines, washes and ironed the cloth … and the creases were still there. It was looking pretty dire.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So I had a post written about how I was giving up, and seriously considering starting the whole thing over again (which everyone thinks is crazy and, frankly, IS </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">crazy). I was just about to put the post up when I was reading the <a href="http://www.crossstitchforum.com/index.php">CrossStitch Forums</a>, where I’ve been talking about this project a lot. A lot of people offered suggestions for my problems, which I am very, very grateful for, but one in particular, Sadpingu, linked an article on another forum which exactly described my problem, and how to fix it. In short, by weaving some thread through the back of the stitches where the creases are, I could fix the tension problems which were causing the creases.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And it seems to be working.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So I would like to take this opportunity to send out a big THANK YOU to Sadpingu, whoever you are, especially given that you registered for the forums specifically to pass on that advice to me. As I said on the forums, if I knew you in real life, I would give you a big, fat, sloppy kiss right now.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Meanwhile, I found myself a lovely little project to take my mind off my other cross stitch dilemmas. Another poster on the CrossStitch Forum, Offe, has a link to her <a href="http://offes-cross-stitch.se/">website</a> with some very pretty little designs for free, and I just loved this one.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVAA4kN0d1EdYCIoKvm95BrU57LNnRGIHNNr0oUzqzmEaQxfG6-n-djj3p0LY3zg2qoKev0RUhSW0DLtEgDpmOSKfnHRpbDuAhu3StJkLXkTz01lotrFULX7t10WT1jx0Q4ybIJ01d3c/s1600/Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVAA4kN0d1EdYCIoKvm95BrU57LNnRGIHNNr0oUzqzmEaQxfG6-n-djj3p0LY3zg2qoKev0RUhSW0DLtEgDpmOSKfnHRpbDuAhu3StJkLXkTz01lotrFULX7t10WT1jx0Q4ybIJ01d3c/s320/Tree.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve been calling it my Palette Cleanser. And it has been very nice to have something quick and fun to do while I’m in denial about my gigantic cross stitch problems. So thank you also to Offe!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ll put up another post once I’m completely done with Gabriel and Mary. But it’s looking good!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-35676698643062369262011-03-15T17:20:00.000-07:002011-03-15T17:42:38.395-07:00I won an award!<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I’m very excited, I just won my first blog award!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZHc1ciWGIYT3l62LL6V8fR8dhowKWvvoNjo8aqOpfqyzhNlqjsdbVbtWexBGEg3ktAULuTPkz8s91rR1ehUdmfxHfekNsXsw_NVUE_1EHLb3EH1-22SCVw2u1Fn7NnJ7bkxibqC7qOk/s1600/Stylish-Blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZHc1ciWGIYT3l62LL6V8fR8dhowKWvvoNjo8aqOpfqyzhNlqjsdbVbtWexBGEg3ktAULuTPkz8s91rR1ehUdmfxHfekNsXsw_NVUE_1EHLb3EH1-22SCVw2u1Fn7NnJ7bkxibqC7qOk/s1600/Stylish-Blogger.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And apparently there are rules to this, so I’ll do my part. Here we go …</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">1. Thank the person that awarded you:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> A big thank you to <a href="http://planettreasures.blogspot.com/">Planet Treasures</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">2. List 7 things about myself:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> 1. I play World of Warcraft when I’m not cross stitching.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">2. I married my boyfriend from high school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">3. My favourite musicians at the moment are Muse, Imogen Heap and Disturbed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">4. I spent two months working on an archaeological dig in </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Egypt</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> in 1999/2000.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">5. I’ve never broken a bone in my body.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">6. I have recurring nightmares about tsunamis, so I really, really feel for the people in </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Japan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">7. My favourite season of the year is spring.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">3. Pass the award to 15 other stylish bloggers -</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">1. <a href="http://wiredtomyworld.blogspot.com/">Wired to my World</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">2. <a href="http://beckysc.blogspot.com/">Becky Bee’s Stitching Hive</a></span><br />
3<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">. <a href="http://diaryofacraft-aholic.blogspot.com/">Diary of a Craft-aholic</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">4. <a href="http://toni-favoritethings.blogspot.com/">Toni’s Favourite Things</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">5. <a href="http://donnascrossstitch.blogspot.com/">Donna’s Craft Cross StitchBlog</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">6. <a href="http://happinessiscrossstitching.blogspot.com/">Happiness is Cross Stitching</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">7. <a href="http://acozylittleplaceforstitching.blogspot.com/">A Cozy Little Place forStitching</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">8. <a href="http://rettg.blogspot.com/">A Shoebox of Photographs</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">9. <a href="http://nikkis-attic.blogspot.com/">Nikki’s Attic</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">10. <a href="http://georgicadesigns.blogspot.com/">Georgica Designs</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">11. <a href="http://celebratetheodd.blogspot.com/">Celebrate the Odd</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">12. <a href="http://glassprimitif.blogspot.com/">I Love Red</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">13. <a href="http://www.bookgeekery.com/">Book Geekery</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">14. <a href="http://blog.kaliahdesigns.com/">Kalish Designs</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">15. <a href="http://sunshineandlolli.blogspot.com/">Sunshine and Lolli</a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">4. Let those bloggers know</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> All done.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Thanks again to <a href="http://planettreasures.blogspot.com/">Planet Treasures</a>!</span></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-6237959325860395562011-03-09T13:13:00.000-08:002011-03-09T13:13:35.335-08:00New Designs - Vintage Home<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I've been busily working on a new collection of cross stitch designs based on vintage images from 1920s and 1930s magazines. I'm very pleased to release the first two of these, The Rose and Parisian Elegance.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6HOksUD8DYW4Jzc33jtwbR4cJwwudannJnVI3JoEVz9RG49l59tu85fuxCmdLxXvNScL-mBb9UWUZNvJOKukzbGf1afbIRfevPDUoqcw0twSmQs54VWxrHTWFv8el-sd9Zff1PaVFW4/s1600/093+-+The+Rose+%2528flat%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6HOksUD8DYW4Jzc33jtwbR4cJwwudannJnVI3JoEVz9RG49l59tu85fuxCmdLxXvNScL-mBb9UWUZNvJOKukzbGf1afbIRfevPDUoqcw0twSmQs54VWxrHTWFv8el-sd9Zff1PaVFW4/s320/093+-+The+Rose+%2528flat%2529.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlMqOe6U7OgRBtBXxdqLzi4G8RdfKhMuG_PiQAohNtqv-YYPVXZaChZXVxpq6-bSwImzDhJOE7PJ9LU8Yz_lJTlkrPDffX7bZuMFI3fl132oCC1VF_idSTtvkLCVr9oVUh_Q5OCz9TIc/s1600/094+-+Parisian+Elegance+%2528stitch%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlMqOe6U7OgRBtBXxdqLzi4G8RdfKhMuG_PiQAohNtqv-YYPVXZaChZXVxpq6-bSwImzDhJOE7PJ9LU8Yz_lJTlkrPDffX7bZuMFI3fl132oCC1VF_idSTtvkLCVr9oVUh_Q5OCz9TIc/s320/094+-+Parisian+Elegance+%2528stitch%2529.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm working on lots more like this, so stay tuned in!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">In other news, I've created a Stitches By Kryss Twitter page, so you can follow blog updates from your Twitter feed. You can find the link on the right of the page, along with links to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Stitchesbykryss">Facebook</a>, and my <a href="http://www.stitchesbykryss.etsy.com/">Etsy</a> and <a href="http://www.stitchesbykryss.artfire.com/">Artfire</a> stores (where you can also find my new patterns!). </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-6025515612024884282011-03-05T14:50:00.000-08:002011-03-05T14:51:47.588-08:00How To … Publish Your Own Book<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">My super-clever Mum asked me a couple of months ago about a website she had heard of where you could publish your own books. I’d never heard of it, but we went to check it out.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s called <a href="http://www.blurb.com/">Blurb</a>, and I was extremely impressed with how user-friendly it is. You can write your book online with <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookify">Bookify</a>, or you can download the software to your computer with <a href="http://www.blurb.com/make/booksmart">Booksmart</a>. Then you upload the photos you want to include in your book, and just use the uncomplicated tools to lay everything out. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You order as few or as many copies of your book as you want, and it’s posted to you very quickly. Even the prices are pretty good! As methods of self-publishing go, it’s really very straightforward.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And you can write your book about anything. If you browse around the <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore">Blurb Bookshop</a>, you can see the books that other people have uploaded. There’s everything from children’s picture books, photo albums, art and photography books … all completely unique. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So one day in late January, Mum and I put together a book of her designs, specifically about her inspirations around her home and her photography, drawings and embroidered artworks which resulted. The result was brilliant, and we had a lot of fun working on the project together. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IH_kLeUhE2GFBLaUQ9rTtssr1wdcbUyLLJ3kUFXSGDbNKhWp8j7ZswMBOw3JYodPhXR9-5Ddi6_hmQM_VlhsL9U54mu-uOhUZUdZCdn-j2x5xUJBDWIQuUaXZROX6qMokJTclYi4Vt8/s1600/IMG_1100+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IH_kLeUhE2GFBLaUQ9rTtssr1wdcbUyLLJ3kUFXSGDbNKhWp8j7ZswMBOw3JYodPhXR9-5Ddi6_hmQM_VlhsL9U54mu-uOhUZUdZCdn-j2x5xUJBDWIQuUaXZROX6qMokJTclYi4Vt8/s320/IMG_1100+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CGt3e2upZ-4Z3mH0jPtr_awhoPkmVP61DxLX3I09s2VAE4zMGNMiEfzJZ4OL9hZQg6PFja9GhwEkHLEHtlQBB_pSNSwHX2DdELP7yUbHOTgohEb1hllNDVqvTnbUuwKUTU1YMxMW_MM/s1600/IMG_1098+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CGt3e2upZ-4Z3mH0jPtr_awhoPkmVP61DxLX3I09s2VAE4zMGNMiEfzJZ4OL9hZQg6PFja9GhwEkHLEHtlQBB_pSNSwHX2DdELP7yUbHOTgohEb1hllNDVqvTnbUuwKUTU1YMxMW_MM/s320/IMG_1098+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipc_b6hPXNgMxjELu7mlRTeefvKal7Omnq3zwGc8kIEFifQ-5fW-Ui-0r8zpci3p7JxPb-5Hyx7BVfZGtGWCSPaJ7eWqImFPL6yc10LCWTScdsYxO6NUcv8TCrvc_O4ww9b1OZNhsdLMw/s1600/IMG_1099+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipc_b6hPXNgMxjELu7mlRTeefvKal7Omnq3zwGc8kIEFifQ-5fW-Ui-0r8zpci3p7JxPb-5Hyx7BVfZGtGWCSPaJ7eWqImFPL6yc10LCWTScdsYxO6NUcv8TCrvc_O4ww9b1OZNhsdLMw/s320/IMG_1099+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">For myself, I’m thinking of putting together a photo book of my daughter’s first year. She’s seven months old now, so I’ve got time to consider it!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I would really recommend Blurb to anyone who is interested in showing off their work in a book. With just a little computer savvy and a bright idea, you could be a published author!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">P.S. If anyone is interested in a copy of my Mum's (Carolyn Sullivan) book, you can email me at <a href="mailto:stitchesbykryss@gmail.com">stitchesbykryss@gmail.com</a></span>.</div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-57217504461166411402011-02-28T15:03:00.000-08:002011-02-28T15:03:42.394-08:00Status Update: Almost done<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Very big milestone today! I have finished cross stitching my very big Gabriel and Mary design.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPCieLw1_QP-ez5kHilKzjN9rinhF8Yr0-NtJOz6uoiLZBzTN8-6KCq0UN28Zu6yoAA6h0j4VeFX3ufVaCHix8Bvf5MIZRrIi-tko3JuEQBfTGTBM-aZ0Iy4iGIsbAQH7gqDQEFbmJtY/s1600/IMG_1070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPCieLw1_QP-ez5kHilKzjN9rinhF8Yr0-NtJOz6uoiLZBzTN8-6KCq0UN28Zu6yoAA6h0j4VeFX3ufVaCHix8Bvf5MIZRrIi-tko3JuEQBfTGTBM-aZ0Iy4iGIsbAQH7gqDQEFbmJtY/s320/IMG_1070.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So my next steps are to:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">1) Unpick all the guide lines.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">2) Wash it within an inch of its life (because after three and a half years of work, I'm certain it's pretty grubby).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">3) Iron and hope the creases in between the guide lines come out!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm very pleased with it, and I'm well within my deadline for the Easter Show Arts and Crafts exhibition in April. A part of me can't really believe that it's (almost) done!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Meanwhile, I've also just picked up my Pieced Star from the framer, and delivered it straight to the publisher. Very exciting!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJ2pAg3dEoEeyn7HN1GoIzwfRWm2wTUGTw3vXsuZAKj1yqFTp6i7HC0uYMhqjRL6Xwf24P5IEQLLoRZ-YNG7RY2Zks7dhKGKI5hKD6SRlN_5w7-UghNQ7-zQE-nJ3wOJFXcv6uR0omps/s1600/IMG_1053+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJ2pAg3dEoEeyn7HN1GoIzwfRWm2wTUGTw3vXsuZAKj1yqFTp6i7HC0uYMhqjRL6Xwf24P5IEQLLoRZ-YNG7RY2Zks7dhKGKI5hKD6SRlN_5w7-UghNQ7-zQE-nJ3wOJFXcv6uR0omps/s320/IMG_1053+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">No idea as yet when my two projects will be published, but I'll let you know!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So now I've (almost) finished my giant cross stitch, what's next? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, first off, I have a super-secret project I've been working on with my Mum which I can't talk about yet, but which I'll talk more about in the next week or so. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I have a domino knitting project half-finished from when I was pregnant, which I really should get done. It'd be nice to knit something about such a long time cross stitching. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I have a few new designs on the go which I need to finish off. I'm very excited about a new range of vintage cross stitch patterns I'm working on at the moment (more on those soon!).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And, you know, look after the baby and do my day job. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">It's all go around here!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-49853832377919594652011-02-24T14:30:00.000-08:002011-02-24T14:37:52.339-08:00Let’s be six years old for a moment …<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Purple is my favourite colour.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">My wedding had a purple theme (and thank you to my husband for going along with it!). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ46u91Q-ImwOyjxJBkMhDJbO7B2Ud-h_lUMIL9PhBCKqqTrbsp45UsgiKfB0rJRWwm0GFLkpvUT6cZMVA8xewkgyryGWMMJPleQRhrDB8vBabIxkFvYWfGcEhTVjd4Sl8EtMxlPVpzIA/s1600/9702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ46u91Q-ImwOyjxJBkMhDJbO7B2Ud-h_lUMIL9PhBCKqqTrbsp45UsgiKfB0rJRWwm0GFLkpvUT6cZMVA8xewkgyryGWMMJPleQRhrDB8vBabIxkFvYWfGcEhTVjd4Sl8EtMxlPVpzIA/s320/9702.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">My house has purple feature walls (which I’m not responsible for, the previous owners painted them, but they were a big selling point for me!). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">My garden has a giant mass of lavender in the front yard, which tends to surround my mailbox and make it impossible to grab my letters.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7SPX8cRkz8i_Rmw1U3Wf-N0K1NRToppZAhS0BFTyqRrCObKbEdz1rThWTh_qUGZmlXkih1_Z3ivfN11QAKL2EoZ5XR9rf8-8iI_L8yduwF5qv41ZYWCAE9f4rOOIxcrbdmYc-0S0EEuc/s1600/IMG_7874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7SPX8cRkz8i_Rmw1U3Wf-N0K1NRToppZAhS0BFTyqRrCObKbEdz1rThWTh_qUGZmlXkih1_Z3ivfN11QAKL2EoZ5XR9rf8-8iI_L8yduwF5qv41ZYWCAE9f4rOOIxcrbdmYc-0S0EEuc/s320/IMG_7874.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And I’m finding that I buy purple clothes and toys for my daughter, so I hope she likes it too!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So it’s no big surprise to anyone that I tend to feature a lot of purple in my embroideries. I actually find that the DMC colour range is a bit limited in the purple department, but 3740, a deep dusty purple, is one of my favourite shades to use. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1-jOdyMUH3IobSqAe-mQyXc47orHmxCikiWdDgZM5A5SwoEZ1XxeQKtDjYLrDu6NPdRdfPkFGXqidCad2vh-VMtkVv1LqQ5jczX7Uq7Nk7fSjKCJXFz0KWJVMdSpLfjpRKqtCSnfuas/s1600/001+-+Double+Wedding+Ring+-+Flat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1-jOdyMUH3IobSqAe-mQyXc47orHmxCikiWdDgZM5A5SwoEZ1XxeQKtDjYLrDu6NPdRdfPkFGXqidCad2vh-VMtkVv1LqQ5jczX7Uq7Nk7fSjKCJXFz0KWJVMdSpLfjpRKqtCSnfuas/s320/001+-+Double+Wedding+Ring+-+Flat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double Wedding Ring - <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/52557969/double-wedding-ring-pdf-cross-stitch">Stitches by Kryss</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsFJ-XTDWJ7TwoLkJimob2tj1O9NuP3M5-ZVwR1IeDMvlrjZ_7HVrw_Bx7Ju8sMnX7Yg_rZPPADXLWgx0VDGOPSo_6dxcOcOMMpGFVB_yLtROK3xtADVE1Wlpy9PyAQ2a8pUCGzJ5FDM/s1600/011+-+Star+Medallion+-+Flat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsFJ-XTDWJ7TwoLkJimob2tj1O9NuP3M5-ZVwR1IeDMvlrjZ_7HVrw_Bx7Ju8sMnX7Yg_rZPPADXLWgx0VDGOPSo_6dxcOcOMMpGFVB_yLtROK3xtADVE1Wlpy9PyAQ2a8pUCGzJ5FDM/s320/011+-+Star+Medallion+-+Flat.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star Medallion - <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/55627282/star-medallion-pdf-cross-stitch-pattern">Stitches by Kryss</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPo8zA5KLKm4YpAlfaElNDgQdhxwsjG215jUzT5ryaiELyKS25TMHklt77OXweKyJ7K6AhXD5IVZoLcMeWrFPWeePTN8_bTi-SJd1jimw9yIplpALD5Zq5eS4zOFC9Kb566dvBptjxLl0/s1600/017+-+Amish+Shades+-+Flat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPo8zA5KLKm4YpAlfaElNDgQdhxwsjG215jUzT5ryaiELyKS25TMHklt77OXweKyJ7K6AhXD5IVZoLcMeWrFPWeePTN8_bTi-SJd1jimw9yIplpALD5Zq5eS4zOFC9Kb566dvBptjxLl0/s320/017+-+Amish+Shades+-+Flat.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amish Shades - <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/31130294/amish-shades-pdf-cross-stitch-pattern">Stitches by Kryss</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">What’s your favourite colour?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-51404846319982695952011-02-21T16:23:00.000-08:002011-02-21T16:32:57.125-08:00Maintaining sanity<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">One of my early challenges with my huge Gabriel and Mary cross stitch pattern (more about that <a href="http://stitchesbykryss.blogspot.com/2011/02/gabriel-and-mary.html">here</a>) was how I was going to keep the 160+ colours organised. I originally had a chart which interpreted the numbers on the chart to the DMC numbers, but I realised I was spending most of my time flipping back and forth between pages.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YOCzDLZj2QhMpL2GOrvMUKjgt77xEuEQY8w5pyX9ozA6Nnzqkd55DIjCY-n-tYYcikovdSF16WnaBnQixZ4XJO0s2EmZI0PMbcOlAHKSEJd9C-i-amslNqfXNhGMQMwu7thdcchTOpw/s1600/IMG_1000+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YOCzDLZj2QhMpL2GOrvMUKjgt77xEuEQY8w5pyX9ozA6Nnzqkd55DIjCY-n-tYYcikovdSF16WnaBnQixZ4XJO0s2EmZI0PMbcOlAHKSEJd9C-i-amslNqfXNhGMQMwu7thdcchTOpw/s320/IMG_1000+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">t took ages. So eventually, I hit upon a much better way of keeping myself organised (and sane!).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZiTjsgg71lq38rsnpboBIIPemMaRq3eoKnI-his6ZXbwtzS45OF9WTdz0uTs6K0nyoNs5wK902r2LhN2NERjgJ_7G5FytNu_H9_tO-by5zpKV-YkCC7FxhXa-mpbQuGxWfCNhXjwAio/s1600/IMG_0988+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZiTjsgg71lq38rsnpboBIIPemMaRq3eoKnI-his6ZXbwtzS45OF9WTdz0uTs6K0nyoNs5wK902r2LhN2NERjgJ_7G5FytNu_H9_tO-by5zpKV-YkCC7FxhXa-mpbQuGxWfCNhXjwAio/s320/IMG_0988+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJwpIJgeCq6-r7CqIqG7vxaZHbJ1G70ozBwyDIqnxd955LfX6jpj6H4ePlvwDzMV2yVWqCW-JucfVPG3DI2OmFQRA-m-4Trx98QbU71n5SBeQHCQXQsCX22Dv0biPSCFU6HqD_INFo1g/s1600/IMG_0988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGi4NLwpQBqilGz2YIYtD_h2rYYa6IiBz4aVC24tHOCq00vd9gVAFsPXUnynjYhyphenhyphen5MHAMp2efNS6AC7bo30s2Xyfw4IygoWdGyc8QVSC2Eb6YC0S_w_3G9IsPShXYe2goRJTQkVJipKB0/s1600/IMG_0986+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGi4NLwpQBqilGz2YIYtD_h2rYYa6IiBz4aVC24tHOCq00vd9gVAFsPXUnynjYhyphenhyphen5MHAMp2efNS6AC7bo30s2Xyfw4IygoWdGyc8QVSC2Eb6YC0S_w_3G9IsPShXYe2goRJTQkVJipKB0/s320/IMG_0986+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">These are simply just post-it notes, cut up and stuck onto the top of each bobbin. This way, I could have my thread box organised according to the numbers on the chart, not the cotton colours themselves. I didn’t have to look up separate charts, and no flipping between pages on the book.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s been great! It's very simple but it's been a lifesaver, and has probably contributed a great deal to my actually (almost) finishing this thing!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><br />
</div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-72116364953186230192011-02-17T14:12:00.000-08:002011-02-17T18:10:28.915-08:00A belated introduction<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></o:p></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">The blog isn’t really “brand new” any more, so I think it might be about time to introduce myself a little better.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">As it says over on the right column of the page, my name is Linda Williams. I live in Sydney Australia with my husband and daughter. I’m 32 years old, and I work from home in financial planning.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">That’s the boring stuff out of the way. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I have been cross stitching so long that I can’t remember what my first cross stitch design was (but it probably had something to do with teddy bears). Sewing of one type or another is ingrained into my family. My Mum learned to quilt when I was a baby, and has developed into a textile artist whom I respect a great deal (more about her later!). </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Both my grandmothers quilt, and I have a set of hand-made cloth alphabet blocks that was made for me as a child. My aunt quilts and embroiders, my cousin embroiders … </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I think you get the idea.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And that’s only the women in the family. My dad is also an avid cross stitcher. He designs his own geometric patterns and stitches the most beautiful and unique bookmarks you’ve ever seen. I have quite a collection!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So it really was inevitable that I would get into stitching. I stitched a little when I was a kid, and then lost all interest in high school (“Ew, cross stitch?? How uncool!”). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">But when I was 16, I had a nasty break-up with a long-term boyfriend (long-term being six months at that age), so I was searching for something to distract me. I found a pattern in a Dutch cross stitching magazine my parents owned which immediately caught my attention. It was the biggest design I had ever seen, and it was guaranteed to keep me entertained for ages!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNOx6rKlcPlKeRxYLEr3EhDWru0nXNDQutHjOTNDn7Aygfz_4G_21rJdSG0szmSi6zWs_Gs1JH4D2XEjalQ7IvdID4o5m5itevkYFC8WjkQR5Bs1qEpyM32eRFV4p7FiFSdrVmVem87I/s1600/IMG_0981+%2528edit%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNOx6rKlcPlKeRxYLEr3EhDWru0nXNDQutHjOTNDn7Aygfz_4G_21rJdSG0szmSi6zWs_Gs1JH4D2XEjalQ7IvdID4o5m5itevkYFC8WjkQR5Bs1qEpyM32eRFV4p7FiFSdrVmVem87I/s400/IMG_0981+%2528edit%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlq9EtPbF1YLKrcnZ7H7iPE7AFlZYGJrXfdJu3At3Z-3s0Pvs83Wek40RKX6qYKh1dyPCzkfVNo6Jyn7ULR0RSrPMXuBncHF3zh8hyphenhyphen5f98JdDLdBXKAu1aABL1AJQ2bgr3kZpNbKb9AQI/s1600/IMG_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlq9EtPbF1YLKrcnZ7H7iPE7AFlZYGJrXfdJu3At3Z-3s0Pvs83Wek40RKX6qYKh1dyPCzkfVNo6Jyn7ULR0RSrPMXuBncHF3zh8hyphenhyphen5f98JdDLdBXKAu1aABL1AJQ2bgr3kZpNbKb9AQI/s320/IMG_0982.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLXmvtR9t7mKHWanRP_eYDfyJanFX28oFQhWBy1QII52QE48rF_nNoLyBFUE1IA4sQLo_Q2D39uawmF6LMUUrGVXmXT1MXhl7KPxzpiJAvRCp_USjDISzrSadFFjZH4q0YggRqZEOlu4/s1600/IMG_0983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLXmvtR9t7mKHWanRP_eYDfyJanFX28oFQhWBy1QII52QE48rF_nNoLyBFUE1IA4sQLo_Q2D39uawmF6LMUUrGVXmXT1MXhl7KPxzpiJAvRCp_USjDISzrSadFFjZH4q0YggRqZEOlu4/s320/IMG_0983.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I finished it in three months.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">From there, I was hooked. I stitched every angel or Mirabilia pattern I could get my hands on. I think my parents were a bit concerned around HSC time, particularly when I started an origami phase at that point and decided I was going to fold 1,000 cranes instead of studying, but I got through okay. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">After university, having come to the conclusion that a career in Egyptology wasn’t for me, I lucked into a job at a craft magazine called Homespun. Seeing other people’s work published inspired me to start designing my own patterns, and Stitches by Kryss was born! My first design was published not long afterwards (more on that <a href="http://stitchesbykryss.blogspot.com/2011/02/ive-been-asked-by-few-people-how-i-have.html">here</a>), and then I opened up my first website. Of course, no one knew it was there, and I didn’t know the first thing about publicising myself! But I kept stitching and designing, and then discovered the wonderful world of <a href="http://www.stitchesbykryss.etsy.com/">Etsy</a>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Which pretty much brings me to today. I’m constantly looking at the world around me and seeing potential designs, some of which work and some of which don’t. I’m working on a few new designs based on vintage Australian magazine covers which I’m pretty excited about. More on those soon!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">See you around.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-26558536456533357792011-02-13T14:23:00.000-08:002011-02-14T03:33:31.615-08:00New Designs!<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Hello everyone, and I hope you had a lovely weekend. I spent mine busily finishing up my two new designs, which I'm launching today! I hope you like them.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2k-xbK3ahY-GANZKR1e8P70cooW0p30_UPcscFGoksgMQTbfcO3d58Vb072rpKtLOsHWO_ufiFleZiYMpXhLvhU6RmWZDFtmgBEMisD06fIjMRwMWC4tTMGuM7yfmZh_KAak1zBv04I/s1600/091+-+L%2527Ermitage+-+Stitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2k-xbK3ahY-GANZKR1e8P70cooW0p30_UPcscFGoksgMQTbfcO3d58Vb072rpKtLOsHWO_ufiFleZiYMpXhLvhU6RmWZDFtmgBEMisD06fIjMRwMWC4tTMGuM7yfmZh_KAak1zBv04I/s320/091+-+L%2527Ermitage+-+Stitch.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQfWmFgjEt-QReO4nfxOt0WZm7vl39RTnJess7nklr1fKnk_LoSCIl-UsKd0RRYVzcHsxSzZPt41UIHlxImJUyhFigzcyvjrHw0dLjsk7DmBt-P3oLGGgwG_ns_G6HbGsQmWm52r9U7A/s1600/092+-+Brooklyn+Exhibition+-+Stitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQfWmFgjEt-QReO4nfxOt0WZm7vl39RTnJess7nklr1fKnk_LoSCIl-UsKd0RRYVzcHsxSzZPt41UIHlxImJUyhFigzcyvjrHw0dLjsk7DmBt-P3oLGGgwG_ns_G6HbGsQmWm52r9U7A/s320/092+-+Brooklyn+Exhibition+-+Stitch.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">As with all my patterns, these are available with clear colour and symbol graphs, DMC colour key, and a photo of the completed work. They will be sent to you as a PDF file within 24 hours of ordering, so it's very easy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">These can both be found in my </span><a href="http://www.stitchesbykryss.etsy.com/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Etsy</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> and </span><a href="http://www.stitchesbykryss.artfire.com/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Artfire</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> stores. Let me know what you think!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" />Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-2191009317865599472011-02-11T13:32:00.000-08:002011-02-11T13:32:44.606-08:00How to ... get published!<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve been asked by a few people how I have managed to get my designs published in magazines, so I thought I’d write about it here for anyone who was interested.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">First, a little background on me. A few years ago, I was an editorial assistant and then editor for craft magazines in </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Australia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">, so I’ve seen the process from both sides – as both a contributor and an editor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve had my cross stitch designs published three times before this year: once in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Homespun</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> magazine in 2003, then twice in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Australian Country Threads</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> in 2004 and 2005. I’m being published this year in </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Australian Country Craft and Decorating, </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">so this will be my fourth and fifth times.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq6-N7zbrSplfBZ8C4KvHhRQeUv4Wvkc06TrNgHdDsc71xdgSOPe_meFMHNIRzHNlDdjvet9oHLBb5YfW4kaxfpzPBL83y7COb2CVmr8EHRc7MlU8bP-x2dv3U1Anuy3Ego6CL6Afkm0/s1600/IMG_0955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq6-N7zbrSplfBZ8C4KvHhRQeUv4Wvkc06TrNgHdDsc71xdgSOPe_meFMHNIRzHNlDdjvet9oHLBb5YfW4kaxfpzPBL83y7COb2CVmr8EHRc7MlU8bP-x2dv3U1Anuy3Ego6CL6Afkm0/s320/IMG_0955.JPG" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Homespun</i> from 2003. That's my Double Wedding Ring design on the shelf!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">With each magazine, the process has been different. With </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Homespun</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">, I actually worked there at the time so I knew the editor personally (if you’re reading this, you know who you are, thank you!). I knew what sort of project was usually published in this magazine, so I designed something with the magazine style in mind.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">A year or so later, I sent some photos of my work to the editor of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Australian Country Threads</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">. She picked two of my designs, and that’s how I was found in that case.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And more recently, I was contacted by the editor of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Australian Country Craft and Decorating</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> through my Etsy shop.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And that, in a nutshell, are the three main ways to be found by a magazine: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">1)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Know the right people.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">2)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Contact editors directly.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">3)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Be out there and available to be contacted.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">It really can be that simple. From an editor’s point of view, sometimes they are inundated with submissions and can pick and choose from those. Other times, they have to go out and search for their projects, at craft shows or on the internet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Here’s a few other useful tips:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">1)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Do some research. Speaking specifically about the Australian market, there are actually only five or six publishing companies out there who have craft titles (there are certainly many more in the </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">US</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> or </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">UK</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">). However, no matter where you are, you will find that the larger publishing houses put out a variety of magazines with different targets and styles. For example, one publisher may have a cross stitching magazine, a country design magazine, a quilting magazine, a beading magazine, a scrapbooking magazine, a card-making magazine etc. Therefore, consider finding a larger publishing house for submission, as they may be happy to pass your projects to the magazine which is most appropriate. Alternatively, just pick your favourite magazine and send in a submission.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">2)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Don’t be afraid! Send a letter or email with a few photos to the editor of your chosen magazine. The worst thing that can happen is a rejection. It is disappointing when it happens, but you haven’t actually lost anything. It can be worth the effort!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">3)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Know the style of the magazine. In my case, I wouldn’t send photos of my Ancient Egyptian designs to a </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Homespun</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">-style magazine, because they just wouldn’t be interested.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">4)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Don’t expect to hear back quickly. Editors have to plan their editions months in advance, and are often flat out! So if you put in a submission, you may not hear back for weeks or even months. It depends on the editor. Don’t be discouraged, but be patient. If you don’t hear back at all, chalk it up to experience and try again later.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">5)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Be organised. If accepted, an editor will need a lot of information from you in regards to your design/project, and will need it promptly and with minimum fuss. If it goes well the first time, you’re much more likely to be contacted again in future!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">But really, it can all be summed up into one piece of advice: just go for it! Rejection can be disappointing, but it’s not fatal so give it a try.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOACi2GaD3pOfz5qhuZUTUJmGMo1uzShB1Bk_pdJlYXNiu9Vt5kXaULl1z_UHY3o_18mj1gn5i66lQlE-YgKap4etZ9ztcItDzkBqNGHWjOZrmV022YvHCc24ej_T3DoaqbzXr8tnM4I/s1600/IMG_0957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOACi2GaD3pOfz5qhuZUTUJmGMo1uzShB1Bk_pdJlYXNiu9Vt5kXaULl1z_UHY3o_18mj1gn5i66lQlE-YgKap4etZ9ztcItDzkBqNGHWjOZrmV022YvHCc24ej_T3DoaqbzXr8tnM4I/s320/IMG_0957.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Australian Country Threads </i>from February 2005.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">If anyone has any other questions, please ask!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-77220441187606935782011-02-09T15:17:00.000-08:002011-02-09T21:12:56.896-08:00Finished!<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I've finished my second cross stitch due to be published in <i>Australian Country Craft and Decorating</i> (you know, the one I was agonising about <a href="http://stitchesbykryss.blogspot.com/2011/01/important-lesson.html">here</a>). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, in the end.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBorE_Ogqh4F4oeRRGa8SF4hL1ZXNS24_ma92g0A4L1b3cDO07Of9-g0C9v-_AC6RluiQOHBB5s2PLLlKZeu0rmwXlc04Z-K4-xB87NmD9xdF03aJRRvglaU25BTUVevTaW8luP0aZPHo/s1600/IMG_0946b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBorE_Ogqh4F4oeRRGa8SF4hL1ZXNS24_ma92g0A4L1b3cDO07Of9-g0C9v-_AC6RluiQOHBB5s2PLLlKZeu0rmwXlc04Z-K4-xB87NmD9xdF03aJRRvglaU25BTUVevTaW8luP0aZPHo/s320/IMG_0946b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwnEnB1Mu7n63aQ9xrFd1v90H86mT3DmFcxuuPofP3sSKicLTz2ftVMhulnOog3dcD61W3Tz6YdGUtXDuOQuC1oZ2Rua2ypcMMhaiE0dc8VQaqfI8uq6Q8bgw4KVf0rR3TSu5hpcsvDU/s1600/IMG_0948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwnEnB1Mu7n63aQ9xrFd1v90H86mT3DmFcxuuPofP3sSKicLTz2ftVMhulnOog3dcD61W3Tz6YdGUtXDuOQuC1oZ2Rua2ypcMMhaiE0dc8VQaqfI8uq6Q8bgw4KVf0rR3TSu5hpcsvDU/s320/IMG_0948.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">And now the shameless plug: if you can't wait for the magazine to come out, this pattern is available in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchesByKryss">Etsy</a> and <a href="http://www.artfire.com/users/StitchesByKryss">Artfire</a> stores. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So now I'm working on finishing my Gabriel and Mary project (<a href="http://stitchesbykryss.blogspot.com/2011/02/gabriel-and-mary.html">this one</a>), and I'm also designing a couple of new patterns which I'll tell you about in the next couple of days. Busy!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cZp9wv9R4BKOJ7PrMdl3zAVPOKjyNBnaJ8We0Hdmh0fYMjCMQ4WucoY0qjz_576oE0la3DEkFK5tl2moy1AKvB75dm_cYjWeK7EG8UhYoPILmOCRCcbWOUh0_NHkugmG5FQYjlIEkJ8/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-71594331153411214022011-02-06T22:45:00.000-08:002011-03-09T14:07:41.632-08:00Cooooool!<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Ask anyone who knows me. I’m a sci-fi geek. So these just really tickle my fancy:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.210756796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.210756796.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serenity Crew - weelittlestitches</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.210758073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.210758073.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shaun of the Dead - weelittlestitches</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.212954998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.212954998.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - weelittlestitches</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">There's a whole shop of these awesome little pixel people. Check them out at <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/weelittlestitches">Weelittlestitches</a>' shop</span></span>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-19962266487849036832011-02-03T17:46:00.000-08:002011-02-03T17:46:01.884-08:00Gabriel and Mary<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I wanted to share with you my biggest, and still ongoing, cross stitch project ever.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">The first thing you should know is that I love anything with wings. Birds, butterflies, dragonflies, fairies, but particularly angels. I’m not religious myself, but there's something particularly elegant about an androgynous figure with radiant outstretched wings. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I also love the vivid colours in pre-Raphaelite art. So many years ago, when I found this artwork, I was immediately in love. A match made in heaven (no pun intended)!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJUDSGVMZr-K5hgC-g3VnjA9hGLAsop3fLi3wkkWw8Mhxbm29u4v5aXflNqpe5kiY9pl6h1YjenzMspKSQQJG1b9Us1llkSjd297cDFp17XVlWvDpXw3DfC-5EB3tibSL0q_hjWEaZC0/s1600/Angel+%2528photo%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJUDSGVMZr-K5hgC-g3VnjA9hGLAsop3fLi3wkkWw8Mhxbm29u4v5aXflNqpe5kiY9pl6h1YjenzMspKSQQJG1b9Us1llkSjd297cDFp17XVlWvDpXw3DfC-5EB3tibSL0q_hjWEaZC0/s320/Angel+%2528photo%2529.jpg" width="319" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Edward A. Fellowes Prynne (1954–1921), “Ecce Ancilla Domini”</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Years later, when I had access to a cross stitch conversion program (I use PM Stitch Creator), I converted it into a cross stitch graph. It is 500 x 500 stitches, contains 162 colours in DMC cotton, and is being stitched on 18 count white Aida.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So I started stitching in September 2007. I wasn't working exclusively on this project, I often stopped to do other cross stitch, knitting or crochet projects. But whenever I just wanted to cross stitch, this was always there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">This is my first work in progress photo, from June 2008.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysUri1IqOo0oayhHnLzK8CQEdT3A6ZoCgPWUA2p-QgIgQub8YPt6-_IzB7ZTnzMte8O6AxMRj410AczUvzncHblcdQ0Vx5WKJG0R6Qi33HUb8e_Iu9Q7cNODYB2bfa0ykecZYcqcJ_6c/s1600/Angel+-+June+2008+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysUri1IqOo0oayhHnLzK8CQEdT3A6ZoCgPWUA2p-QgIgQub8YPt6-_IzB7ZTnzMte8O6AxMRj410AczUvzncHblcdQ0Vx5WKJG0R6Qi33HUb8e_Iu9Q7cNODYB2bfa0ykecZYcqcJ_6c/s320/Angel+-+June+2008+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNWPXMwKJ1Szvlcq8pAzKeiSSiADAmL_SQH_pvF2lm-rDl9Y-SN1gjjftvcjYWbtBd6NMCSO7n4wCMkNzdFl_bW0KDD1o5cwpEH87Wzv80P2EVB41nXqCLsFKIe6nhn3hyVpOc_l-gQg/s1600/Angel+-+June+2008+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNWPXMwKJ1Szvlcq8pAzKeiSSiADAmL_SQH_pvF2lm-rDl9Y-SN1gjjftvcjYWbtBd6NMCSO7n4wCMkNzdFl_bW0KDD1o5cwpEH87Wzv80P2EVB41nXqCLsFKIe6nhn3hyVpOc_l-gQg/s320/Angel+-+June+2008+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">By this time, I had figured out that I had to work within a grid, or I would quickly go bonkers (well, more so than usual). So the yellow stitch lines are 10x10 grids, and the red stitch lines are the outside of each page of the pattern I'm working off. It has 36 pages! (Although it's really only 32 pages once you discount the corners of the circle.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">The next work in progress photo is from November 2009.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ717K-lKGEmgaaDF25a5CFacfZ4rgf4Pn4Jj-kIEx0JhgBtsnSM_QptQkyYRpbCqa32fv41iNzpptaLSvyttCGemyIBVrbGPaKmWL_4wdLdQwnb33NsjPFWEwdR3fffw7F-iNcldrV_g/s1600/Angel+-+November+2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ717K-lKGEmgaaDF25a5CFacfZ4rgf4Pn4Jj-kIEx0JhgBtsnSM_QptQkyYRpbCqa32fv41iNzpptaLSvyttCGemyIBVrbGPaKmWL_4wdLdQwnb33NsjPFWEwdR3fffw7F-iNcldrV_g/s320/Angel+-+November+2009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Sorry for the slightly dodgy photo. The only digital camera I had at this point was a camera phone!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">By this time, I had finished the angel's robes, which were the hardest part of the picture. Lots of creams and pale greens, which were a bit monotonous after a while. But I was happy with the finished effect, so I guess it was worth it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">After starting to stitch in the middle, I had purposefully decided to stitch the bottom section of the design first, as the fun bit was going to be the top section, with the wings! There were a few tantalising little wisps of wing on the left of the picture, so it was very exciting once I finally started the top portion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I got a lot of sewing done last year, because my pregnancy confined me to my couch for the last few months. So here's where I am now.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo-lrHv3q1XMGEdw7UmMFxOY1hFTvi0Gd3bGbCbrToZ-S4WYEFzJ8UkCTf4txk5DFkgM6Pe-XLoo1mxrLBWcm9qCkv_LGaNPDV3lZT81_orEC4NubhnqyioZHNxyspdmkRzBqGmt6MC4/s1600/Angel+-+January+2011+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo-lrHv3q1XMGEdw7UmMFxOY1hFTvi0Gd3bGbCbrToZ-S4WYEFzJ8UkCTf4txk5DFkgM6Pe-XLoo1mxrLBWcm9qCkv_LGaNPDV3lZT81_orEC4NubhnqyioZHNxyspdmkRzBqGmt6MC4/s320/Angel+-+January+2011+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslOpRKjw1CGRYrv75N0YI1jGfPkuWMfzjw7TtDXL-xabWnb_C8vQ9lMMhN402ds6PzchX69Qhyrw4W4co7rSD6dbsaTL1CfbNTiMe4j6VeJ9Ql8yIFCtz-TLj-KaSFtoV9X0FgNGmj08/s1600/Angel+-+January+2011+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslOpRKjw1CGRYrv75N0YI1jGfPkuWMfzjw7TtDXL-xabWnb_C8vQ9lMMhN402ds6PzchX69Qhyrw4W4co7rSD6dbsaTL1CfbNTiMe4j6VeJ9Ql8yIFCtz-TLj-KaSFtoV9X0FgNGmj08/s320/Angel+-+January+2011+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></o:p></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">It's getting very close! I'm hoping I can get it finished in time to enter it into the Sydney Royal Easter Show Arts and Crafts exhibition in April, but I need to get moving if so! If I can finish it in the next few months, it will have taken me three and a half years, but worth every second! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">My only problem is that I've now gotten used to having a giant fall-back project. What will I stitch next??</span></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-3842543986351308932011-01-31T02:00:00.000-08:002011-01-31T14:14:09.005-08:00A curse<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hadn't intended to post again so soon, but this really struck a nerve today.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I first visited the </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Egyptian</span></span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Museum</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> in December 1999. I was studying my Masters in Egyptology and was in </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Egypt</span></span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> as part of an archaeological dig in </span></span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cairo</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">. The very first day I arrived, I went straight to the museum. I was tired, jet lagged, and deeply overwhelmed, but I immediately loved this place. For years, I had been studying Egyptology, reading books and writing essays. But here, right in front of me, were the artifacts I had always read about and loved. The Narmer Palette, the Tutankhamen collection, the Hatshepsut statues.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So you get the idea that this is one of my favourite places in the world. There is a quiet magic in there.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I tell people I studied to be an archaeologist, I am often asked the usual questions:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Is it just like Indiana Jones?”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Did aliens build the pyramids?”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Is there a curse of the mummy?”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sorry, but no. Archaeology is a lot less romantic than you think. The magic, for me, is in the art and the symbolism.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The curse of the mummy, at least, has some small basis in fact. Egyptian tombs had inscriptions on the outside of them saying things along the lines of, “May my tomb never be touched!” There's no shaman uttering curses, and there's no actual magic. The curse of Tutankhamen’s mummy was a media beat-up when the tomb was discovered (media sensationalism is not new!). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well (to finally get to my point), today I wish there was a curse.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've been reading about the rioting in </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Egypt</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">, and I'm not really in a position to comment on the political side of things. Frankly, I was always more interested in ancient </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Egypt</span></span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> than modern.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But then I started hearing that the </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Egyptian</span></span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Museum</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> had been looted, and artifacts destroyed. That got my attention! As it turns out, the looters got into the museum, smashed up a few artifacts, ripped the heads off two mummies, and were then caught.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4sKWUxfJ4jpOliEt49MnaO55y2nNrQZkNcc73JXDVV4DbMHSdbjFzLbwb4atsmv27CT0BHUI-RL71Ba8d59sZBis17CVNtlIk94QH0B1Ma6rK1t8axrSfBhgQi4MAIpWgceh9zNvqyA/s1600/Museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4sKWUxfJ4jpOliEt49MnaO55y2nNrQZkNcc73JXDVV4DbMHSdbjFzLbwb4atsmv27CT0BHUI-RL71Ba8d59sZBis17CVNtlIk94QH0B1Ma6rK1t8axrSfBhgQi4MAIpWgceh9zNvqyA/s320/Museum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I could cry!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130544530132739148.post-86845605355665619512011-01-27T20:28:00.000-08:002011-01-29T22:14:13.060-08:00An important lesson<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">A few years ago, I was entering a finished cross stitch into a public exhibition. I read the conditions of entry, one of which said: "Entries which have been washed will be disqualified."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I thought that was strange. Why would having washed an embroidery make a difference?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So I asked my Mum, who is my essential go-to person when it come to all matters artistic and crafty. She told me that it used to be generally accepted that "a lady keeps her embroidery clean". </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, it turns out that I'm not a lady (shock, horror).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I have been asked by a magazine, </span></span><i><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Australian Country Craft and Decorating</span></span></i><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">, to publish two of my Stitches By Kryss designs with them this year. It's very exciting! But it also has required that I do a lot of stitching very fast, because I've never before actually stitched these designs as cross stitch, only basketweave stitch. To meet the deadlines they needed, I needed to sta</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">rt stitching for all I was worth!</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBahmw-dtdwdSo3I2_jpqksQMqGCAD8QgyHMwPH8_tKJNoV5iGlB584IlQxlIUcg9gWvr0EUCcBsvoNiw-CsOLoncdsKhex7oqR6ng3YeDugw4dB3x_TM0ZdzQ3rG9Wf7vjxQWGKGEqk/s1600/IMG_0867b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBahmw-dtdwdSo3I2_jpqksQMqGCAD8QgyHMwPH8_tKJNoV5iGlB584IlQxlIUcg9gWvr0EUCcBsvoNiw-CsOLoncdsKhex7oqR6ng3YeDugw4dB3x_TM0ZdzQ3rG9Wf7vjxQWGKGEqk/s200/IMG_0867b.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">This week, I delivered the first of the two designs, Tulip Garden, to the publisher. I'm now stitching Pieced Star - Blue as quickly as possible.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">But here's where I hit my snafu. The star is completed, so I'm stitching the very light blue background. I've been pretty careful about keeping my hands clean because, as you can imagine, dealing with a new baby can result in all sorts of interesting substances. However, apparently I haven't been careful enough. I picked up the fabric last night, and noticed that there were a few lines of stitching which were slightly darker than the others.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Oh crap. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So I'm in damage control. Late last night, I washed the embroidery. I think it helped, but not enough because I can still see the stains. So I dried and ironed the embroidery, then set about unpicking the stained portions and restitching them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Double crap.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">The newly stitched lines are visible, for some reason, I think because of a little stretching of the Aida fabric. However, I just ironed the whole thing and it seems to have sorted itself out. I can still see the lines, but I'm about 99% sure it's the sort of thing the stitcher can see and no one else will ever notice.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">At least, I hope so.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">I commented to my husband that this was how OCD habits begin. I'm now washing my hands about every 10 minutes, terrified that a new stain will appear!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">So, I learned two new things today:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Lesson 1: I'm not a lady (actually, that's not anything new). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;">Lesson 2: Wash your hands before you stitch large blocks of light areas!</span></span>Linda Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05469435532888529516noreply@blogger.com1