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Cross stitch & needlework patterns (continued)
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English countryside - Lavender
Well it isn't very common to come across a sampler with dominant lavender tones... This is an interesting mix of modern cheerful colors and traditional motifs arranged in a classic layout. It's very decorative and will look fantastic on a cushion cover. A cross stitch design by Riverdrift House.
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>> see more Samplers by Riverdrift House
Poppy shaped confetti
It's almost like it rained confetti - in fact tiny little motifs in the shape of poppy flowers and grains, and that someone brushed open a space in the shape of a heart. A brilliant design idea - and cheerful welcome - brought to you by Riverdrift House.
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>> see more patterns by Riverdrift House
>> see all the latest news for Riverdrift House
More Poppies
Red beauties, the summer flower 'par excellence'.
>> see all patterns with poppies
Once upon a time... there were two mermaids
Two portraits by Lesley Teare and two very different mermaids.
The first mermaid is a mesmerizing beauty, no doubt capable of bewitching any sailor bold enough to attempt to navigate the mysterious waters that surround her.
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The other little mermaid, straight out of Hans Christian Andersen's well-known fairy tale, is deep in her underwater palace and dreaming of meeting Prince Charming.
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>> see all patterns with mermaids (all designers)
Bizarre Beauty
There are sometime bizarre phenomenon in nature. The sea horse for instance is actually a fish, looking like a seashell and with a horse's head, which is why its also called the hippocampus. It's strange body is depicted here in amazing detail, with bold colors that enhance its singular form.
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>> see more patterns by Lesley Teare Designs
>> see all the latest news for Lesley Teare Designs
More Fish & Sealife
 August - Seaside Gracewood Stitches |  Jonah's Whale Tempting Tangles |  Octopatches Tam's Creations |  Flying Fish Perrette Samouiloff |
>> see all patterns with fish (all designers)
Jungle & Tropics
Here comes a delightful biscornu in Tiny Modernist's biscornu series, a new one each month!
In spite of its apparent simplicity, the pattern conveys the lush vegetation of the tropics, with the jungle filled with colorful birds and flowers. You can almost hear birds singing in the background.
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>> see more patterns by Tiny Modernist
>> see all the latest news for Tiny Modernist
More tropical birds
 Hummingbird Biscornu Tiny Modernist |  Be the Flamingo Peacock & Fig |  The parakeets - design for towels Perrette Samouiloff |  Humminpatches (detail) Tam's Creations |  Parakeets (detail) Perrette Samouiloff |
>> see all Tropical bird patterns (all designers)
Elegant & practical
For anything you want to take along with you, and keep away and separate from other things, here's a lovely little pouch to slip into that purse or desk drawer. An opening on the top of the cover allows to slide in a small object of your choice (cards, tickets, headphones, etc.). The little fob also has a small opening and can also double up as a key holder. A Faby Reilly Design.
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>> see more patterns by Faby Reilly Designs
>> see all the latest news for Faby Reilly Designs
More small accessory ideas
Small wallets, a mirror, business cards holds, iphone covers, glasses cases, check out our fun cross stitch projects. They slip into a handbag and make great gifts too!
 French Glasses Case Peacock & Fig |  Mirror Agnès Delage-Calvet |
|  Wild Rose Glasses case Faby Reilly Designs |
>> see all Objects to make in cross stitch (all designers)
Barbara Ana Mystery chart - Part Two
Part Two of Black Cat Hollow is now available. The yellow-eyed cat appears for the first time and the witch starts to cast her spell: "double double toil and trouble...".
Discover what happens next when Part three, the last part, becomes available as of August 1st.
Part One is available here.
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Cramped lodgings
Not only does it house a witch and a number of animals, it also serves as a magic potion factory, complete with a lab room, library of magic formulas and a furnace room, all the equipment for delivering magic spells on an sizable scale. Another fun Halloween pattern by Barbara Ana Designs.
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More Halloween fun with Barbara Ana
 Stitch or die! |  Hallowscornu |  Wicked (since...) |  Boo to ewe |  Halloween Ornaments |
>> see all Halloween patterns by Barbara Ana
>> see all the latest news for Barbara Ana
Creative Poppy Designers in the news
Searching for a cross stitch pattern you've seen featured in a needlework magazine?
Click on the picture to access to the corresponding design.
Faby Reilly Designs - Wisteria Biscornu
As featured in Crazy magazine issue 245 on sale July/August
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>> see all the patterns featured in cross stitch and needlework magazines
Beautiful summer nights
Summer and its pleasures ... evenings that you can enjoy, even after dark. Talking a stroll in the garden, watering plants that have grown thirsty. Or going camping and meeting up around a fire.
We find Samantha Purdy's contemporary designs really cool, don't you?.
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More night-time patterns by Samantha Purdy
Welcoming a friend to dinner, enjoying a log fire and (new!) watering the plants before bed.
 Watering before bed  |  Night Time |  Welcome |
>> see all night-time patterns (all designers)
Reading under a Tree
You can guess Samantha Purdy loves books. Here comes a third design in her "everyday" series with our little lady reading, this time confortably seated in the garden, in the shade of a tree.
 Window Seat |
|  Reading in Bed |
>> see more patterns by Samanthapurdyneedlecrafts
>> see all patterns related to books & literature (all designers)
Maritime Sampler
Exceptional!
Stitched in 1866 by a young girl from Wales, this charming sampler not only includes traditional elements (house, animals, trees of life ...), it also features stunning sailing ships including clippers, witnesses of the naval activity of the region. The sampler was spotted and transposed into a cross stitch chart by Amanda from Riverdrift House.
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More patterns with boats
>> see all patterns with boats & sailing ships (all designers)
Summer pleasures
Organizing a tea-party in the garden, gathering bunches of fresh flowers and tending to one's plants - summertime is full of pleasures. And so are these delicate summer samplers, with fresh colors and adorable details. Both are Riverdrift House designs.
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The Summer miniature is actually the second in a series of 4 year-round patterns; Spring is already available and Autumn and Winter will be released in the coming months.
>> see more Sampler patterns by Riverdrift House
>> see all the latest news for Riverdrift House
A tribute to Liberty
Celebrate the 4th of July with this quick & easy little cross stitch pillow which you can hang in your home or office. A Tiny Modernist design.
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>> see more patterns related to America (all designers)
Strolling along the Prom, Prom, Prom
Hum along and enjoy stitching this vintage style poster-like sampler filled with seaside icons. A quick & easy pattern that will be ideal for a beginer or a week-end project.
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>> see more Seaside patterns (all designers)
More Seaside fun
Sand, seashells, crabs, seagulls and plenty more of fun time at the beach.
Swallows returning
Such a cheerful sign, when swallows return in early summer and start nesting in the barns. These swallows have settled on a little biscornu cushion, surrounded with bright flowers. A design by Tiny Modernist.
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>> see all biscornu patterns by Tiny Modernist
Taking a little Break
There's always a little story behind Lesley Teare's portraits. Where has this young lady come from, smartly dressed and taking off her shoes at the far end of the garden, among the hollyhocks... We'll leave it to your imagination while you cross stitch this pretty portrait.
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>> see more portrait patterns by Lesley Teare Designs
>> see all the latest news for Lesley Teare Designs
By the ramparts of Seville
A dazzling Carmen, in a cross stitch portrait enhanced with beads. The black lace effect, framing the embroidery, is a clever combination of cross stitch and backstitch. But the highlight of the embroidery is no doubt the black fan with gold threads motifs, and the exquisite face of the dancer.
This is an exceptional piece of needlework, brought to you by Lesley Teare.
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>> see all figure and portrait designs by Lesley Teare
Lady in Black
An elegant black sheath dress, a delicate profile, garlands of flowers and butterflies, all of this is achieved through the technique of Blackwork. The basis of the Blackwork is backstitch, thanks to which designs of remarkable precision, including delicate lines, can be created.
The great advantage of Blackwork, compared to traditional embroidery, is that it is a counted technique. As with cross stitch, the needle is guided with absolute precision by the warp and weft threads of the fabric, ensuring a perfectly identical reproduction of the initial design.
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Mini motifs
To get started, what better than a chart chockfull of mini patterns, including a couple of tiny ones, perfect for scissor fobs, to some large enough to decorate a greeting card or a pincushion. Lesley Teare likes to combine Blackwork and Color. These cheerful motifs are full of birds, butterflies and flowers.
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Design - inspired by nature
Nature has always been, and will probably remain, the main inspiration for embroidery. So when a skilled needlework designer such Lesley Teare, a keen observer of birds, lets herself be carried away by her inspiration, great things happen. A great tit appears in cross stitch, a clematis flower blooms in Blackwork, colors blend seamlessly, the background fills with butterflies and life. A small masterpiece is born.
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More nature inspired blends of Blackwork & Cross stitch
Here the focus is on the colorful kingfisher. Blackwork flowers spout from all around, mimicking nature's lush pondside plant life. Once again, cross stitch and Blackwork blend seamlessly, through the clever use of color.
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>> see all bird patterns by Lesley Teare Designs
Blackwork & Color
More patterns in the same Blackwork & Color series.
 Blackwork Flower with Wren |  Poppy Blackwork |  Flower & Butterflies Blackwork |  Flower & Dragonfly Blackwork |
Blackwork & Butterfly card - revisited
It is always fascinating to see how a design can "live" as it is recreated by each stitcher. Sometimes the pattern is worked exactly as stated in the design, and sometimes the stitcher will make her own interpretation. Here is an example of how Lesley Teare's original design - stitched on white in the top left corner - was interpreted by Marie-Christiane.
As you will see, there are a number of variations that the stitcher applied to the design. A different color background, replacing some stitches with beads, etc. "Lesley's patterns are a treat to stitch." says Marie Christiane. We find her stitched piece exquisite, don't you?
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Marie Christiane is a very talented and skilful stitcher. She has a Flickr account Marie-Christiane @ GATACA1952 showing all her needlework projects. We highly recommend you pay it a visit.
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More Blackwork patterns by Lesley Teare
 Blackwork Dragon |  Blackwork Shoes |  Blackwork angel |  Blackwork Flowers with birds |
>> see all Blackwork patterns by Lesley Teare
More about Blackwork
Backstitch is the default stitch for most contemporary Blackwork designs. It is the stitch recommended by Lesley Teare for all her Blackwork designs.
There are Blackwork designs however where a stitcher might have to make her own decisions, which pathway to follow and which stitch to use. We took the opportunity of this newsletter to write an article discussing various options available to stitchers when encountering any continuous line on a chart, in particular comparing:
- Long stitch
- Backstitch
- Double running stitch or Holbein stitch
- Hybrid backstitch
In addition to stitches used for Blackwork, We also discuss the origins of Blackwork (a royal wedding) and the directions of modern Blackwork. We hope you enjoy reading our article.
Creative Poppy Designers in the news
Searching for a cross stitch pattern you've seen featured in a needlework magazine?
Click on the picture to access to the corresponding design.
Barbara Ana Designs - Viva la Vida
As featured in Cross stitch Gold magazine issue 148 on sale June/July 2018
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Marie-Anne Réthorêt - Tiny scissors Needlework accessories
As featured in Cross stitch Crazy magazine issue 244 on sale June/July 2018
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Riverdrift House - Prince Harry & Meghan Royal Wedding
As featured in Cross stitch Crazy magazine issue 244 on sale June/July 2018
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>> see all the patterns featured in cross stitch and needlework magazines
New Mystery pattern by Barbara Ana
Do you like surprises? Do you like Barbara Ana Designs? Hang on, we've go something exciting coming up!
Here is a Halloween themed mystery chart, that comes in 3 parts. It is called Black Cat Hollow, though no cat can be seen yet, only a couple of little witches busying themselves with the harvest ... we can't say anymore for now, it's a surprise ...
As seen in the photo below, two other parts will complete the stitched piece. Part Two will be available July 1st and Part Three August 1, leaving plenty of time to stitch before Halloween.
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>> see more Halloween patterns by Barbara Ana Designs
>> see all the latest news for Barbara Ana Designs
More Halloween Houses
 Witch House? Barbara Ana Designs |  The Witch's Inn Barbara Ana Designs |
>> see all patterns featuring Halloween houses (all designers)
A walk through the woods
There are two equally exciting themes in this pattern. First the green Quaker/Vierlanden medallions, elaborate cross stitch motifs symbolizing trees in a forest. Second are the exquisitely detailed houses, each with different architectural features. This sampler by Tempting Tangles promises hours of joy.
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>> see more Sampler patterns by Tempting Tangles
>> see all the latest news for Tempting Tangles
More Tempting Samplers
 Panoply of Posies |  Giovanni's Alphabet |  Good morning |  Panoply of Peacocks |
>> see all Sampler cross stitch patterns by Tempting Tangles
Bits & Pieces
In the manner of a scrapbook, Amanda, Riverdrift House's designer, collects many tiny emblems of regions dear to her heart and puts them together in beautiful Samplers, with tons of tiny detail to enjoy stitching. Every single item in the chart has an explanation that features in the text that accompanies the chart.
Check out the three latest "Folkies".
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>> see more Folkies by Riverdrift House
>> see all the latest news for Riverdrift House
Captured on the spot
Surprise! here's a little white hen trotting into the kitchen.... One more of life's little stories, told in cross stitch with tenderness and humor, by Samatha Purdy.
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More hens, cats, a squirrel, a goose, a fox and ... a polar bear. Animals, captured on the spot - in cross stitch.
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>> see more patterns by Samanthapurdyneedlecraft
>> see all the latest news for Samanthapurdyneedlecraft
Kingdom of Neptune
Over the months Kathy Bungard of Gracewood Stitches continues to create cross stitch designs matching a theme with a color. In August, dive into the cool and refreshing realm of Neptune!
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>> see more patterns by Gracewood Stitches
>> see all the latest news for Gracewood Stitches
Chasing the blues
Cool, refreshing, relaxing, fluctuating between blue and green... How better to spend the summer than stitching with turquoise threads. Plenty of inspiring projects await!
>> see all Turquoise & Aqua patterns
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