Cinderella © Joan A. Elliott Photo Courtesy of Cross Stitch Gold

I love the imaginary world of Fairy Tales and still have my well worn childhood books to treasure and bring inspiration to my designs. I am so happy to introduce a new series of Fairy Tale Princesses I’ve designed for Cross Stitch Gold magazine. Cinderella is the first of three and you will find her in issue #90. She’s  filled with sparkling beads and shimmering metallic threads. For extra depth she is stitched on Polstitches 28 count hand dyed Fairy Dreams Jobelan. You can test out different fabric choices by going to Polstitches’ fabric viewer where you will find all of my fairies and goddesses ready to try out on Jo’s beautiful hand dyed fabrics. Also coming in future issues of Cross Stitch Gold are Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. What fun!

Lady Bird Variations © Joan A. Elliott

I think that the new Fairy Series coming in Cross Stitch Collection in 2012 would be lovely to stitch on hand dyed fabrics too. I adore the hand dyes from Polstitches Designs. They always seem the perfect match for my designs. Here are some variations for the Lady Bird Fairy for you. Each fabric lends a special mood to the design. I especially love the way she looks on Galaxy. I have posted the supply list on the project Floss & Embellishments page.

Greetings To All

Just a quick note. I will be away from my desk  until January 3rd so any orders  placed between December 24th and January  2nd will be shipped  when I return. Thanks to all of you for a fulfilling year of designing. Your support and enthusiasm are a true inspiration! I look forward to sharing many more designs with you in 2012.

Lady Bird Fairy © Joan A. Elliott photo courtesy of Cross Stitch Collection

Just a quick sneak peek at the start of a new series in Cross Stitch Collection. Coming in 2012 you will be seeing six new Garden Fairies. The first of the lot is my Lady Bird Fairy now in preview in the current issue Cross Stitch Collection. She will appear in Issue # 206. I love the little lady birds that frequent my garden and keep my roses and cherry trees thriving every year. These helpful little critters always invoke a lighthearted, gay feeling and I had great fun using them for inspiration for this design. She is stitched on 28 count marbled blue vintage Cashel linen from Zweigart (Ref: 3281/5139). I think she would look beautiful on a lovely hand dyed  evenweave from Polstitches too. Embellished with beautiful Kreinik metallic threads and sparkling Mill Hill beads, I hope you’ll find this a perfect way to welcome the  delights of the garden into your home  during the winter months.

As many of you may already know, only one of the designs, Once Upon A Time, in my new book Fairy Enchantment, was allowed beads. All of the designs already sparkle with  beautiful Kreinik  threads but for everyone that has asked about  adding some of the extra ‘bling’ that beading brings, I have made up a list of possible bead substitutions for the single stitches and French knots I  used in the book. I’ll leave it to all of you to decide whether to bead or not. Feel free to use some of these, or all, choose your own colors, or make no changes at all. It’s entirely up to you and your personal taste as the stitched designs  become an expression of your own creativity. I know whatever you choose to do will be perfect for you!

PS: You may want to do the French knots using Mill Hill Petite Beads since they will be smaller and more like the french knots. Petite color codes are in the parentheses. Please go to the Mill Hill website to see their full selection.

BUTTERFLY FAIRY:

For the swirling single stitches in the background Kreinik 045 :  Mill Hill 02047

For French knots in her headdress Kreinik 5982 : Mill Hill 00332 (Petite 40332)

For French knots twining her arm and legs Kreinik 5008 : Mill Hill 03034 (Petite 40374)

ONCE UPON A TIME:

Use the beads listed and

For white dots on the child’s outfit DMC 1 : Mill Hill 03021

For French knots on child’s boots Kreinik 028 : Mill Hill 02011 (Petite 42011)

THE FAIRY QUEEN:

For single stitches in background and French knots on bodice Kreinik 028 : Mill Hill 00557 (Petite 40557)

For single stitches on skirt hem Kreinik 3260 : Mill Hill 02031

For single stitches at the edge of her shawl and along the neckline Kreinik 015 : Mill Hill 00167

For single stitches in her necklace  Kreinik 5003 : Mill Hill 03047

For the white centers in the pink flowers in her skirt DMC 1 : Mill Hill 03021

THE FAIRY & THE DRAGON:

For the single green stitches on the tendrils in her hair Kreinik 015 : Mill Hill 02031

For the gold French knots in her necklace Kreinik 028 : Mill Hill 00557 (Petite 40557)

A FAIRY’S GARDEN:

For the white single stitches in the mushrooms DMC 1 : Mill Hill 03021

For green stitches in her skirt Kreinik 070 : Mill Hill 02031

For French knots in flower centers DMC 986 : Mill Hill 03031 (Petite 40332)

For white french knots on her bodice DMC 1 : Mill Hill 02010 (Petite 42010)

CHILDHOOD MAGIC (All four designs):

For French knots  around the border Kreinik 028 : Mill Hill 00557 (Petite 40557)

For French knots  on butterflies and hat DMC 938 : Mill Hill 03034 (Petite 40374)

For border flower centers DMC 743 : Mill Hill 02047

Santa's List © Joan A. Elliott

Now out in issue 88 of Cross Stitch Gold, here is Santa making sure he checks all the names on his list twice. With his sack full to the brim with toys and teddies, he is just about ready to set out on Christmas Eve. Stitched on Polstitches 28 count ‘lightning strike’ Jobelan he is fully embellished with sparkling Mill Hill beads and beautiful silver and gold Kreinik threads. I’ve included a simple backstitch alphabet so you can add the names of your own friends and loved ones.

Magical Journey © Joan A. Elliott photo courtesy of The World of Cross Stitching

What fun it was to create a design of Santa’s magical sleigh ride over the rooftops on a snowy Christmas Eve and now featured in issue 183 of The World of Cross Stitching. Again we have chosen Polstitches wonderful hand dyed ‘lightning strike’ Jobelan. It seems the perfect fabric to suggest a night sky in winter. Mill Hill beads and  Kreinik threads dot the sky as Santa and his little elves sail amidst golden stars and shimmering snowflakes  on their way to deliver lots of Christmas cheer.

Winter Goddess © Joan A. Elliott Photo courtesy of Cross Stitch Collection

Coming later in November in Issue 204 of Cross Stitch Collection, my new Winter Goddess. I am thrilled to bring you another portrait design, this time celebrating the beauty and wonder of the winter season. Using the lush flowers of a winter’s bouquet she is wreathed in greens, reds, whites and golds. Sparkling Mill Hill beads and shimmering Kreinik threads add to the lush texture of the design. She is stitch on Polstitches beautiful hand dyed ‘forrest queen’ 28 count Jobelan. I hope you will love her as much as I loved creating her!

New Chartpacks © Joan A. Elliott

I am happy to bring you six new chartpacks this month. Three of these, The Rose, Lily , and Chrysanthemum Fairy complete the set of floral fairies I did for Cross Stitch Collection. For everyone that was unable to get the book-a-zine I am happy to include the Green Goddess too. Two Christmas designs complete this release. I have had a lot of  people asking for the four Petite Christmas Angels and I think that the Winter’s Welcome design is just right for stitching as the days grow shorter and we begin to gather with family and friends.

Peacock Lady (Magazine Correction)

If any of you are working on the Peacock Lady from the chart that was in the magazine a while back you will notice that the photo of the finished piece had a stitching error on the mouth. She was not meant to look like she has fangs! Here is the version of the face that I have in my chartpack so you can make any corrections necessary. Please note that the symbols may be different than those used in the magazine but I think it is self explanatory. This correction is for the chart in the magazine only. My Chartpack  chart is fine and needs no adjustment.