Designing and Stitching for a Good Cause

I wanted to share this important project from my dear friends at Casa Cenina, a wonderful source for all things cross stitch in Italy. This charitable effort includes many of your favorite designers and all proceeds will go towards helping the many towns in Italy effected by devastating earthquakes during the past year. There is still much work to be done to restore these towns so please pass on the link so we can all help with the recovery.

For full details please go to this link:

https://www.casacenina.com/a-needlework-project-to-be-born-again.html

 Joan

JE234 The Time Traveler

JE234© The Time Traveler

I had a wonderful time at the Cross Stitch Club Retreat in Solihull, UK last weekend. How lucky I am to have had the opportunity to meet all the stitchers who attended. Traveling with my fellow designer and friend Ursula Michael was a treat and seeing Jo Critchley and Michael Powell again, along with Faye Whittaker was a  delight. The general consensus is that a good time was had by all.

I did a special design called the Time Traveler for this retreat. Inspired by my Facebook friend Clare Bowman and her amazing steampunk outfits, she seemed perfect to conjure up thoughts of the British Isles. She is now up on the Order Chartpacks page for order by everyone. You will also find her at Polstitches Designs right now and I expect her to be available in the usual online sites very soon.

Thanks again to the amazing Fae Kuhn for organizing the retreat and making it such a fantastic success!

The Upcoming Birmingham Retreat

Hi Everyone-

It’s been a while since I last posted. I am busy getting ready for the Cross Stitch Club stitching retreat in Birmingham, UK (July 15 & 16). It promises to be lots of fun and the wonderful Fae Kuhn has done her usual magic in organizing everything.

I am looking forward to meeting again with old friends and making many new ones too. I’ll be traveling across the pond with my friend and fellow designer, Ursula Michael and joining us there will be the very talented UK designers, Jo Critchley, Michael Powell, and Faye Whittaker, so there will be a wonderful display of our many different styles.

The studio will be closed this week and next so I can get organized for the trip. Any orders placed while I am away will be filled when I return to my desk around the 21st of July.

Oh yes, I will be introducing a new design at the retreat too. It will be up on my blog and available to order when I get back to work. I am also hoping to have some other new chartpacks for you too. Lots of people have been asking for a peek at the new design. It is called The Time Traveler.

JE234 © The Time Traveler Preview

The Dancing Mermaid

My Dancing Mermaid is now out and on the cover of the latest issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. Here’s what they have to say about it:

This “glittering and glamorous mermaid emerges from the mist in Joan Elliott’s superb cross-stitch creation. Hand-dyed Caribbean blue Joblean fabric, almost three dozen floss colors, metallic braid and three colors of beads are the ingredients for making this deliciously dazzling wall decoration.”

You can purchase this issue by going to the Annie’s Publishing site.

World Craft Week

Join the publishers of The World of Cross Stitching and Cross Stitch Crazy in celebrating World Craft Week, this week April 3-9, 2017. You can see what they have in store on their Facebook Page and on the website created for this event. They have created a special booklet with lots of little craft projects and it is free when you register on the site. Celebrate the things you love to do with stitchers and crafters worldwide! #worldcraftweek

Celebrate World Craft Week

New! Quilt Panels from Polstitches Designs

A Year of Angels Quilt Panel © Joan A. Elliott for Polstitches Designs
available from http://www.polstitchesdesigns.co.uk

I am so excited to tell you that I have teamed up with Jo Critchley at Polstitches Designs to create this beautiful printed quilt panel based on my cross stitch design “A Year of Angels”. My thanks to Jo for coordinating the project and finding the best fabric and printing techniques to create this panel.

The design is printed on 100% Cotton Calico and is priced at £16.99 (about $22US). The size of the printed panel is 59.5cm w x 79cm h (2.5cm white border)  23.6 in w x 31.1 in h (.75 in white border). Polstitches does ship internationally too. You can go directly to Polstitches Designs website to order : http://www.polstitchesdesigns.co.uk

I added borders from some fabric samples I designed years ago so when you make up the final quilt you will be choosing fabric patterns and colors to your liking and adding them as you see fit. It would be fun to pick up any number of colors from the printed panel in your borders. Your finished quilt will be unique to you, so let you creativity soar! The best news is that there are more to come, so stay tuned.

Bella Roma

JE232© Bella Roma $14

With blizzard warnings in the northeastern US tomorrow, I invite you on a walk through springtime in beautiful Rome. JE232©Bella Roma is a brand new chartpack now up on my Order Chartpacks page and ready to ship. She will be available at all of your favorite online stores soon, so keep an eye out and turn your thoughts to warm breezes, fragrant flowers, and lots of beautiful stitching.