Caspians

Tools of trade. We, crafters can't go without them and if they are somehow special to us, it makes the whole thing - crafting - even more pleasurable. Personally, I'm a real sucker for good quality craft tools. I'd rather have a few quality ones than a bunch of cheap and unreliable ones. It's not a secret that card makers have their own favourite papers, punches and stamps, crocheters have their own favourite crochet hooks and finally knitters have their own favourite yarn brands and knitting needles. I'm no different in this respect. Caspians from knitpicks.com  - is a luxurious collection of knitting needles and crochet hooks I've been wishing for months. Finally an Amazon packet carrying two types of Caspian knitting needles made its way to my door :) I'm on cloud nine! 

Naturally when buying them I couldn't decide which set I wanted more. I'm using DPNs (double pointed needles) more at the moment but I've always wanted to have a go at circulars too. So I gave myself a real treat and bought both :) 

They are beautiful and I'm so excited to use them. They arrived nicely packaged in the clear pouches with the American and European sizing on it. 

A nice surprise was also the fact that Knitpicks give you six dpns in each size set rather than 5 like most producers do. Just in case if you lose or accidentally break one ... somehow but it is rather unlikely to happen. These laminated birch needles are so durable and with a a bit of TLC they will last you a long time.

The circulars look really intriguing with all these extras included. Everything is nicely colour coordinated. I will have to learn how to assemble and disassemble them. The shiny metalic elements give the Caspians a nice luxurious finish. 

This Caspian wood is so nicely polished, warm and pleasant to the touch. The yarn doesn't slip off it easily yet it slides along nicely as you knit.  Oh and the colours! Gorgeous aquatic hues, just as I love!
This is how Knit Picks describe their product :)

Oceanic waves of sea green, teal and marine ripple across Caspian - the newest addition to the Knit Picks Options family! Boasting the same strong and smooth layers of laminated birch that you know and love, Caspian shows off a sea-inspired colorway along with a distinctive emerald cord to complement its oceanic hues.

* * *

 The burnished surface of Caspian delivers just the right amount of grip to easily manage slippery yarns while warming quickly in your hands for hours of comfortable knitting.

In a nutshell - poetry! :)

So below here is my little private premier league of the knitting needles :) KnitPro Symfonie and KnitPro Karbonz and now the Knit Picks Caspians too :) I just love the knitting / crocheting experience with these quality products. KnitPros are very similar to KnitPicks, I'd say, a kind of European equivalent of Knit Picks in America. Their range is great so do check their websites for some lovely knitting tools.

I couldn't wait and switched to my new needles straight away :D Now the pink bunny is being knitted with Caspians. Doesn't he look a bit creepy with his head open like this? ;)

Alongside I'm also knitting a beige bunny. Sometimes I need a rest from sweet pink colours :) It's coming on slowly :)

For this spring season I'd also like to knit some new spring eggs and balls :) Patterns printed out and ready. These are always joy to make. I'm hooked on knitting these balls and thanks to who? Arne and Carlos from Norway.

And here is my latest bargain shopping from The Works :) I love all sorts of craft bibles and this quilting one is a particularly tempting one. I'm not ready for taking up quilting yet but it's my dream to be able to quilt and patchwork in the future and of course a good reference book will always come in handy. As for the second book - Mollie Makes series of books I just love to have :)

Have a good week folks :)

Greetings x x x

Martha

Mishmash :)

Hello. A few things to blog about today. When the latest issue of Cross Stitch Card Shop came through with the post last month, there was a letter attached for its subscribers. Basically the publishers dropped a bombshell announcing that they are stopping publishing this magazine due to marketing difficulties. I'm gutted. I really am. I liked it. Entirely devoted to cross stitched cards and with a variety of motifs to choose from. One of its kind on the market and now taken away while other similar mags still sell alongside. I will miss this mag definitely.

However the magazine itself doesn't mention a word about closing off. What's more, there is even a preview of the next issue. I do hope I'll find it in my mailbox 'cause I really love those cute cards with pink and orange owls :) The attached letter says The World of Cross Stitching will be taking over the ideas and it will be sent out to those subscribers whose subscription of Cross Stitch Card Shop hasn't finished yet. 

While Cross Stitch Card Shop is soon disappearing from the Brititsh magazine market, a new magazine has turned up on the shelves - Total Crochet Amigurumi. This is a nice mag full of crochet projects in form of amigurumis. I managed to get hold of the two first issues. I especially love the crocheted bunnies and teddies featured on the cover. The overall style of the magazine differs a lot from the British ones and one can easily guess it is not a product from the UK. It must be American, Candian or perhaps Australian, not sure.

The nice thing about this magazine is the fact it doesn't feature any advertisements (yay!) as opposed to the British craft mags that are excessively padded with paid adverts and wasted pages, which really gets on my nerves sometimes. It contains written crochet instructions followed up by numerous photos which makes it easier to work through the projects. I hope it lasts on the market and we will draw many interesting ideas from it.

My dear boyfriend-o has recently treated me to some Easter craft goodies :) Bless him. Here is what I brought from Hobby Craft - some cute wooden block stamps and springy ribbons. 

I particularly love the ribbons. They are cute and I could adorn my knitted bunnies with them :)

Apart from the stamps and ribbons, a few balls of DMC Natura cotton made it into my shopping basket. The juicy green and the slate grey balls came from eBay though. 

I'm especially craving for something fresh and this juicy grassy green is particularly attracting my eye.

In the meantime I'm knitting a pink bunny :) Currently I'm working on its arms and head :) It's coming on! Bit by bit. I'm thinking of giving it to a little girl who adores everything sweet and pink :)

And here is what has happened recently to my cross stitch project - a disaster. I'm gutted as these were supposed to be the cards finished for February and now this major setback with the threads has cropped up. After washing the stitches in lukewarm water and drying them out on a towel, the red Anchor thread discoloured and left the pink stains. I am really mistrustful of this brand now. My fault, I should have pre-washed the Anchor cotton first. For comparison, I've never been let down by the DMC reds. 

There is no other way than to stitch the background over with a white thread and hope for an improvement. So it's DMC this time. No more Anchor for me please.

Well, I went even a bit further and experimented with a colour catcher. Nope. It didn't really help and it even altered the remaining colours. Will have to stitch this motif again. 

Well that my experimenting with washing the cross stitch done. I always wash my stitches no matter how small they are. Whether it is a motif stitched for a card or a large sampler. I just like to know it is fresh and clean. I just couldn't bear a thought is was stitched, touched many times and just left grubby. 

So, what do you do for your stitches? :) 

Felicity Hall "Stitch Alphabets and Numbers"

This post can be a great news for cross stitchers who love stitching  retro-looking stylized projects :) Not so long ago, in June, as far as I remember a new craft book came out on the market: 

Felicity Hall, "Stitch Alphabets and Numbers"

I got my copy on pre-order off Amazon and I love all the letter styles Felicity designed for us. I'd love to work through most of them as they are so vibrant and eye-catching that your project is bound to wow everybody. Felicity is famous for her circus font cross stitch designs and here the book offers you the whole alphabet you can stitch either in cross stitch or in needlepoint. I just love it!!!!

This is what you can find in the book: (some exemplary photos)

This circus font design reminds me of my unfinished project - a HOME SWEET HOME cross stitch bunting-to-be tucked somewhere in the craft boxes! I should finish that one first before I move onto these! Otherwise I will feel guilty of creating another UFO.

I also love the fact that Felicity included some great designs of stylized numbers. Now everyone can stitch their important memorable dates! 

Love this retro take on the alphabets, these letters definitely make a statement! Add to that proper background and a fab frame and you end up with your own hand-made contemporary art.

on the back cover there are some other lovely book recommendations:

I actually own that Knit the Alphabet book already ;) and shall be blogging about it soon! The book with marine cross stitch designs is still on my wish list :) With that in perspective, I should really get my bookshelves sorted! 

Cheerio! x X x

Hello Japan

I've had quite a few books joining my craft bookcase recently so this is going to be another post about a book :P Hope you're not bored to death:P Last Thursday this landed in my mailbox:

 - a parcel from Japan! Inside a quite unusual book in Japanese:

And a lovely piece of origami was attached with a few words of explanation. How cute!

The book is a collection of simple cross stitch motifs - just as I like them!

Here are few exemplary projects to stitch.
A nature-themed and home-themed stitches, lovely in natural greens and browns:

Something for the kitchen:

American style, sort of West Country look: (I love these!)

Rustic stitches for nursery:

There are plenty of botanical motifs in the book:

... in various styles...

Some projects for celebrations, cards and tags:

I spotted a couple of spelling mistakes. It's been pointed to me that the Japanese people are famous for misspelling English words and not paying much attention to it. Well, this book is a perfect proof of it.

Kitchen and food theme again:

Monochromatic samplers. I love simple stitches like these!

Floral borders:

Hearts and wreaths:

Sweet borders for various projects:

All the instructions are in Japanese, which is of course illegible to me. But I'm already familiar with the cross stitch techniques so I'll give these instructions a miss.

Basically this book is divided into 3 parts. 1st part shows the ready stitches, middle part is all about the explanations and how to stitch and the 3rd part is black and white charts for these projects.

I really like this funny Japanese collection of cross stitch patterns. I'm hoping to use some of these designs in my stitching projects in the future. 

Books, books, books... and a musical :)

The half term has ended. The time just whizzed past so quickly. I really don't know where it is flying. It was a good week with some good events, crafting and some nice weather. The biggest event of the week was of course when last Tuesday me and T. went to the Liverpool Empire Theatre to watch the famous musical - The Lion King. I've never been a big fan of ( esp. telly) musicals as such but this one was simply AMAZING!!! What a spectacular display of music, choreography, costumes, scenery and acting it was!. We were truly impressed and if I were to watch it once more, I would have goosebumps again too! If you ever get a chance to see it, do go. I can guarantee you will be impressed. 

As we were waiting for the evening performance at the theatre, we also had a walk around the Liverpool centre and we found that nice second hand shop which we couldn't resist. It was a place like those many years ago - a stuffy dusty shop packed with the book shelves right from the top of the ceiling right down to the floor, stuffed with thousands of books. Perfect place for book hunters and bookworms. T. went to look for his books and I was rummaging upstairs among the shelves with crafty books. Here are my finds:

Each book was priced £2-3. What a bargain! What real treasures these book are I only found out at home when I had a chance to look at them closely, in peace and  with a cup of tea :) These books are, as I like to call it: an older generation of craft books - big album-like hard-backs with a pretty much vintage stuff inside. Too old? Nah, "old" means stuff you can't find these days in modern craft books and anyway this vintage has got its own charm, doesn't it? So, very pleased with that buy.

Jóna Sparey: "Icelandic Patterns in Needlepoint. Over 40 easy-to-stitch designs from the Land of Ice and Fire" - when I spotted this book I knew straightaway it would be going home with me :) Anything about the Scandinavian heritage interests me :) I know of needlepoint technique but I've never tried it myself. This book convinces me to do so. 

Here are the most interesting projects from this book. Have a peek :)

I'm loving these floral tapestries more and more. These folky patterns are really growing on me with time. You can see such motifs on national costumes of the Scandinavian people, particularly Swedish. I just love the way they are stylized. Plus the blue shades make it look so cool... literally too! 

I also love the floral motifs standing out against the dark background. This seem to deepen the colours. It's a common practice in the Polish folklore too. 

A tapestry in natural earthy tones? Why not? It all looks toned and in harmony. Very pretty design, I think.

I'm also loving this one too! Actually I'd love to see this one on my walls :) There's something appealing in these shades of purple. The flower heads are just beautiful. 

Must not forget about the Scandinavian stars when talking about the Scandinavian heritage. This is one of my favourite projects in this book. I just adore how this eight petal rose (apparently a name for this type of Norwegian star) is stylized with the florals inside. If I don't get a chance to stitch it in the needlepoint technique, I will definitely stitch it in cross stitch. Notice the characteristic use of white and shades of blue, typical of Scandinavian art. Gorgeous!

The book features quite a few borders to stitch too! The cleverness of the folk people - amazing!

Book no. 2: Melinda Coss "The Cross Stitch House". This book is all about creating a pretty vintage home with lots of feminine accents. Go for it if you like sweet pretty adornments :D

My faves from this book: a vintage rose bell pull:

Tablecloth and napkin adornments. Love especially the colour shading on the butterflies :)

Gorgeous folksy projects with birds. Love it! Love it! Love it! According the author this is American folk.

A nice way how to jazz up a bit plain beige curtains! :) Mind that picture in the background too! A perfect match! 

A central piece for a shadowbox:

And the big picture itself! Don't they all look good together?

There are some stitches for the farm animal lovers too! This chicken stitched on a basket napkin reminds me of the Easter basket blessings straight away.

Can't stop at stitching just one hen! Get a chicken sampler with this lovely carrot border! How cool!

And a lovely tile clock for your kitchen. It is supposed to remind you the Dutch Delft chinaware but I find those snowflake motifs quite Scandinavian :P It would look great stitched in reds too! 

The book no. 3: Dorothea Hall "Cross Stitch. A Beautiful Gift" I like a few projects from this book too. 

Just love these 3 cross stitched characters!

Lovely rabbit, perfect for a rustic decor.

Tartan combined with a Nordic star, why not? I love how the Nordic star is stitched a few colours.

Gorgeous reds for your table! :) Mind that beautiful plate with the checkered border!

I just drooled at the sight of this border for a kitchen shelf. How beautiful it looks! Nordic stars again! I love how they used white ric-rac on it too!

And how about a beautiful basket cover? Not only it looks pretty, it also protects your yarn from dust and playful kitties :) Love the pearls added for more of a wow factor :)

Fragranced sachets as gifts? Who wouldn't want? Looks pretty and smells good!

The book no.4 is definitely my favourite among these 4. It just got me spellbound. Folk spellboud of course. "Mary Norden's Needlepoint. Fifty Folk Art Projects for The Home" I fell in love with it the moment I opened it at the shop. It's a book with American flair in it  - vintage, folky and colonial.

When I see folky patterns, my eyes just go wide open, my jaw drops.... ooooooh! aaaah!

But when I saw these Nordic style photo frames my heart skipped a beat. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Must, must, must stitch them! I find these patterns so beautiful and the whole collection on the wall just looks STUNNING! Definitely a must-do on my craft list. 

Again, notice the choice of colours, typical of Scandinavian art - lots of red and white with blue.

Gorgeous little bag to stitch:

And even more gorgeous pillow covers. This book has got me drooling, page after page!

Beautiful purses, gift bags, favour bags, name them all... they just look so pretty arranged on this shelf.

Or... hanging on a peg...

A pretty project for a cover. Kinda similar to those from the "Icelandic" book.

And the cushions are an absolute hit in this book! I particularly love this version with the dusty blue border.

A bit of retro here...

And a bit of the colonial style...

Mrs & Mr Washingon:

Now here's a question for million dollars: 

When on earth am I supposed to stitch all of that? 

I think this will do for today. I hope I got you interested in these books. Feel free to comment or ask. Or just feel free to head over to Amazon to order your own copy ;)

Take care and thank you for your comments. x x