Our Correspondents

Ever wondered what stitchers like us are up to in different parts of the globe? We’ve asked readers from near and far to become correspondents for us and share with us their cross stitch news…

News and views from CrossStitcher readers around the world

Katie Clifton, Bagdad, Southern Tasmania

Greetings from Tasmania! The chill has finally lifted and we are gradually moving into Spring... yay! Spring is my favourite time of year; the bulbs pop their little heads out of the ground and fill the garden with a riot of fragrance, in all the colours of the rainbow. My most favourite plant, the Protea (which is an Australian Native) always flowers in spring at our house making the veggie garden (where it’s planted to keep off the kangaroos) a beautiful place to be.

Springtime in the southern hemisphere also means Halloween! We live in the bush, so with our neighbours so far away, trick or treating is not possible for us. Instead, each year my girls dress up in costume and go on a treasure hunt in our yard… you never quite know what you’ll find! Each year in October, I always treat myself to a Mill Hill kit - I just love them! And I’ve decided on two this year, although I think Ravens will be first. I will also have to get my WIP done… I’m currently working on Game of Thrones Banners by Cloudsfactory, stitched on handdyed fabric I did myself. I’m going to make it into a pillow when it’s finished.

Happy stitching everyone! A native Protea A Mill Hill project for Halloween My Game of Thrones WIP Katie is married with two young girls and loves all crafts. She lives on a farm in Bagdad, Southern Tasmania, with her dog Twinkle Toes and pet sheep Minnie, Spike, Misty and Coco. She is a medical receptionist at the local doctor’s surgery.

Lisa Thomas, Lake Michigan, USA

Greetings from Michigan. Summer is ending here soon, but I can’t wait for all of the Fall activities. Many of the local farmers will have 5km walks or runs through the apple orchards or pumpkin patches. After the run, you are always able to pick apples or pumpkins while enjoying some fresh apple cider and doughnuts. Who doesn’t love apple cider?

Fall time means that Halloween is near. Halloween is the second most popular holiday here in the States and Halloween decorations are seen in stores as early as July! If you want a good costume you have to pick it out before August because all the good ones will be taken already.

Halloween time means fun activities! We have a local dairy farm that has a corn maze that is great for the kids during the day but come nighttime you better watch out for the zombies and ghouls. During the day there are hay rides, pumpkin picking, and an animal petting area, just to name a few of the fun activities. After it gets dark the witches of New Salem come out for the haunted corn maze and woods.

I am just finishing up on my Halloween cards and I am planning on starting my Christmas cards very soon. I also have the Nora Corbett bewitching pixies on my ‘work in progress’ pile. I would really love to have these hanging on my wall come Fall time. I made a promise to myself last year that

I would not start any new projects until I finished the old, but maybe I can follow through on that next year. The Lord’s Prayer by Stony Creek 4 The Halloween card I stitched for my daughter 5 Lisa is married to a dairy farmer and has three children. She lives close to the wonderful beaches of Lake Michigan, USA.

Kirsty Gowton, Oxfordshire, UK

Cross stitching has been decidedly less extreme this month. But that doesn’t mean it’s not been exciting.

Kirstie’s Handmade Fair came to Ragley Hall and I noticed that Mr X Stitch was running a workshop. It would have been rude not to go! Although I’ve been stitching for 26 years now, I still love the opportunity to stitch with other people and to watch other people discover the hobby. Ragley Hall is only an hour from us, so it was the perfect excuse for a day out. I signed up pretty late, so a lot of the workshops were sold out, but I’ll happily learn any craft (as my husband and my craft stash will confirm) so I settled down for a half -hour tutorial on making paper flowers.

After getting sticky with floristry tape I grabbed lunch and wondered around the craft stalls for an hour before lining up for Mr X Stitch’s lesson. I was delighted to see it was sold out – so there was over 90 of us stitching away. One lady on my table taught sewing in primary school, another hadn’t even threaded a needle before. It was wonderful to be in a tent with Mr X Stitch and such a range of stitching abilities.

I happily helped out those who needed it, swapping stories and passing on tips that I’ve picked up. Before long there was the contented silence of people focused on stitching. I always like to have a look around at people’s faces at this point, everyone has a ‘stitching face’. The face they pull when they’re concentrating. It’s at this point that stitching becomes ‘mindful’, which tied in perfectly for the start of Mental Health Awareness Week. A floral bear welcomed us to the Handmade Fair! 6 Can you spot Mr X Stitch? He’s crouching down on the right, helping out one of the stitchers at his workshop 7 Kirsty is this year’s National Needlecraft Awards’ Stitching Hero of the Year. In her spare time she does model stitching for CrossStitcher and for Mr X Stitch. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and their dog, Sprocket. They are an outdoorsy family who love adventures.

Anuradha Jain, New Delhi, India

Namaste Dear readers.

It’s October in Delhi, always a month of promise for me. The worst of the summer heat is behind us and the monsoon, and there is so much to look forward to – colder days and nights, winter birds, a profusion of flowers, food festivals and music in the park every weekend. I like to experiment with my stitching and usually have a couple of projects on the go using different techniques. Some

time back I made myself a book cushion whose cover flap opens to reveal the first page, for which I used a novelty cooking fabric. At the same time I was also working on a cross stitch pouch to carry my glasses and phone. Kasauli is a small, quaint town in the Himalayas, and is one of my husband’s and my favourite places, and so on our anniversary this year I made a cushion to celebrate our nearly 35 year association with it. I had great fun choosing the fabrics and laces for the snow. We don’t have a traditional autumn in Delhi, but am sure the nights have started to draw in for those of you living in the temperate areas. Here’s to all of us enjoying the changing seasons wherever we may be! My ‘book’ cushion with cover flap 8 The pouch for my glasses and phone 9 Our anniversary cushion 10 Anu is a happily married mum of two, and lives with her family in New Delhi. She completed her PhD in Geography after her daughter was born. She is a stay at home mum who, besides her freelance work, loves to indulge in her passion for all things creative.

Debbie Vermeulen, Durban, South Africa

It is winter here in the Southern Hemisphere and living in Durban, winter is my favourite season. The days are comfortable at around 22⁰C and the skies are clear and blue. Being a teacher, we get a three-week winter holiday and this time of the year is my favourite time to stitch.

I managed to complete two projects this holiday and worked on a few more of my WIPs. I finished my first Ink Circles project using DMC Coloris 4507. It was my first time using such a variegated thread and I enjoyed stitching the mandala type pattern one full cross at a time. I also finished another one of my Bothy Threads Gorjuss girls ‘I Gave You my Heart’. Her colours are vibrant and she was a joy to stitch.

My favourite holiday moments were spent stitching while watching Flosstube. I have found my ‘tribe’ in the Flosstube community and have enjoyed connecting with stitchers from all over the world. I watch ladies from North America, Asia, Australia and Europe who share their projects and their cross stitch purchases. It certainly helps me to keep my stitchy bug alive and enables me to spend more than I should on my cross stitching! My Ink Circles project 11 Stitching while watching two of my favourite Flosstubers 12 My fantastic gift from a recent Durban Stitchers’ get-together 13 Debbie Vermeulen is a forty-one year old Teacher/Librarian from Durban, South Africa. She is married, with two young daughters and a dog.