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Cross Stitch Tips & News ~ December 6th 2008
Patterns
Patch
Cross Stitch Club: Cross Stitch Tips
& News
Saturday, December 6th 2008
| | |
|
| Hi
Once
more, welcome to all
our readers, we hope
the
past
two weeks have again been kind to you and you enjoy
reading
this
issue of your Cross
Stitch Tips & News letter.
For those who
celebrate Christmas, we trust your preparations are well on
target and you're looking forward to the festive break with relish.
We must apologize
for giving you a rather slimline version of Cross StitchTips & News
this week. Both Julia and myself have been a little under the weather.
We're currently arguing about who gave what to whom!
This week's
issue includes:
- An Advent Calendar that
will expand your mind.
- Our
most
popular pattern downloads in November, which we've extended to our "Top
50" most popular
patterns.
- Pearls
of Wisdom...
- The
latest patterns uploaded
to the Cross Stitch
Library
- Recent cross stitch articles
- Your
latest cross stitch tip (our take
on the simple Colonial knot).
*~~*
An
Advent Calendar That Will Expand Your MindHere's
something I think you'll enjoy...
An Advent Calendar
That'll Expand Your Mind Rather Than Your Waistline
I
used to love advent calendars when I was a lad -- because they were
stuffed with sweets, of course.
Ah, well. I needed
the extra energy in those days.
Not any more... but
here's an online advent calendar I'm enjoying at the moment -- the
Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar.
A new photo
from the Hubble every day for 25 days:
The
pictures so far are pretty amazing -- well worth a look.
*~~*
Patterns
Patch "Top 50"Here's
the monthly Patterns Patch
"Top 50" listing of our most popular downloaded cross-stitch patterns
at the end of November 2008:
1. Mountain Retreat
(<>)
| 2. The Big Five
(<>)
| | 4. Stepping Stone Cottage
(<>)
| 5. Fairies in a Cup
(<>)
| 6. Little Hope
| 7. Running Wolves
(-1) | 8. Last Supper With 12 Disciples
(<>) | 9. The Good Shepherd's Cottage | 10. Animal and Maiden
(-1) | 11. Cobblestone Mill | 12. Born Hunters
(-1) | 13. Heart and Soul
| 14. Dolphin Sunset
(<>) | 15. Bald Eagle on Stars &
Stripes
(<>) | 16. The Cherokee Child
(<>) | 17. Bear Montage
(<>) | 18. The Old
Cornmill | 19. Moo Surrounded by Sunflowers
| 20. Airy Lovers
(+2) | | | 23. World Trade Center Collage
(<>)
 | 24.
The Tiger
Cubs Trio
(+1)
| 25. All in the Moonlight
(-1) | 26. Unicorn's By The Magic
Waterfall
(+2) | | 28. Sacred Chief
(+2)
| 29. Jesus Blessing the Children
(<>)
| | 31. Angel's Spirit
(+2) | 32. Taking a Ride
(-3) | 33. Dogwood Chapel
(+13) | 34. Butterflies and Daisies
(-2) | 35. We Three Kings
(+4) | 36. Fruit of the Vine
(-2)
| 37. Mermaid's Ocean Hug
(-1) | 38. A Little Girl With Two Kittens
(<>) | 39. Spirited by the Wolf
(+1) | 40. Clarissa and Petey
(-3) | 41. Almond Blossom Fairy
(+2) | 42. Butterfly Kisses
(-7) | 43. Mermaid and Daughter
(+1) | 44. Symbols of the Tribe
(-3) | 45. Pure Polar Love
(-3) | 46. Love's Blessing
<N/E> | 47. Dog's Eye View
(<>) | 48. Dearest Guardian Angel
<N/E> | 49. Beautiful Waterfall Princess
(-4) | 50. Blessed Are The Children
<N/E> | 51. Apple Blossom Fairies
<N/E> |
KEY: (+) = Places Moved
UP in the past
month; (-)
= Places
Moved DOWN in the past month; (<>)
Same position as last month;
<N/E>
= New Entry.*~~* Pearls of Wisdom...The
next pearl of wisdom to emerge from the "University of Life" is: Don't listen to
those who say, "It's not done that way." Maybe it's not, but maybe you'll do it anyway.
Don't listen to
those who say, "You're taking too big a chance." Michelangelo would
have painted the Sistine floor,
and it would surely be rubbed out today. Most important,
don't listen when the little voice of fear inside you rears its ugly
head and says, "They're all smarter than you out there. They're more
talented, they're taller, blonder, prettier, luckier and they have
connections ... They have a cousin who took out Meryl Streep's
baby-sitter...."
I
firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you - not to
the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and co-operation with others
- but with the strength of conviction that you can move others
by your own efforts, and do not make success or failure by which you
live, the chances are you'll be a perswon worthy of your own respect.
Neil Simon (Playright ) *~~*
Membership For Fr^eIf you'd like to
win three
months full membership to Patterns Patch for Fr.ee,
why not take a
look, it's really easy to enter. Don't forget to
search for the mystery word in this letter ~ Good Luck!
The latest winner of
our draw for Three-months
membership to Patterns Patch for Fr.ee is: *~* Brenda
Smith
*~*
"Well done Brenda, you're nearly there!
All you have to do is email us to Accept and Activate
your prize!" The number of
entries goes up each issue, so an increasing number of you are building
up credits
and enhancing your chances of being a future winner. Commiserations to
those who entered and didn't win this week. But hey, perseverance is a
virtue; try
again next time ~ it could be YOU! And for those of you
who didn't enter, why not? Don't you want this valuable gift? (Please
remember! Only one entry per person, per issue.). You've got to be in it TO WIN IT! Silver
(formerly Associate)
MembershipTo
overcome the problem of "spammers" accessing our new chat
room,
we've created a Silver
Membership,
which is fr*e, but limits access to just the chat rooms and
our community forums (the Cross Stitch forum and Intros/General forum).
Silver members will also qualify for a 20+% discount on some
of the patterns in our Cross Stitch Store.
(Note
that only patterns that have been in our Cross Stitch Library for three
months or more, will be offered for general sale in our
store). If
you want to join Patterns Patch
as a Silver
member and enjoy access to the chat rooms and community
forums, please join here. The
subscription form is easy to use and only asks for: your name,
email address, login name and passw*rd (you choose these last two
yourself). *~~*
Services
We have an ever
growng list of services our members and
subscribers can use and enjoy (mostly for fr*e), including: Make A Pattern For Me:
Yes,
we'll create a cross-stitch pattern for you, for fr^e. But there are a
couple of conditions that you need to know about ~ go read
the
details.
Is
there ANY aspect of cross stitch that's puzzling you? That you'd like a
simple explanation or an opinion on? We are always interested in
hearing your questions or comments. Our policy is there are no silly
questions. So don't be shy. Come forward and feel free to
ask anything you like. Our friendly experts Beryl and Lizzie
don't bite and will do their best to provide you with a full, easily
understood answer. Cross
Stitch Survey: Your
vote counts, so tell us your
opinion on cross stitch matters. You'll find our Cross Stitch Poll
(survey) on the Home page, down the left-hand column. Please take 30
seconds to give us your opinion by voting in our latest
survey. Go to Cross Stitch Poll (opens
in a new window), and scroll down a little and make your selection.
OK!
Not exactly a service, but if you need a good dose of motivation
or simply picking up, this is the place to go for a diverse range of
vidoes and presentations that will both inspire and amuse you.
Go
here to see the latest additions:
We
regularly add to this department so make sure you pay a visit each
time you read your Cross Stitch
Tips & News letter.
For the latest
jottings and thoughts from our super stitcher Iona, why not pop
over and visit our Patterns
Patch Blog (opens
in a new window). You
can be sure of an interesting read, and while there feel fr*e
to
leave a comment or question for Iona. You'll always get a lively and
detailed reply.
| | *~~*
Cross-Stitch Tip (by Sandye):
Colonial
Knots Are Easy To Master!For
those of us who dread creating the picture perfect French knot, there
is an easier alternative to try. The colonial knot is an easy
alternative to the French knot, and yet is just as attractive ensuring
that you don't lose the ambience of the finished piece.
The colonial
knot differs from the French knot in two ways; the colonial knot uses
more threads, and the thread is wrapped around the needle a little
differently. Most stitchers find the colonial knot a lot
easier to
complete bringing back the joy of stitching, and eliminating the
frustration of French knots.
Hopefully
these instructions along with the illustrations will help you learn
this
wonderful stitch quickly. Please keep in mind to practice any
new
stitches you're learning on a piece of scrap fabric.
This
way if the
first several don't turn out just right, you're not ruining a finished
piece.
Here's
how you form a colonial knot:
1. If
you're able to get a smaller crewel needle, it will probably work best
for making this knot, although a blunt embroidery needle can be used
instead.
2. Bring the needle up
where the chart shows the knot should be.
3. Wind the thread around the needle forming an
approximate figure 8. This can be seen in the center
illustration.
4.
Push
needle back through the fabric close to where it was originally brought
up, not in the same exact hole though.
5.
Carefully pull needle all the way through the
fabric while holding thread taut, leaving knot neatly in place.
I've
heard a lot of stitchers say that the colonial knot was a lot easier to
master than the French knot was. In fact a lot of them say
once they tried the colonial knot, they never tried to do French knots
again. Hopefully you'll be able to create French knots and
colonial knots both!
Best of luck to you, and if you
find yourself getting frustrated while learning a new stitch, simply
put it aside for a few minutes and work on something fun until you're
ready to try again!!
| | *~~*
Recent Articles: These articles are
amongst those we've recently added to the
cross stitch articles library:
Cross
Stitch Bookmarks: A Great Alternative to Cards.
As
cross stitchers, we love to create personalised cards for our nearest
and dearest on birthdays, at Christmas or other special times. The
chances are that these cards are much appreciated by the recipients,
displayed prominently for a few days, and then…. perhaps placed in a
drawer or a cupboard, where they will stay for many more months, rarely
seen. Here's an idea . . . keep
reading
If
you'd like to try
and win
a fr*e membership, reply to Membership for fr*e
with the word 'favre' in your email subject line (only one entry
per
reader please).
What Has
Happened to Stamped Cross Stitch?
Many
of us learned to cross stitch using stamped fabric. With a stamped or
printed cross stitch kit, the stitches are marked in color, so it's
easy for even a beginner to create the pattern. These easy-to-complete
kits make it possible for a new stitcher to learn the basic stitches
without also having to count . . . keep
reading
How To
Personalize Your Cross-Stitch Project
Would
you like to put your personal 'stamp' upon your latest cross-stitch
project? But you're not sure how, or what to do? Let us show you how to
personalize your project by adding tiny... . . . keep
reading
This is just a small sample of the 200 or so cross stitch
articles enjoyed by our
members. If you'd like
to read more, you can
join here right now.
|
| *~~*
New
Cross Stitch Patterns We're
giving EVERYONE who reads this letter a FREE Bonus cross
stitch pattern.
Follow the download instructions carefully
and Contact me if
you have any problems.
Some of our more experienced members have asked
us to consider
providing the occasional design that's a little more
"challenging". We've listened and will sometimes
list at least
one pattern with embellishments, such as: beads, knots,
backstitching, and so on.
Here you can view The
latest FREE downloads (for
members):
You'll find additional information and can also leave
comments and rank
(from 1 to 5) each download, if you so wish.
Please
note that you have until the next
issue of
your Cross
Stitch
Tips
& News letter to download the BONUS pattern. After
then it will be
available only to Standard Members in the Cross Stitch
Library.
We're trying to introduce as wide a range as possible in
the cross
stitch library to cater for all tastes. So if there's a theme we've
missed that you'd like to see patterns for, then
please drop a quick email to Contact us.
To
view this week's gallery, here's the link again
to view the
latest FREE downloads.
| | *~~*
... And Finally
As always, you are encouraged to contact me with any
questions or entries for future newsletters. You
can do that here.
When the membership of Patterns
Patch
grows to a certain level we'll be able to approach major suppliers and
manufacturers and negotiate
discounts for our members. So please make
sure to encourage your stitching friends to join Patterns Patch.
Forward this email newsletter to them so that they can
subscribe to (www.patternspatch.com)
and receive future copies directly to their own mailbox.
Please do
not reply to this email.
It was sent to you by our computer, which is splendid at sending emails
but absolutely useless at reading them! To get in touch with us, please
send a short email to Contact
us.
Do
please take the time to let us know what you like or dislike about "Cross Stitch Tips &
News". We value all your emails and rely on them to move
us forward as we strive for cross stitch perfection.
... and finally, if you have children, give them a hug and a
kiss, and
tell them you love them.
Sincerely,
PS
If you're not already a member, why not? You're missing
out on
so much! Why
not join right now?
Joining is so easy!
Your
next "Cross Stitch Tips & News" letter will
appear on SATURDAY
December 20th
2008.
Until
next time... Missed
an issue of
our "Cross Stitch Tips & News" letter? Find
them all here:
|
| |
Cross Stitch Library
