Tag: Biscornu

Posted in Cross Stitch Haul and Stitching Progress, Hot Cross Stitching Business

Haul and New Pattern Progress

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

It’s been a while since I’ve posted something and I can’t wait until the end of June / early July to tell you all about some of the things that have happening in my world of cross stitch!

Haul

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Crafty Frog store in South Canberra and I picked up a few things I can’t wait to use on as many projects as possible. The image below shows overall, the things I purchased:

Haul from the Crafty Frog store

What you see in the picture

Starting from the bottom of the picture:

Easy Grab Ball Tip Needle – sizes 28 and 26. I’ve never used these types of needles before and I’ve heard a bit about them on a few Flosstube channels (I can’t remember who exactly, as it’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone talk about them). The special thing about these needles is that the ball tips are meant to make it easier for cross stitchers, embroiderers and hand-sewers find the holes in the fabric they want their thread to go through. The other special thing with these needles is that they are not pointy in any way, shape or form because of the small ball at the end of the needle. Which should mean that I don’t poke myself any where near as much as what I’m doing at the moment! I’m also hoping that I can use these needles when I fly up to Queensland in two weeks time. I’ve never stitched on a plane and there are some strict (understandably so) rules in Australia for having or using certain sharp objects in carry-on luggage.

Heart-shaped pendant – is deceiving because it’s also a thread cutter! Towards the pointy end of the pendant are small indents on the sides that can be used to cut the thread I’m using for my projects. I’ve been aware of this type of product for a a while, because I’ve seen it in some cross stitch magazines and craft stores. By memory DMC have similar products to the pendant you see in the picture. I’m also planning on wearing the pendant on a necklace and using it as part of my trip to Queensland!

Fabric – The pink fabric is 32 count linen that’s hand-dyed and has a marbled colour to it. I have a few ideas of what I’ll stitch on it. At the moment I’m thinking I could stitch the elephant biscornu on it (also picured) or a couple of other patterns I’m charting up, soon to be released!

Underneath the pink fabric is 25 easy count Lugana. The grey squares you see are gridded at 10 by 10 which will make it even easier for me to work on some full coverage projects I’m chomping at the bit to start!

The fabric the heart-shaped pendant is resting on is 28 count Lugana Brittney Gold. My eyes lit up and did an internal squeal when I saw this fabric. I have seen people on Flosstube use similar fabric and I have wondered how they have come across such fabric and I wasn’t sure if I would ever get to see such fabric in-person. The holes on this fabric are quite small for 28 count, so the ball-tip needles will come in handy when I start stitching on it! At the moment I’m not sure what I’ll stitch on it because the fabric is so pretty to me – it glitters in the light! I could stitch the lion biscornu (also pictured) or see if there’s anything else in my collection that could do the fabric justice.

Lion and elephant biscornu patterns – The first time I went to Crafty Frog and had a really good look at what they had, I had a fan girl moment when I saw that they stocked Tiny Modernist’s patterns! I have seen and heard many people talk her patterns and stitch them and I’ve really liked them. I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to buy any of the patterns. The other cool thing with these patterns is I’m looking forward to stitching up some more biscornus because they are fun to stitch and I love seeing it all come together!

Threads – I bought two colours/threads from the Brindabella Threads range, one thread from Cottage Garden Threads (CGT) and one from the WonderFil range (the one on the spool). I really, really love the WonderFil thread because it feels so nice and silky!

I’ll most likely use all of the threads on a couple of charts I’ve got planned – one of which I’ve already started stitching…

New Pattern Progress

I haven’t quite decided what the official name of this project will be, but it is going to be part of the Flosstube Made Me Do It series. The project below is just a prototype and the finished project that will eventually be made publicly available may look different:

‘Flosstube made me do it’ series – prototype – designed by Kristen Gawronski – Frog by Rucni Prace

This project is stitched on 14 count light blue / baby blue Aida that I’ve had in my stash for a really long time. By memory I bought it from Spotlight or Lincraft – one of those stores. The border and frog are stitched in DMC threads and the words are stitched in the Cottage Garden Threads Oxalis Pearle 8.

The frog you see in this picture is a free download from the Rucni Prace website. I’ve modified it a little to help it fit into the space I needed it to be. The rest of the design is all me with some creative guidance from by boyfriend.

I really struggled to get the circle to meet up properly and there was a lot more frogging (un-picking) in this project than I would have liked. A lot of that was because of the way I had printed out the pattern for the circle and the symbols were way too small for my liking. The words I had changed significantly and I’m quite proud of how they have turned out – especially since there’s a larger gap than I would normally like between “the” and “circle’s” – but I think it really ads to the piece and the amount of ‘mistakes’ that are in it. I’d like to think that many cross-stitchers, embroiderers and crafty people alike will be able to relate to this project and see the humor in it!

Final note

Before I sign off for today, I just wanted to let you all know that the website Hot Cross Stitching is back up and running. On the site you will find:

  • full coverage cross stitch patterns for sale
  • classes you can sign up to, to learn how to cross stitch
  • links back to this blog post

Until next time,

Happy stitching!

Posted in WIPs and Finishes

I’ve Fully Finished My First Biscornu!

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

I’m procrastinating making a start on making a proper start on my website (more news to come), so I’m writing this post instead! I’m also pretty excited about finally finishing a project and it being my first biscornu (aka fancy pin cushion)!

In my last post, I talked about my start on a free rainbow biscornu pattern I’d found on the internet, from the Cross Stitch Crochet Others website.

Side 1 of Rainbow Biscornu finished
Both sides of the biscornu trimmed and ready to connect

Majority of the searches I’ve conducted on the ‘Net for biscornu patterns, majority of them are on lighter fabrics – regardless of the count size. They all look good on the lighter fabric. I chose to use 14 count black Aida because I had some that was the right size for the pattern and to me, there’s something about the darker fabrics that really make the colours pop.

I’ve filled the biscornu with some polyester ‘soft fill’ that I’ve had for ages from Lincraft.

The other traditional thing with biscornu’s is that a button is usually used in the middle of it to help with the finished shape. I’ve bucked the trend and chosen to use two little dog charms that I’ve had in my craft collection for ages, but I’ve not really known what I wanted to do with them. When I was fastening them to the biscornu, I’ve come to appreciate why buttons or beads are used rather than anything else. The holes in the buttons especially, make it so much easier to fasten them to the biscornu. Which is why you will see a bit of orange thread going across one of the little dogs.

Because of how quickly I was able to stitch this and put it together (overall it’s taken me about 3 weeks – potentially less if work didn’t get in the way!), I’m keen to stitch another one sometime soon.

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

Related reads:

Posted in WIP's and Plans

A Start on September Smalls – My first biscornu!

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

Following my post last week, it gave me the motivation to start a biscornu. I’ve chosen the Rainbow Biscornu – a free pattern from the website crossstichcrochetothers.com.

Rainbow Biscornu – side 1 finished on 17 September 2020

I have loved stitching this pattern! I’ve chosen to stitch it on black 14 count Aida and I think it really makes the colours pop. I got most of the stitching done on Sunday and I’ve stitched the remaining portions of it over the rest of the week.

Once I finished back-stitching the pink, I was umming and arring over whether to stitch the same pattern again for the back, or to find something similar and have some smaller and simpler. After seeing how vibrant and awesome the pink looks with the rest of the colours, I couldn’t help but go through the rest of my floss collection and pick out similar colours to what you see in the above picture. Below is my progress and I’m slightly concerned that I’m pushing the limits with the edges of the fabric:

Rainbow Biscornu side 2 – started on 17 September, progress as of 20 September 2020
Rainbow Biscornu – parts 1 and 2

With the way things are tracking, I’m thinking that I need another full day of stitching so that I can have it done and dusted as quickly as possible.

Could this become the start of something new?

I’ve been browsing the Internet for different patterns to see if there’s anything that really grabs my attention. In recent years, I’ve seen some people stitching the Chipping Sparrow Biscornest by Crossed Wing Collection on the 123Stitch website. I’d like to stitch the Wintry Blooms Biscornu by Faby Reilly Designs on the 123Stitch website. What worries me with this biscornu is the specialty stitches that are on it.

But in the meantime, hopefully I’ll be able to finish the Rainbow Biscornu and within the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to show you a finish and some more progress on the other projects I have on the go!

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

Posted in Uncategorized

Top 10 Crafty Things I’m Crushing On Right Now

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

As I’m writing this post, it’s a long weekend in Canberra and the weather is finally going to start feeling like winter. In preparation for the cold change – however long it may last – here is my list of crafty things that I can’t wait to get my mitts on. These are the things I’m crushing on right now…

10. Kaisercraft. This weekend they had a 50% off sale on many of their items and I couldn’t help but splurge a little. In a few days time the package will arrive and I’m keen to have some fun!

9. Creating my own patterns. Using inspiring quotes I’ve found on the Internet, I’ve had a lot of fun turning them into patterns for me to stitch using some software on my laptop. Such quotes include:

Image from Pinterest
Quote from Alice in Wonderland – Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest

8. Pinterest. Broadly speaking I love all of the different images people have posted and are sharing. I’m also loving the ability to organise my boards in a way that I can have a broad topic on cross stitch and then categorise them to patterns or pictures I want to stitch, urban cross stitch and finishes I want to try out.

7. Digital patterns. There are so many awesome and amazing patterns out there that I would love to stitch. The challenge is to find the time for them all! Some of the patterns I’ve discovered this morning are:

Pattern available from mybobbin.com – image found on Pinterest
Image from quilted-with-love.blogspot.com.au that had been shared on Pinterest
Fight Like a Girl pattern from etsy.com – Image from Pinterest

6. Finishing my first country quilt. I’m really wanting to finish this off. Last week I talked briefly about my last endeavours with the quilt, when I had last paid it some attention in April. One of the things that’s holding me back is finishing off the border on the bottom of the quilt. Because of the way that I’ve attached the back of the quilt to the front, I’ve not made it easy for myself. So I’ve been procrastinating for nearly a month…

Note the bottom of the quilt. This is what I need to crash tackle and finish.

5. Blogging and being creative. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved writing – especially stories. Many years ago, I remember my sister admitting that she would sneak into my room and have a peak around to see if she could find any of my notebooks, to see if there were any stories and other things she could read that I’d written. Now days, I’m loving the freedom that blogging brings and the creativity that can come from it. I also get a kick out of the notifications of new people following this blog and seeing if there are any comments or likes with any of the posts.

4. My current projects. At the moment I’m rotating through 3 projects – the Four Seasons Kittens, a project I’ve dubbed Jingle Bells and the HAED Fairy. As I pause one project and move onto the next, I try to pause and take in the pleasure of how far I’ve progressed and the thrill of what it will look like at the end.

3. Potential finishes. Like the digital patterns I talked about in number 7, I love how creative people are with their cross stitch finishes and I can’t wait to be able to try out similar finishes on my own projects. Such finishes include…

The Halloween Pillow by Stitching Dreams – image found on Pinterest
15 sided biscornu from Etsy.com – image from Pinterest
Book cover as shown on La Risa’s blog site blog.larisa.org.ua – image found on Pinterest

2. Stitching while the weather is rotten outside. I’m loving the prospect of this. The down side of this is I’m potentially going to go a little stir crazy and I’ll want to either brave the weather and walk down the road to the gym or buzz madly around the house doing some house work to get rid of the extra energy, to then justify or make up for me sitting on my bum for most of the day!

1.Multi-media cross stitch. Aside from cross stitch and quilting, I like to try my hand at card making and scrapbooking. In recent months I’ve purchased some things that could be used for scrapbooking or card making. However, when I was at the Craft Alive Fair in Canberra last year, one of the vendors gave me a great idea for potentially new patterns. By inking up some of the stamps that are traditionally used for card making or scrapbooking, and stamping them onto Aida or evenweave fabric, I could then use them to make some quick and easy cards or other gifts for family and friends!