Free Christmas SAL 2014

Hello everyone! This year I have decided to do a free Christmas stitch along (with a little help from a friend) on my Facebook page. It has 5 parts in total and measures 100w by 100h. The content is gingerbread houses, so if you love my Victorian style ones from last year you are going to love this stitch along! This is what the frame looks like:

(c) Shnnon Wasilieff 2014 Free Christmas SAL

In order to join all you have to do is like my page on Facebook and join in on the fun. To join follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1443923709209364/ or type in the search Shannon Wasilieff Designs and you should be able to find it. It is a closed group so you will have to be approved beforehand but it shouldn't take long to be approved :)

Hope to see lots of you there!! :D

Modern London England Cross Stitch Pattern

Hi all! I have finally found some time to sit and design a pattern I have been wanting to do for a while now. I have this fascination with England and I am dying to go to London eventually for an extended visit to explore and take in the culture. I would love to be able to see the country side as well and stay in some bed and breakfasts and scout out some castle ruins.

Shannon Wasilieff's Modern London Cross Stitch Pattern

The stitch count is 110w by 40h and contains 9 DMC colours in full stitches with no back stitching or quarter stitches. It is a take on the modern style that seems to be popular right now but with shading so I guess you could say it is "semi modern". So you have the London Eye, a Double Decker Bus, London Bridge and some other London things. I am pretty tempted to stitch this one up and make it into a pillow so I can remind myself of where I want to be in a few years time.

Afternoon Tea Set

It has felt like forever since my Spring Time Street Scene was published back in issue 215. I am back this month with an Afternoon Tea Set in The World of Cross Stitching 218, plus a few of my patterns are published in the freebie booklet that comes with the magazine.

Now there is a mistake in how my teacups were charted. Things like this happens from time to time. All of the white stitching was somehow replaced with a dark purple. They are supposed to look like this:

Shannon Wasilieff's Afternoon Tea Card and Tag set (WOXS 218)

But they now look like this in the magazine:

The World of Cross Stitching issue 218

The World of Cross Stitching issue 218

The World of Cross Stitching issue 218

The World of Cross Stitching issue 218

My other publication is in the freebie booklet. I think there is 6 in total of my vintage floral patterns. I only have one photo of it at the moment:

The World of Cross Stitching Freebie booklet issue 218

Mine are the 2 in the lower right hand corner. I loved designing both the tea set and vintage flowers. They were both so much fun to do.

Pixies Officially Done

My Nora Corbett Pixies, Bluebell and Ivy, are both officially done. I posted many months ago the stitching was done and this weekend I pulled them out to finish off the beading. I just have to say they are gorgeous!!

Bluebell by Nora Corbett

Bluebell by Nora Corbett close up

Ivy by Nora Corbett

Ivy by Nora Corbett close up

I didn't change too much with the patterns that I can remember. I did add a Swarovski crystal to Ivy's dress though to add a little extra bling. Other than that they are both stitched on white 32 count linen and were both a joy to stitch!

Business Trip

Well technically it wasn't a full on business trip, but I went to the island for my sister's graduation from university. For those of you not familiar with the area, the island refers to Vancouver Island, which is a really gorgeous place.

Before (and after) the grad my mom and I found some time to run into a brick and mortar cross stitch store!! Turns out the store was right next door to the hotel we were staying in! For those of you whom are curious what store that was it was The Stitcher's Muse in Nanaimo B.C. ( http://thestitchersmuse.com/shop/en/ ) We did walk away with a few things in there and I could have spent hours in there but we were rushed due to a tight time table. I will for sure be going back next time we are on the island!

Just Nan Patterns "High Hopes" "Bluebird Alphabet" and "Christmas Cheer"

Teacups Cross Stitch Patterns

So I am pretty excited. The World of Cross Stitching's issue 217 has a preview of my teacups and tea bag gift tag cross stitch patterns that will be published in issue 218! The release date for The World of Cross Stitching is June 19, 2014 in England.

The World of Cross Stitching 217 preview for issue 218

It is still pretty surreal seeing my patterns being published. I get excited seeing them in print and can't wait to see more in the future!

Christmas Elegance Progress

I've been craving to cross stitch a Mirabilia the past few weeks and was unable to get my hands on one of my projects while I was house sitting so I took the chance to work on Christmas Elegance this May Long weekend (also known as my birthday weekend!)

Christmas Elegance by Mirabilia

 That is about the half way point on her now. She should be done by Christmas 2014 if I don't get distracted by other projects.

I also made a promise to myself that I wouldn't buy any more Mirabilia patterns until I finish 3 of them. Yeah that Mira ban lasted less than 24 hours haha. I ended up getting a Visa gift card in my birthday card from my parents which promptly took me to my favorite online cross stitch store and I purchased my beads for Christmas Elegance. But the shipping was going to be $10 so I figured since I was already paying for the shipping I might as well throw in some patterns.....right?

So I ended up buying Enchanted Mermaid and Mermaid of Atlantis.

Enchanted Mermaid by Mirabilia

Mermaid of Atlantis by Misabilia

 I am looking forward to starting these pretties. So gorgeous and so full of beads! Maybe I have to finish 3 patterns before I start either of them? Yeah we will see how long that lasts ;)

Until next time have fun stitching!!

I'm Back!

Since February I haven't been all that productive in my cross stitching life. However after getting into a routine with school and forcing myself to relax when I get home I have managed to balance work and play. School is coming to an end in April, and I am really sad about that! I have met some wonderful people in that class and I enjoy going to class every day.

About 2 weeks ago I sat down and felt like designing a cross stitch pattern. I haven't done that often but I am going to set a goal of designing one per month from here on out. I need to do something creative or else I will go stir crazy.

I love the colors in this pattern. They go so well together and they remind me of spring and tea parties! Each dress has their own personal details. Of course there are beads and Krienik in them, it wouldn't be one of my designs without any! Here they are all stitched up with the beads:

They are stitched on 32 count Mushroom. Very antique looking almost. I will probably put them into a small frame sometime later this month. I just adore them!

Mermaids of the Deep Blue

Now I promised myself that I wouldn't start any new projects until I have completed some but I was silly and started looking through my Mirabilia patterns. I came across Mermaids of the Deep Blue all kitted up and ready to stitch so there was nothing holding me back!

Just to refresh people's memory here is the finished pattern:

Mermaids of the Deep Blue by Mirabilia

I have spent the past day stitching and working on them so this is as far as I got:

Day 1 progress August 12, 2012

This cross stitching is rich in beads and sparkles. Everywhere you look on the pattern there is either a bead, treasure or Krienik! I don't mind though, just look how gorgeous it is going to be when finished!

Well this is just a quick update. I haven't forgotten about my Christmas Angel and Victorian Lady, I plan on taking those with me when I go to visit family at the end of the month. They are easier to keep track of and are more transportable than a Mirabilia.

Quick Update on Victorian Christmas Lady

I have invested a total of 9 days so far on working on her, not full days either so I can only imagine how far I would be if that were the case! I finished up her hair and did some back stitching tonight so her face didn't look as scary. The only areas left to do on this page is the tree and the boarder, which I am still unsure of if I want to keep it or not, so that will be a final decision once the other pages are done. Here she is so far on 32 count white linen:

Joan Elliott's "Victorian Christmas Lady" Update as of July 27, 2012

I placed an order today for the beads and missing Kreinik and hopefully should get that all within the next week or two. I also had some other patterns magically end up in my shopping cart as I was checking out! Oops ;) ...Those patterns are Mirabillia's Lily of the Woods and The Petal Fairy, and a John Clayton cross stitch kit "Charlotte", which will be for my nan if I ever find time to stitch it! I also have a couple patterns I am going to order from Joan Elliott for my mom and I....Oh dear!

Joan Elliott's Victorian Christmas Lady

This lovely Victorian Christmas Lady pattern was given to me by a fellow stitcher from the cross stitch forums I belong to. She decided she wasn't going to get around to all the patterns in her stash and decided to give them to people who would enjoy stitching them instead!

"Victorian Christmas Lady: by Joan Elliott

I received her in the mail on Friday afternoon and raided my stash that night. I have spent a total of two and a half days on her and still haven't lost interest! I think she will be a nice sister piece to my Christmas Angel that I am oh so close to finishing!!

July 17 2012 Update

In order to keep the pattern in great condition I am working from photocopies and keeping the magazine portion in a plastic sleeve to reduce exposure to my hand oils so I can have the pattern for many years to come in case I want to stitch it again!

I will admit it, I am addicted to Joan Elliott's patterns. Including the two patterns mentioned above I also have all four element goddesses and Cinderella to do! Not to mention all the gorgeous flower fairies!

Emerald Mermaid is Framed!!

Ok Emerald Mermaid by Mirabillia has been framed for about a week now but I have been busy enjoying the nice weather and just relaxing!

We got her done locally at a small mom and pop shop and I have to say I am very impressed with their framing and I guarantee I will be going back to them once I finish another cross stitch! My mom and I decided to opt for no matte on this design because we wanted her to look as if she is floating. They ended up sending her to a friend of theirs down in Vancouver to lace the fabric because the technique they use would have shown the thread they used for the lacing without a matte. My mom and I are also very impressed with the frame we picked out. We think it compliments the design very well and makes her reddish hair pop out a bit more and just makes the whole piece come together as a whole.

My nan is going to be in complete shock when we give it to her later this summer. First she is not used to "her people" (my mom and I) finishing projects she wants done. And second of all I think the last piece we had framed was about 14 years ago! For the mean time though the mermaid is hanging in the dinning room so I can look at her every time I walk by and point at it telling my family over and over again that "I stitched that!"

New Project

I was cleaning the patio room (Which is technically my crafting and creating room but I prefer working in the media room with a TV) and I came across a Mill Hill book. I flipped through it and saw some wonderful patterns in it. People who have read my previous posts will know I love beading and cross stitching so this book allowed me to combine the two of my loves and create a new project.

So I picked out some of my own seed beads (non Mill Hills) and found some pretty Swarovski Crystals from my stash and a loosely followed a pattern from the book and this is what I came up with:

It took me roughly 3 hours to do it...I did it in between cooking dinner and watching those crime shows like Dateline and 48 Hours. I think it turned out rather lovely. Still don't know what to do with it though, perhaps maybe I will turn it into an ornament or maybe a little purse. Any ideas?

Bird House is DONE!

Yay! I finally finished my little birdhouse I have been working on for a while now. I went away for the weekend and found the lighting to be pretty poor for working on linen so I had to put my Christmas Angel aside and picked up the birdies that were done on Aida instead.

Home Tweet Home by Donna Vermillion Giampa (Finished 2012)

My mother had done the matching one in 2001 (Note the time differences lol)....

Next-Door Neighbors by Donna Vermillion Giampa (Finished 2001)

There was a third one but we decided not to stitch it. It didn't really go well with these two and had different colors in it. These ones seemed to have about the same colors and go well perfectly together. I love all the soft purples in them, almost look like watercolors from afar.

I think the plan is to find a local framer in town here and give them these two to see how well they frame. Then once we get an idea of who we can trust with my beloved Emerald Mermaid we will get her done as well. Speaking of Emerald Mermaid, we took her to my nan's to show her and she LOVED it. She almost fell off of her chair when she opened it. Completely in shock my mother and I finally finished one! Now she is off of my case about finishing off pieces I start but now wants us to do another two projects for her! I think I will never run out of stitching projects.

Stitchy Bug has Returned!

YAY! My stitchy bug has returned after going AWOL this past few weeks. I had to put down my HAEDs and pick up my Joan Elliott's Christmas Angel for me to start stitching again. Also helped that the Canucks have been sucking the past week and I have become bored while watching, Sunday night's game wasn't too bad but the two previous games were horrible...Anywho...The past two days I have worked some on my angel and I think I am growing more and more in love with her every day!

I was able to finish the bottom part of her dress and add the red band along a portion of the bottom, I then decided I wanted to work on a big chunk so I went to her wing. The wings are very sparkley in person. All the back stitching is done in #4 very fine braid and when my lamp shines onto the wing it just makes me want to add even more of the sparkles! Close up of wing:

I am going to Vancouver this Friday for a few days to visit family. I plan on taking her and working on her a bit while stitching with my mom and auntie. It seems kind of fitting since I started this project while visiting my nan two Christmases ago. Its kind of funny though how she is on my case about finishing a cross stitching project but little does she know her Emerald Mermaid she wanted me to do for her is all complete! I am so excited to give it to her on Friday night :D Its not framed yet so we are going to look for places down in Vancouver to do that or just bring it back here to get done.

I really have to resist my temptation for starting Joan Elliott's Cinderella though! My nan was able to find the magazine and has it waiting for me at her place. She also has a stash of linens and some DMC that's available for picking over....There is also Micheal's in a 10 minute drive radius of the house! Must control myself!! I will for sure pick up my colors but I have to lock them away!

New Design!

If you like bling and sparkle you are going to love my latest design that is for sale on my Etsy shop! I like to call it "A Girl's Best Friend". It is heavy with Krienik and Mill Hill beads but it will be worth it once it is all stitched up. If you don't want to do all the work with the sparkles I will be more than happy to adjust the pattern accordingly so it is just stitched in DMC. This would look super cute on a little jewellery or keepsake box!

The border is Krienik with little beads as tiny jewels that accent the frame. The tiny jewels also scatter around the Ruby pendant, Emerald ring and Blue Topaz earrings. Again if you want different colored stones to match a birthstone or someone's favorite gemstone I will be more than happy to make some adjustments. I just went with some of my favorite gemstones!

The finished design measures 43 stitches wide and 41 stitches high. It is available in a PDF format and can be e-mailed almost right away! Feel free to check out the listing here.

If the listing isn't there anymore and you're interested in purchasing it you can either message me on Etsy or leave a comment down below and I will list a new one right away and inform you.

I am Bad

It was so wrong but it just felt so right! I started a new Heaven and Earth Design...hehe. Its a Quick Stitch (QS) by Josephine Wall. It is called Spirit of Winter Faery. A QS is a cropped portion of a painting or a picture that is then turned into a reasonable size for stitching, which is really convenient if you feel over whelmed by the size of some of the other Heaven and Earth Designs. I don't have a work in progress picture yet since it isn't too much to show but here is the picture of the design:

Josephine Wall's Artwork

I really admire Josephine Walls' paintings. There is just so much detail to them and are just so intricate. The colors she uses as well are just so stunning.

I vowed to myself once I picked this up I wasn't going to start any other patterns until one of my current HAED are complete. Even if that means waiting to start Joan Elliott's Cinderella! :(

Here is an up to date on my HAED Cinderella:

HAED Cinderella Painted by Ruth Sanderson

As you can see they are both complete opposites when it comes to color. The Winter Spirit is all blues and purples where Cinderella mainly consists of browns with splashed of colors into them. I will admit though I do enjoy stitching these because it allows me to examine the artwork more. Since I am an artist myself I am using these as studies to hopefully help me understand more about painting and where I should or should not use color.

Pink Cupcake Cross Stitch Motif

It is about time I put up another free cross stitch pattern. This time its a tiny little pink cupcake motif with a delicious cherry on top and adorned with red sprinkles. The icing is a baby pink and looks so good you could just eat it! Perfect for a birthday card or for a lid to a special container.

 This pattern is for personal use only and cannot be made into kits or sold. To save click on the picture and then right click and hit save. Happy Stitching everyone!

Cinderella HAED Progress

After finishing off the Mirabilia mermaid, I picked up my Heaven and Earth Design Cinderella by Ruth Sanderson once again. This is a retired pattern so you won't be able to find it on the website anymore unfortunately. This is the picture of what my finished design will look like:

Cinderella by Ruth Sanderson

I ended up cropping off a majority of the wall and squaring it off so it is solely focused on the dress. I also decided that in the swirly magical dust that surrounds her I am going to add the rainbow sparkle blending filament to it to add an extra subtle sparkle for when you look at it.

I am almost done page two! I think about another day or two focused on her I will be all done the second page and then I will put her down for a few days while I focus on something else but then I will jump right back into stitching her! I think the next page I will do will be her dress! Here is the progress:

Bottom Right-Hand Corner

I wasn't too impressed with the dark colors of the grass until I finished the whole area and can now see how well they blend in together. I am super excited about finishing this one and I already have plans for starting a Josephine Wall HAED! I will admit it I am addicted...

Emerald Mermaid is Complete!

I took over from my mom on this cross stitching of Emerald Mermaid by Mirabilia on February 19, 2012. I finished it at 4am on March 21, 2012. That was with a week and a half of not working on her because I wasn't feeling in the mood to put the beads on her. It took about three days to put the beads on but to be fair I was distracted by watching hockey games on the weekend (Go Canucks!!) She is done on 32 count linen and has almost a total of 3 packages of Mill Hill beads in her. Here is the finished photo:

She is so pretty! I can't stop looking at her. My nan is going to be super happy with it once we get it framed. My mom pointed out after I finished her that even though her and my Auntie both cross stitch as well that this is the most ornate stitching in the family! Sure is going to be an amazing heirloom to pass down to future generations.

After finishing this one though it has inspired me to pick up my Midsummer's Night Dream Fairy by Mirabilia to work on once again. I have found in the depths of our storage room that we actually do have a q-snap frame!! I currently have my Cinderella by Heaven and Earth Designs on it at this moment to finish a page but once that page is done I am going to do the fairy. Having the frame will make it easier to work with the huge fabric piece and is more handy than a hoop. I used a hoop with the mermaid because it made counting the linen so much easier. I couldn't use it though when attaching the beads so I wish I had found the frame sooner!

Here are some bonus photos to show all the details of it!