Anne Boleyn Cross Stitch Pattern

My latest project is studying faces in cross stitch patterns. I want to design some gorgeous lady cross stitch designs but I know that the face has a lot to do with the overall finish of the design. I know for me, if the face doesn't look correct or pretty in a pattern it kind of turns me off of stitching it, or I try to change it to fit with the pattern so I am happy with it.

My first cross stitch pattern that I have designed is Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII second wife. I tried giving her a slim, long face and I came up with this cross stitch portrait :

I even included her iconic B necklace and pearls. She is of course adorned in beads and metallic threads to show her status.

Anne Boleyn Portrait (c) Shannon Wasilieff 2015

The pattern can be found on my Etsy site here: LastingAllure

Carousel Horse Cross Stitch Designs

These beautiful carousel horse cross stitch designs are currently available in issue 227 of The World of Cross Stitching. They contain some Kreinik #4 braid that adds some sparkle to the designs. Some people have exchanged the Kreinik French knots with beads and they look equally as stunning. I have seen a few stitched on hand dyed fabric and that just adds an even more whimsical feeling to them.

(c) The World of Cross Stitching issue 227, 2015 Designed by (c) Shannon Wasilieff

There are 6 different designs. I think they would look gorgeous stitched together and made into a wall hanging quilt. Or you could flip 3 of them so they are all going the same way and stitch them in a long strip and make it into a 3D decorative pillow or put them around a round box.

The World of Cross Stitching issue 227, Designed by (c) Shannon Wasilieff, 2015

Rose Alphabet Sampler

Spring into Spring and Summer with this delightful new cross stitch pattern that is sure to put a spring into your stitch.

Rose Alphabet Sampler (c) Shannon Wasilieff 2015

This contemporary art deco cross stitch alphabet sampler pattern uses fresh feminine colours intended to brighten up your day. Each letter is decorated with its own arrangement of flowers and butterflies or hummingbird.

Christmas Elegance Upate

It has been a hectic few days. I have been busy house and dog sitting and yesterday I got surgery done on my neck to remove a swollen lymph node that has been there for well over a year - I am doing fine though! Came to pretty quickly afterwards and now just dealing with a little pain but nothing unbearable.

I have been working on my Christmas Elegance by Mirabillia the past few weeks. She is getting so close to being done I am excited! Maybe this will be the year she is done for Christmas.

Christmas Elegance by Mirabilia

I won't be doing all of the beading in the sky since the flecks of sparkle in the opalescent fabric already looks like falling snow. I have changed out the beads to be petites to they fit better in their spots and won't crowd too much. All of the skin will be done over 1.

I have a feeling I will be fighting some people off to keep her on my walls. I already know of a few people with an eye on her! She will probably hang next to my Joan Elliott Christmas Lady....they look as if they are going to the same party :D

Cinderella Cross Stitch

Well my Cinderella cross stitch is almost 75% done! She is coming along very quickly it seems. Already thinking of my other Heaven and Earth Designs that I want to eventually get done.

So much love for this project!! I am not tired of it at all surprisingly. Just going to keep puttering along on her until she is DONE.

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!

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!!

Purple Rose Sewing Bag

These purple roses are cross stitched on 32 count cream. The purple is my own conversion, originally they were to be a pink but I thought I would be a little daring. I am going to turn this into a small pouch that I plan on using to keep buttons, pins and other small things in that I would use for sewing or cross stitching.

I am thinking I will turn the process of turning this into a pouch into a tutorial to share with you all. I should do the same for how I finish off my smaller patterns into ornaments (like the donkey from a few days ago) so people can finish off some of their Christmas cross stitching into gifts. Yes I am already thinking of Christmas! Now is a good time to start your projects to give you ample time to finish!

Joan Elliott's Victorian Lady

I had originally started cross stitching Joan Elliott's Victorian Lady the night the digital Cross Stitch Collection magazine came out, but the school course I was taking at the time made me abandon this project for a while. It was pushed to the side and forgotten about for a few months...until now.

Joan Elliott's Victorian Lady

I am in love with all of the colours in this cross stitch pattern. It just fits my style so well so she will look amazing hanging on my wall. Her skin is done 1 over 1 to create more of a layered look, the only portion of the skin done so far is on her arm between her sleeve and glove. I have managed to stitch her arm tonight and plan on working on her a bit more this week. There is three other ladies that go with the Victorian Lady but I think I will only stitch the Edwardian Lady who is all blues and holds the same flowers that are found in this pattern. I just love the way Joan Elliott shades her designs, the folds in the dresses are amazing!

Page 2 Completed!

Sorry been away for a little while, the heat sure has gotten to me and in turn made me super lazy and not wanting to move much hehe. However I managed to finish page 2 of my Victorian Christmas Lady. That makes 12 working days invested into working on her.

Victorian Christmas Lady

She is so beautiful and I can't wait to finish her! I compared her to my Christmas Angel (also by Joan Elliott) and the two of them really compliment each other. I am not sure the last time I updated on my Christmas Angel though so here she is:

Christmas Angel by Joan Elliott

The lighting of the two pieces isn't the greatest but in person the vibrant colors look amazing together. They are about the same size too so they can be framed similar if I want to do that.

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!"

Winter Fairy Update

I have been working on my Josephine Wall's Winter fairy cross stitching recently. I had lost my stitching bug there for a few weeks but finally forced myself to pick it up again and start working on her some more. I am almost 3/4 done the first page, then after there there is only one other full page left to do and the rest is partial pages! The wings are starting to show more and the photo does not do it justice for all the colors in this cross stitching.

I am going to work a little more on it tonight I think. Won't have much time to work on it the next few days with my birthday on Thursday and my brother and auntie are coming to visit on the weekend, which means a lot of late nights playing cards and being loud lol.

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.

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...