M for Mandarin: September 2006

Stitching in the train..

I need to take underground train to work every day, the journey is always long and boring! Sometimes I do my reading, sometimes knitting, and now, I just do my cross stitching!! It makes each journey seems so fast and pleasant!!

These are some of my recent work:

I love Margaret Sherry's cutie cats, however their kits are so expensive! This pattern is from a free issue which came along with CrossStitcher magazine... I bought the magazine without a second thought!

I used 28 count fabric, (this is my first time!) so the size is really small.. Never expected it fits this card so well!!

This Calla Lily is one of the 4 designs from "Still Life" collection, a Korean design! I found myself love Korean designs a lot, their animated pictures always seem too beautiful to miss..

I think the backstitches on the flowers are a bit too dark, maybe dark green fits it better?/ looks more natural?

I'll make it into cards too!

This is something that disappointed me a bit, as it didn't turn out as nice as I expected. I prefer the way it looked on a flat fabric, so it might be better for a card!

Ooops, all of these for cards?
I haven't been doing bigger project for quite a while! I'm still trying to get a lap frame, I will stitch BIG projects after getting the right tool..

A Labour of Love

I had such a sweet pen pal from Denmark back to more than 20yrs ago. She loves knitting and other handcrafts and did her work beautifully. Back to then I know nothing about cross stitching, I definitely not know how to appreciate her gifts as much as I do now.. It's a Labour of Love!!

This is it, from my pen pal Tina. I found the date from the frame behind too, it was Dec 1988.

This is a birthday gift I made for my friend recently. I wonder whether people would appreciate my work when they don't know cross stitching?

I was thinking to make a card originally, but it fits this mini magnetic frame perfectly, so I just keep it there!

This is another gift I made for someone who doesn't know cross stitching.. Hope she loves it as much as I do..

Is it a rose?

After 3 months of caring and waiting, my rose finally shows off her beauty!! But hold on... Is it really a rose?

I know there are different kind of roses, however I could not find any picture showing a rose with only 4 petals like mine!! Can anyone tell me whether this is... really a rose ??