What Delilah Did

Cushion Kits Are Here!

The cushion kits are now in the shop - hurrah!

As a special thank you to those of you that have been so patiently waiting for them, I am offering 20% off all cushion kits for this week only*! Initial stocks are limited so hop on over as soon as you can if you have your heart set on one right away. I have more supplies on the way though, so if your favourite sells out before you get there don't worry as I will be making more in the next couple of weeks.

*To get your discount enter "CUSHIONLAUNCH" at the checkout. The code will expire at midnight on Sunday 6th May 2012.

Delilah x

The One With The Very Belated Christmas Present...

Being busy with work is wonderful but it does have its downside - namely that I never get time to do anything else! Which is why I only recently finished making this embarassingly late Christmas CD for a friend.

In my defense I did actually make the CD itself before Christmas but stitching the case and designing the insert took somewhat longer... The patterns for the initials on the front of the case are from the birthday issue of CrossStitcher - aren't they just lovely? They look so elegant in cream against the brown linen I think.

And on the back of the case I stitched a little stag in a really pale greyish-blueish-greenish thread, because I never tire of stags and they are not too girly for a boy I think. I spent far too long on the insert, but the finished result was worth every second I think. I quite wanted to keep it for myself actually! I listed all of the songs and the reasons for choosing them, and then added a few of the beautiful images from this wonderful website to illustrate it. I was informed by my friend that it was well and truly worth the wait.

The most awful thing though is that this is not the last belated Christmas present that I had left to give - my sister and brother-in-law are still awaiting gigantic circus letters for their wall, though to be honest at this rate I will be surprised if they are finished by Christmas 2012! They did have to request the most time consuming patterns I have ever made... I don't suppose any of you know how to make my Time Turner work yet do you?

Delilah x

Hello Mr Magpie!

Meet Mr Magpie - the last of the new collection.

I stitched this before Christmas but have been waiting to share it for all this time because he looked too cheeky to be consigned to a flat piece of fabric and I have only just gotten around to bringing him to life as a cushion. I am surrounded by magpies where I live and I find myself saying "Hello Mr Magpie" about five times a day to ward off the fabled sorrow that descends when you spy them alone (utter nonsense but I do it all the same). I thought it only fitting to stitch one as they are so handsome, though on second thoughts maybe I ought to stitch him a wife sharpish to be sure of an endless supply of joy...

If you visit me often you will know that whilst I adore stitching I am not the world's biggest fan of sewing, so most of my embroidery tends to wind up in hoops and frames. But last weekend I figured out a really easy way of making lovely cushions without much measuring or cutting or faffing about with zips and I am now a convert. They are such a doddle that I made two actually, and they will be the basis for the new kits - everything you need to turn five of my large patterns into cushion covers (including the backing fabric to make them up). So if you want to make a magpie cushion exactly like my one above, I hope to have them ready in kit form by the end of April.

If you can't wait until then the pattern is in the shop now. Be sure to say hello to him!

Delilah x

CrossStitcher 20th Birthday Issue

I have absolutely loved working with CrossStitcher magazine recently (and thank you so much to everybody for all the wonderful feedback on the dragonfly pattern I designed for them) so I am delighted to wish them a happy 20th birthday!

The whole team really is the most friendly bunch you could hope for and they do a brilliant job of showing off the more stylish side of cross stitch. I must admit I have never been a fan of cross stitch magazines before as they are generally full of teddy bears and other not-so-inspiring designs that I would not want to have in my home, but since Charlie introduced me to CrossStitcher last summer it has been winning me over issue by issue (and Harriet's lovely feature certainly didn't hurt either!).

My copy of issue number 250 dropped through my letterbox today and I am completely in love with this project:

Bordering on granny territory, but channeling just enough Cath Kidston to keep it firmly within the realms of the desirable. This little picture really doesn't do it justice, but in the magazine the cluster of floral hoops just looks so beautiful. Normally I am content to appreciate other people's designs from afar and stick to doing my own thing, but for the first time ever I am itching to stitch a design that I didn't make myself - it is so different to what I do, but I think it would make a wonderful change. I just need a gypsy caravan/garden hideaway to hang it in.

I also really like this cushion designed by Emma Bridgewater (whose pottery I adore) for the jubilee:

As part of the birthday celebrations, CrossStitcher are running a competition every day this week, and today you can win this actual cushion for your very own. But even more exciting is Sunday's competition to win £250 worth of Emma Bridgewater pottery! I will definitely be entering that one...

If you haven't seen CrossStitcher before it is well worth a look - the chances are not every design will be for you, but there are always a good few gems and with new designers like me on board there has never been a better time to let is surprise you.

Delilah x

PS - Bonus points if you can spot my cheeky little face peering out of this issue!

Happy Queen Day!

In a rather timely coincidence, today I finished stitching my newest pattern: this rather nice crown. The coincidence being that today is the 60th anniversary of the day our lovely Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne.

I must admit I was blissfully unaware of the fact that this year was our Queen's Diamond Jubilee when I designed the pattern a while ago (its origination having more to do with the fact that I was watching an awful lot of The Tudors at the time), but it fits quite nicely so I think I will dedicate this design to her. In any event I imagine HRH would appreciate having a cross stitch design dedicated to her significantly more than the equally lovely Henry Cavill (who is the chief reason for my love of The Tudors aside from the costumes, and therefore next in line for a dedication).

I stitched it in black to begin with as usual, but it will look fabulous in gold. I also intend for it to become a cushion at some stage in the not too distant future, but if I am honest (being as I am much better at stitching than sewing) that day could be a long time coming so I didn't want to wait until then to show it to you!

I am planning to make this design available as a kit in the spring (alongside The Bee, Libellule, The Cupcake and one more new pattern I have yet to show you) and am now just working on the packaging so will let you know as soon as they are ready. If you can't wait until then though, the pattern for The Crown is now in the shop!

I hope you like it!

Delilah x

Libellule - The Dragonfly

Evening all!

The new issue of CrossStitcher Magazine went on sale today (the one with my pattern in) which means that I finally get to share it with you properly, hurrah! So for those of you that have not already seen the pattern, may I introduce Libellule - the dragonfly. I hope you will all agree with me that she sure is mighty fine! I have named her Libellule (which is French for dragonfly) because I stitched her under the shade of a tree when I was in the South of France in September and I just think it is such a pretty word.

CrossStitcher made a gold version and they did such a beautiful job, I really am thrilled with it:

         

You can see a preview of my pattern and some of the others in the issue here, and they did a lovely blog post on my work here too.

The issue is on sale now so you can stitch one for your very own - what are you waiting for?!

And if you live in some far flung exotic location and cannot get your hands on a copy, the pattern is now in the shop too.

I hope you like it. I have more to show you soon... I am stitching as fast as I can!

Toodle pip,

Delilah x

Danielle & Ben

   

My dear friend Danielle got married a few weeks ago in France and I spent the preceding month feverishly stitching up these two hoops as a gift. I always forget just how long they take to make and must admit I ended up cutting it rather fine!

I finished just in time to take a few quick pictures in the dwindling light though so that I could show you. For the short time they were on my wall it was almost like having my friends here with me, which is a treat since they now live in France and I get to see them far less often than I would like.

Danielle sent me this picture today of the cameos in their happy new home, pinned to her beautiful old map (which incidentally I really want for my own house!). I am really pleased with how they turned out - it is always a worry when you make a gift for somebody that they will open it and think "what on earth is that monstrosity?!", but I thought it was a gift that I would like to receive myself and they went down very well. If I ever get married can somebody please make some for me?

Bon soir,

Delilah x

London

Hello there! It has been a very busy summer and I believe I have some catching up to do...starting with London.

I finally made it down to Liberty where my hoop display is now up (rather later than planned) - hurrah! It was very difficult to get a decent picture, but hopefully you can get the idea. Not so happy-making however is that somebody already appeared to have stolen one of the hoops! I would have thought that cross stitch fans and thieves were rather at odds with one another but apparently not...

It was quite exciting to see my work on sale in what I consider to be the most beautiful shop in the world. A big goal ticked off. I have to say it stuck out like a sore thumb, but I am reliably informed this is a good thing. And the kits are selling really well, so a very big thank you to everybody that has already bought one.

All that wood panelling just kills me! Sigh.

Back soon,

Delilah x

FREE Cross Stitch Guides

I now have a couple of cross stitch guides available to download FOR FREE right here! So if you are new to cross stitch but would like to have a go at some of my designs the "Basic Guide to Counted Cross Stitch" and "Little Book of How To" are just what you need.

I hope they are helpful!

Delilah x

The Cupcake

I have been wanting to design another big pattern for a while now and since I am missing baking an awful lot (sadly I just don't have time at the moment) I thought I would combine my two favourite things to do. Hence, baking + embroidery = this rather enormous cupcake!

I always stitch my patterns in black first as that way you can really see how they work, but I think this would look lovely in a really pale peachy pink made up into a cushion or something. Though it took rather a long time to finish and my mind is already buzzing with lots of other designs that I can't wait to get started on so I think the cushion will have to wait.

The pattern is now in the shop so if you want to try it out for yourself I would love to see what you come up with!

Happy weekend,

Delilah x