Saturday, November 18, 2006

Christmas Stocking Cross Stitch

Jules from UK queried where I found the pattern for my Christmas Stocking cross stitch. Angie, one of my Tipsy Cross Stitching Friends, is the proud owner of a couple of ancient, fragile copies of Better Homes and Gardens Cross Stitch Christmas magazines, plus Cross Stitch & Country Craft magazines, all from the late 1980s. There are a number of these fabulous heirloom stocking patterns in these magazines, and all of us have made at least one. This picture was scanned from part of the cover a while back, and upon searching on Ebay, I am pretty sure this magazine is Cross Stitch & Country Craft magazine July/August 1997.

Unfortunately these great magazines went out of print and we all keep an eye out for them as Angie's copies are going to turn to dust at some stage. They are impossible to find and are even rare on Ebay, although I came across a few in USA, but sadly that is the only place they will be shipped.


Not to be outdone ( I love a challenge), this morning I've been Googling my little heart out, and look what I found!

This book is also out of print and hard to find, but this shop in USA have it (third item from the bottom) and I have just ordered it as there are NINE stocking patterns! Joy of joys, drool drool. We've only seen the patterns for maybe half of these stockings so it will be a real treat to get hold of this book. They really are a delight to stitch (maybe not for a complete beginner though) and look stunning because of all the detail. Edit - Meshell tells me that I sounds like a ponce here so allow me to rephrase..... :-)
Our group all enjoyed stitching the stockings, they were interesting and a bit challenging - sometimes the pattern was a bit hard to understand so we need the odd group discussion as to what it meant, which is why I think a complete beginner might tear their hair out.


These are photos of the back and front cover and the book is called
Better Homes & Gardens Heirloom Christmas Stockings in Cross Stitch.




This is my finished stocking. I decided I didn't want a name across the top of the stocking so I went with fluffy stuff instead. It lives in Sydney at my friend Pennie's house.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you need to make me one! Seeing as they're 'such a joy' to stitch =P

Dy said...

If you suck up for the next 5 years then there may be some hope darling daughter. :-)

Anonymous said...

Dy, you are an ANGEL! Thank you so much for all the trouble you have gone to to find where I can source that chart - you are amazing. I am going to order that book - NOW! I shall be dropping by your blog regularly now that I've found it! Thank again,
Love, Jules x

Dy said...

My pleasure Jules, I was pretty darn excited to find the book too!

Liz Needle said...

LOvely stocking Dy. I have quite a few stocking patterns. I love doing them, too.

Liz

Shauna said...

I have been working on this pattern for ages...the first page fell out and then my puppy chewed it up...where could I get a copy.Just need the one page...lower part of stocking