Stitch Up Some Birds with Birds of a Feather Booklet

I love the look of birds and gardens in cross-stitch, and the booklet Birds of a Feather from Leisure Arts and Herrshners combines both in a lovely way that is sure to inspire nature-loving stitchers.

The book includes the four small bird and flower panels seen on the cover, as well as Garden Path, a lovely design by Barbara Sestok featuring flowers, birds and butterflies; Elegant Cranes, a design of cranes in flight surrounded by lotus flowers and designed by Linda Bird; and In Everything, Give Thanks by Gail Bussi, which shows three sweet little birdhouses and their inhabitants.

While the bigger projects use a lot of colors and are rather complex, the little birds (also designed by Sestok) are a great project for a newer stitcher looking to try something that’s a little intricate but not too big to be overwhelming.

Have you seen this booklet? If so, I’d love to know what you think!

[Photo via Leisure Arts.]

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Review: Enchanted Garden Cross Stitch

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark).

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see.

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops.

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need.

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way.

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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