Today was the only day I could wander around CHA, also known as the Craft and Hobby Association show. It’s usually held in Anaheim, CA, which can be a bit of a trek from Los Angeles, where I’m located. As luck would have it this year’s show was held in Los Angeles. Yea ha!! Just 15 minutes from my store and house. Lucky me!! S I walked the aisles searching for items I can use for fusing and mosaic and metal clay and I found a few things. I do need to go through my catalogs and brochures and business cards to find everything there is to write about. I do want to mention the bottle cutter at the Diamond Tech booth. It makes glass bottle cutting more precise and a whole lot safer. They also sell a wide variety of mosaic supplies as well as stuff for fusing, glass bead making and stained glass. They are going to require multiple postings to talk about all they do. And they’re the perfect place for the beginner. They even have microwave kilns…
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Designer Spotlight: Goffin Design
Even though their patterns cover a wide range of seasons, holidays and motifs, there’s just something about the designs from Etsy seller Goffin Design that evokes spring to me.
The colors are bright, fresh and cheerful, whether they’re used to illustrate four seasons of windows, Santa at his workshop or a pair of potted citrus trees.
A great many of the designs on offer have to do with the seasons, and quite a few of them are sets of four patterns that are related, such as the above-mentioned windows, or there are seasonal mice, hearts with the season’s word in the middle each stitched in a different color, and all sorts of seasonal birds, birdhouses, landscapes, cats…I could go on and on. The point is, if you like patterns that evoke the seasons, or a set of patterns that can keep you stitching on a theme all year long, you’re going to want to check those out.
The photo above is the vintage yard cross stitch pattern, featuring a teal doorway and a pink bicycle. Of course you could change the colors if you want but I really like this combination. And, again, with all the flowers and bright colors I think you can see where I’m getting the idea that their patterns feel like spring.
This particular pattern is 109 by 101 stitches and measures 7.79 by 7.21 inches, or 19.78 by 18.32 cm, when stitches on 14 count fabric. It uses 24 colors and has whole stitches and back stitching.
They also have a lot of flowers and cacti featured in patterns. There are several patterns for cross stitched orchids, for example, and botanically correct fruit shown on the plant and in cross section, including pear, peach, apple, orange, strawberry, pomegranate, cherry and apricot. These would be so lovely in a kitchen or dining room!
I can only scratch the surface in these reviews, but if I’ve piqued your interest, go check them out on Etsy at Goffin Design.
[Photo: Goffin Design]