Additional information
| Weight | 0.300 kg |
|---|
Back to Back Issues
Issue 62 Print Version
$ 16.95
Order by Friday March 24th, 2023, and get FREE SHIPPING! US/Canada only. Starts shipping mid April.
Embark on an exciting mission into the cosmos of needlework design! Discover new and favourite techniques to create projects inspired by the planets and stars. The night sky offers a boundless source of inspiration for needlecraft enthusiasts. In addition to the stellar projects, the issue also includes fun and inspiring horoscopes for quilters. Projects range from a starburst quilt to quilts that re-imagine the universe, playful knitted socks inspired by Carl Sagan’s Mars Jars experiment, and an elegant shawl that mirrors the galaxy. So, cross-stitch the moon, embroider the stars, and blast off to new creative heights. Get the issue today and break free from your earthly rut!
You may also like…
Mars Jars Socks
"This is the 15th sock pattern in Lorraine Thompson’s Thoughtful Soles Series. It’s a hand-knitted sock pattern inspired by Carl Sagan’s book Cosmos and the experiment to test the possibility of life on Mars. The question, ‘Is there Life on Mars’ is knitted into the sole of one sock and question marks on the other. Elongated figures of possible aliens run across the leg of the socks. Colourwork charts included.
Includes: material list, instructions, charts for colour stranding. Finished size: women’s medium
"
Always a Dreamer Wall Art
Inspired by the essence of The Little Prince, written by the French aristocrat, writer, and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Olesya Lebedenko created wall art pinkeep with the little prince and his doves. It’s a little piece of fine work of appliqué, embroidery, and hand sewing. The wall art is made solid by using cardboard and some paint is used to make the prince’s eye. finished measurements 6¼” x 6¼” [15.9 x 15.9 cm]
Wish Upon a Star Doily
"Inspired by astronomy, Kim Beamish thought of the stars first. She explains, “We wish upon them and have used them for direction. This design incorporates those two things. The center has a compass rose for direction. It is surrounded by metallic stars. The areas of pulled thread include colours seen in many of the astronomical identities we see in photos.” The stitches used: wrapped back stitch (over four fabric threads), waffle filling, honeycomb filling, single faggot filling, wave filling, buttonhole, diamond eyelet
Includes: material list, order of stitching, diagrams for all stitches, and charts.
Finished Measurements 8⅝” [21.9cm] square"
The Sky’s the Limit Tote Bag
The astronomy theme for this issue reminded Betty Biberdorf of a phrase she shares with her granddaughter when she leaves to go home. They exchange phrases: “I love you to the moon and back” and the other answers, “I love you more than all the stars in the sky”. Inspired by special moments like these, Betty created a tote bag for when her granddaughter sleeps over. With the use of the breakthrough features on my PFAFF® creative icon™ 2 sewing and embroidery machine she incorporated the Northern Lights, stars, and a bright moon along with the special phrases. This is an intermediate project with step by step instructions on how to work the tote bag on the creative icon™ 2. Photos included. finished measurement approximately 18” [46cm] square
Namitka, All Stars Are in Our Hands Embroidered Wall Art
Namitka is a distinctive headdress for a married woman as part of Belarusan traditional folk dress. It is a long thin fabric wrapped around the head and tied in the back. The ends of the fabric are embroidered with traditional motifs in red. This design is a delicately embroidered interpretation of the headdress and is worked using blackwork, canvaswork, and couching stitch. Worked on 25ct Lugana fabric in pewter to give it that wow factor. This is an advanced skill level. Finished measurements design area 10½” x 12½” [27 x 32cm]; stitch count 270w x 330h stitches.
Starburst Wall Quilt
Quilter Jennifer Houlden has a passion for colour and creating secondary designs within her patterns while giving the illusion of movement in the design. The Starburst Wall Quilt was inspired by meteor showers shining brightly in the dark, night sky she gazed at together with her husband when camping. This piece achieves the illusion of movement with the curved outside circle despite being sewn all with straight lines along with the gradation of orange fabric in the starburst. Perfect points are required with this piece and what better way is there to achieve perfect points than by paper piecing? A combination of paper piecing, strip piecing, and regular piecing is used to create this stunning starburst quilt. Step-by-step photos are included in the instructions. Finished measurements: 38” x 38” [95 x 95cm]
Sashiko Stitching Meets the Zodiac Wall Art
Judith Marquis explores Sashiko stitching and embroidery depicting the astrological sign of Taurus. The zodiac signs are embroidered using embroidery thread on midnight blue fabric, and the backdrop is Sashiko stitched using white DMC Pearl Cotton 8 and Light Effects Pearlescent 5272. The pattern includes all 12 signs of the zodiac and options for expanding on the idea to many other projects. The pattern is easy to make and satisfying to expand on the idea. finished measurements design area 6” [15cm] square
The Moon on the Sea Shimmers Wall Quilt
When Ana lived in Buenos Aires with her family they owned a sailboat and used it on weekends and vacations to go sailing with the children. She recalls many good memories from those days including the nights when the moon shimmered in the sea. In this tutorial Ana shows how to create the sky and shimmering sea using paint and free motion quilting. Also included is how to inset the circle to create the moon. Instructions include photos. Finished measurements 12” [30.5cm] square
Red Legs Socks
"In this witty sock pattern, Lorraine Thompson created shaped toes to be worn on the left and right feet because the words on the soles need to be read in order. After much experimenting, it turns out you just need to decrease faster on one side than the other. She also used a band heel but with a reinforced s1,k1 pattern. This heel does not have a gusset decrease which would interrupt the colour stranding in the foot. The numbers for the heel can be adjusted. The motif on the leg is a sheep she has used time and time again on many of her knitted projects, this time she made the sheep design taller with coloured legs to represent socks. On the soles of the socks are the colour-stranded words: On the eighth day God knit socks. Includes: material list, instructions, charts for colour stranding. Skill level: Advanced
Aurora Cowl
"This cowl features diagonal ribbing, with different widths of ribs, which evoke the flashes of colour in the night sky created by the Northern Lights. Knit in the round, the cowl is reversible. The spiral is created with sequence knitting, with simple ribbing shifted into a diagonal rib by the addition of one extra stitch over the pattern multiple. Universal Yarn Colorburst is a self-striping yarn that makes the spiral rib dance even more, and the colourway is suitably called Aurora Borealis. Instructions for neckwarmer, snood, and necklace cowl included.
finished measurements
Neckwarmer 22” diameter x 8” high [56 x 20.25cm]
Snood 24” diameter x 24” high [61 x 61cm]
Necklace Cowl 48” diameter x 8” high [122 x 20.25cm]
The Rabbit on the Moon Wall Quilt
This appliquéd wall quilt was inspired by the story about the image of a rabbit on the moon told by many cultures around the world. This story speaks to Nancy Devine about friendship, perseverance, and the sacrifices we sometimes make to help others realize a dream. Nancy used some glow-in-the-dark star fabric to create the night sky, and a scrap of treasured green fabric from her stash to create her vision of when Rabbit first dreams of a plan to travel to the moon. Other stash treasures include vintage daisy trim, various decorative and special-effect threads, and a great deal of experimentation with her sewing machine’s decorative stitches. Using products like Sulky Blendables, Sulky Solvy Water Soluble Stabilizer, Flatter Smoothing Spray, Sew Easy Thicker Freezer Paper, Odif 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive. Finished measurements 24” x 18¼” [61 x 46.5cm]
Night Sky at the Cabin Cushion Cover
Lynn Fraser-Sumler has always been fascinated with the stars and planets in the solar system since she can remember. Her dad would help her find popular constellations on family camping trips as a child. There is nothing like going out into the woods and staring up at that big beautiful night sky. This rug hooked cushion honours those family moments of being out in nature and being in awe of the night sky, and all the magic it brings. This project uses various weights of yarn and wool cuts to accomplish texture. Sewing instructions to make the cushion cover included. Finished measurements 16” x 16” [40.5 x 40.5cm]
Midnight over Blue Mountain Shawl
"This crescent-shaped shawl begins with increases like a semi-circular, half-pi shawl, which helps prevent the large hump that often happens at the back of crescent shawls. It features small eyelets in the main pattern to represent stars, while the border pattern has more closely spaced eyelets that evoke the bright Milky Way band of stars that we can see in the night sky. This border pattern stretches out into points, making for an attractive, slightly scalloped edge and easier to block out than a smooth, curved edge. Knit in Universal Yarn Wool Pop, which is silky-smooth with incredible drape, the blue-black Night Sky colourway has a lovely heathered sheen reflecting this design’s starry theme.
skill level Intermediate
finished measurements
One size: 72” wingspan from point-to-point x 23” deep at center back [183 x 58cm]
You Are Made Wall Art
Jo Gatenby continues her love affair with frameless framing in this enchanting design. Notice that the stitching isn’t centered on the frame. The moon is grounded, just rising above the horizon and the children are not stitched allowing the fabric to show through to create the figure. This is called Assisi embroidery, with a cross stitched background. To make the figures smooth, ¾ stitches are used, rather than backstitching. If you are unfamiliar with this technique, a how-to is provided. Includes instructions for frameless framing. Finished measurements 12¾” [32.5cm] square.
Another World Wall Quilt
To get the planetary effect Paul Léger recommends using batiks. With their saturated colours and interesting designs, batiks make awesome planets! The requirements in this pattern are for a wall quilt. Do not limit yourself to making a wall quilt, expand the idea to making a twin-size quilt for a child’s room. Think how fantastic the idea for a similar quilt would look like if it was for a double bed or queen size! techniques used machine appliqué, echo quilting; skill level Easy; finished size 27” x 29” [68.5 x 74cm]