Skip to main content

Craftways Signs of Spring Kit Review


Hi there,

This kit is by Craftways and is called Signs of Spring.  The kit comes with everything you need to complete it including the 4" coasters.

Each flower design is worked in counted cross-stitch onto a piece of  14 count aida measuring 4" x 4".  It's a nice easy kit to work, and stitches up quickly with one square on the chart being equal to one square on the fabric.


The instructions are clear and the chart is printed slightly larger than the finished stitching. This makes it easy to see the difference between the symbols leading to greater accuracy in stitching.  The different shades of blues, greens and purples within the kit are also easy to tell apart.

The coasters themselves are made of a durable plastic and are large enough to fit the base of most standard sized mugs.


I loved working on these coasters.  They are quick, simple and the finished results are both functional and pleasing.

My only slight negative is that, although finding the centre of the aida is straightforward, the chart doesn't show which is the middle square on each design. This means that finding the starting square on the chart to match the centre of the fabric takes a bit of working out.

Having said that though, it's a lovely set and ideal to complete as a gift for someone, or even just to add a personal touch to your own home.

Bye for now

Olly

Facebook.com/olwenwhite/
instagram.com/olwenwhitewrites/
Twitter @OlwenWhite

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A soft spot or OSMC

Hi there,  I was having a bit of a nose around a local second hand shop over the weekend and came across this: It was tucked down the side of some furniture, looking a bit sorry for itself, just sitting there all alone. Well, I couldn't leave it there.  Poor thing looks like its had a bit of a hard life. It's a Mundlos machine, originally designed to go on a treadle table judging by the lack of a tool compartment, little holes in the base just under the hand crank and the small groove just behind the wheel. The little holes and groove would have been for the belt attaching the machine to the pedal.  The tools would probably have been kept in the table. The golden badge is the Mundlos company's trade mark and the portrait is of Heinrich Mundlos, one of the company's founders.  The little switch to the side is a handy little gadget that pops the shuttle out of the bobbin compartment. Originally, this machine would have been decorated with ...

The Charity Shop Find & the Headache from Hell!

 Hi all I've always been a fan of charity shops. Even before they became a fashionable way to reuse or  repurpose other people's unwanted clutter.  To me, they have always been a gateway for feeding my addiction to vintage and antique sewing machines.  Like this one.  Isn't she a beauty? According to the markings, She is a New Home machine made in West Germany so I'm guessing she's a post war... maybe 1950s... electric sewing machine.    She has a bolt-on motor and the shortest electric cable I have ever seen on a sewing machine! Look at it! It's tiny! That's never going to reach any of my electrical outlets. I'm thinking that this vintage sewing machine was made to be in a cabinet... or a previous owner cut the cable for some reason.  Maybe their outlets were mounted on a desk and they didn't want long cables cluttering the workspace?  Who knows? One thing I do know, is this sewing machine is going to give me a little bit of a headache!...

Cover Kits

This is Lickle Ted by DMC. Did I mention that I have a soft spot for teddy bears? Its a cover kit from The World of Cross Stitching Magazine from a couple of months back -April's issue I think, could have been March, I forget.  I like doing cover kits as they are usually small enough to finish in a short space of time. Anyway, I thought this little guy was so cute I started stitching it as soon as I got the Magazine, which was pretty much when it came out. I finished him today - 18 June 2010! He only takes up a 4" square!  So much for cover kits being quick to do! My main problem was not being able to see the difference in some of the colours.  It has two shades of cream and two shades of beige.  My other problem was running out of thread.   The back stitch for the outlining is in DMC 3371 which is the chocolate brown above.  The kit only had one length of around about 8" of the thread.  I ran out before I h...