Lynne’s Links ~ Johnson Crafts

If you love the grace and elegance of ballet, or have a budding ballerina in the family, this would be the ideal kit.

It is from the Lanarte Romantic Collection and is stitched on a very soft green linen which blends beautifully with the colours of the stranded cotton provided.

Other kits featuring Dance can be found here.

I think there must be a lot of new babies around at the moment as we are selling lots of birth samplers, but this one, called Toy Shelf, seems to be one of the most popular.

It comes from Dimensions in their Baby Hugs range and is stitched on 14 count aida. The kit includes stranded cotton, fabric, chart, needle and instructions and is supplied with pink and blue thread, alphabet and numbers for personalising.

This is a stunning collection of scenes from around the world.

There are currently 24 designs available featuring Paris, Rome, Venice, Taj Mahal, Golden Gate Bridge, Great Wall of China and lots more.

Why not stitch your favourite place, or a destination you dream of visiting one day! My favourite is Venice - all I need is the time to stitch it!

They are only 31cm x 11cm, so would brighten up a dull corner or an alcove.

This is a new range, currently featuring four knitted toys - Sally Sheep, Percy Penguin, Bruno Bear and Daizy Duck.

The kit contains soft yarn, knitting needles, ribbon, safety eyes, sewing needle and thread, fleece and full working instructions. The end result is a snuggle-soft cuddly toy.

If you are not a fan of the modern style of samplers, we have a traditional range called English Rose.

There are various celebrations in the range, including Marriage, Wedding, Anniversary, Silver Wedding, Ruby Wedding and Golden Wedding.

All are stitched on 14 count white aida and include pre-sorted threads, chart and full instructions.

DMC have produced a new cross stitch chart booklet featuring Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger, together with some of their other friends.

There are fifty pages of large and small charts, together with ideas for using them on aprons, cushions and nursery items. There are also some ideas for games.

Congratulations to Julia from Bracknell who is the winner of our website competition.

Julia has won a bumper selection of craft and stitching goodies to the value of £100. If you would like to be our next winner, enter the draw now!

The “Mr Men” characters seem to be very popular again and we have a wonderful selection of kits featuring the colourful designs.

There are six different samplers, Number, Months, Alphabet, Space, Underwater and Train. These are all stitched on 14 count and would make a wonderful addition to a nursery or child’s bedroom.

There are also twelve individual kits of the Mr Men and Little Miss characters on 14 count aida and two additional kits, ideal for children to stitch on 8 count aida.

Four Christmas kits and four name plates complete the existing range.

Anchor have produced a “Quick and Easy” range of chunky cross stitch which would be a great starting point for a young stitcher, or ideal for someone who enjoys stitching but their eyesight is not what it used to be! The kits come with 4.5 count printed canvas, acrylic yarn and full instructions. There are currently three designs, Pony, Dinosaur and Rocket. These are 40cm square, and could be converted into a cushion panel.

If you like these three designs, there are matching latch hook rug kits available.

DMC have just released a brand new range of 14 count fabric called Impressions. The fabric is printed and includes gingham, stripes and hearts available in either pink or blue. These will be great for nursery designs or baby samplers. They are available in individual packs, or a selection of the three in pink or blue.

There are also three swirly designs on cream and beige backgrounds.