Nutcracker Village
Nutcracker Village: the new series from Country Cottage Needleworks is coming soon! 11 month, 11 patterns – one by one – starting from November 2021: it’s called Nutcracker Village and it’s the new Mystery SAL designed by Nikki Leeman, founder and designer of Country Cottage Needleworks. A series celebrating one of the most beloved Christmas fairy tales: that of the nutcracker and Clara, re-imagined by the well-known US designer as the owners of a shop in their village! The first chart – Clara and the Prince – is larger than the other ten, with its 118×71 stitch count. The remaining ten charts all have a stitch count of 59×71. If you choose to stitch them…
Tilda Windy Days: new season, new fabrics!
The Windy Days from Tilda give color to the new season This is exactly how it’s called – Windy Days – and it’s the brand new, Fall/Winter 2021 fabric collection designed by Tone Finnanger. A homage to those days when the wind blows hard, often “stealing” our hats and overturning our umbrellas, making us – as often – quite nervous! That’s where Tone’s idea probably comes from: getting us back to smile with a whole lot of cotton fabrics inspired by Indian block prints, this time, and featuring a sweet and quiet young lady strolling with her little dog in the open air, without caring so much about the annoying…
Hand-dyed with heart
Made in Germany and treated in Hungary Zweigart linen is the basis of all the pre-cuts we have lately uploaded on Casa Cenina, with the brand “xJuDesign”. They are colorful, but never “too colorful”, always elegant and definitely with that magical taste that only hand-dyed fabrics feature. They’re perfect for your most challenging cross-stitch projects – like the mermaids from Mirabilia or the fairies from Joan Elliott – but for simpler projects, too, because they give them a truly unique touch. From Zweigart weaving mills, the linen come to Hungary, straight in the skillful hands of a nice girl whose name’s Judit, but called Jucus by her friends and relatives…
There’s an artist in all of us, somehow.
And not just when it comes to stitching and creative sewing! We have lately widened our offer of Paint by Number kits and Jigsaw Puzzles (100% made of wood), because these hobbies are getting more and more ground worldwide . They are not only fun, but even “therapeutic”! Several studies, in fact, have showed in time that they help lower the levels of stress caused by daily routine. But there’s even more. More recent studies have actually set an official “list of benefits” as for these hobbies. Here it is: they have proved a decline in anxiety levels and an increase of individual attention span; moreover, these hobbies can be…
Let’s make the Crib… but a special one!
There are still four months to go before it’s Christmas. However, as all cross stitchers know very well, to stitch our Xmas projects is never too early! No matter if they’re going to decorate our homes or as a gift to some lucky friends, who’ll be delighted by something handmade with so much devotion. You need time to cross stitch! And this is why we’re already uploading some “little gems” for Christmas on Casa Cenina. We have selected them thinking of the Holidays and we’ll upload many more in the next weeks, of course. However, let’s start with this Crib, that’s not only unusual… it’s cute, we think: Entirely cut…
All the pluses of textile hemp
Tutorial to crochet some lovely makeup removing pad Just a few days ago, on our FaceBook pages, we shared a tutorial to crochet some lovely makeup removing pads and say bye bye to cotton wool pads that – just like any other disposable item – aren’t environmentally-friendly at all. Not just after their single use, but already while being manufactured, for the certain CO2 release that any industrial production causes. The reusable (virtually forever!) makeup removing pads in the tutorial are crocheted, of course, with a 100% natural, palnt-based yarn, just like those that we have recently uploaded on Casa Cenina: from the US Lion Brand. If you’re wondering why…
Tilda Chambray Basics
Tilda Chambray Basics: the different solids In the textile world, and in that of quilting and creative sewing cottons, solid colors are those traditionally identifying plain fabrics and they are universal fabrics, always much sought after, since they fit the most different needs and virtually match any patterned “textile cousin”. Tone Finnanger has restyled the idea of solids, giving them a whole new touch. Her Cambray Solids, in fact, stand out for their amazing, pastel and dusty color shades, obtained with the same technique used to manufacture the so-called “Oxford cotton”:i.e. with a basket weaving of pure cotton threads with thinner and colored threads for the warp and a thicker,…
Halloween: it’s not too early to think of it…
… even more if with a Mystery SAL! Nothing too complicated, however: a truly nice treat to stitch fully relaxed, suitable even for those who have never joined this kind of shared initiative called “Mystery SAL“. The pattern is actually simple and definitely spooky, as the Halloween tradition needs, it’s 100% Made in Italy and to be stitched with very few colors, that’s why it’s so perfect for absolute beginners, too, or if we want to teach cross stitching to our little ones. The pattern will be in 3 parts, all downloadable exclusively on our website, starting from September 15th, 2021. The second part will be released on October…
Mindful Making: DMC launches crafting to relax
Calm, sobriety, quality and harmony: these are the keywords that have inspired the brand new range of creative kits from DMC. The first 18 have just been released (while the further 12 will be available from late August) and 3 are for macrame, 3 for crocheting, 3 for knitting, 4 for traditional embroidery, 3 for cross stitching and 3 for punch needle. Each of them, packaged in an elegant box embossed with a twist resembling the stranded cotton skein of the French brand renowned worldwide, includes all the materials needed to realize the relevant project and show the hours necessary to carry it out 🙂 The common thread in all…
Organic cotton: good for the environment and good for our skin
100% bio, lovely, small flowers The Summer, of course, calls for natural, light and transpirant fibers for our underwear and clothes, even better if organic ones. Just like the latest selections in our cotton fabric range: made in France, very soft and 100% organic cottons. But what does “organic cotton” exactly mean? And why is it the best choice, not just for the warmest season and the hottest temperatures? Well, first of all, because organic cotton is grown following the strict rules of organic farming, just as it happens for biological food: this means not only sustainably for the environment – i.e. without using pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and herbicides in…
