Oh Joan

I bought the newest edition of Crosssticher magazine (here in Anustralia anyway) and it has the beautiful Iris fairy on the cover designed by Joan Elliot.

She is such a clever designer. Her way with colours and her treatment of composition make every piece a masterpiece.

Funnily enough, even though I am a huge fan of her work, I've never actually stitched one of Joan's deisngs because I don't have time to. So I have no idea if they are easy to stitch, which is one of the elements I try very hard to preserve in my own designs. They do seem to have a lot of backstitch, which in itself is not that hard, it's just time consuming. Usually by the time I get to the backstitching of a project, I've had enough of it and want to go on to the next thing. She also uses a lot of decorative elements like beads and metallic threads. I enjoy beading and I use it in my designs sometimes too.

Joan's designs are also often ladies, which are my favourite subject to stitch, and also to design. I have seen some teddies of hers, but I rarely choose to stitch teddies. And I've just caught a glimpse of a tiny picture of a dragon she designed. I think it was a dragon. The picture was very small.

Another feature of Joan's designs that I really like is the swirly, curly forms she often uses. They were particularly effective in the peacock. It's one of the few designs that wasn't a lady that I thought about stitching. LOL

I hope one day to be as successful as Joan. Yet even if my designs never become as popular as Joan's I'll keep trying to make them as beautiful as hers.