Stitch Life Magazine Issue 1

My project to make
HIBISCUS HOOP & TOUCAN HOOP
As I child I lived in Malaysia and loved hibiscus flowers –
they grew abundantly in the rainforest climate. I wanted
to create a pair of designs that featured hibiscus. I was
looking at illustrations of tropical birds to pair with the
flowers and came across a picture of the South American
keel-billed toucan. I fell in love with the bird’s colourful
beak and deep purple feathers, and decided to pair the
two. The rest of the design came together from there.
I have enjoyed working on this project because it’s
given me the freedom to explore my own ideas. I’m used
to working to much more specific briefs so I loved being
able to have complete creative control of the design.
I’ve always liked Anchor Stranded Cotton as it’s really
high quality and colourfast, which is a big plus, particularly
if you like to wash your stitching. In addition, there’s a
lovely range of shades, which makes it such fun choosing
colours for my designs.
CROSS STITTCH
PATTERN
PAGE
xx
Stitch Life
53