March D.E.S.I.G.N SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The first month I focused on three very well-known designers;  Nora Corbett (AKA Mirabilia), Joan Elliott and Teresa Wentzler.  For the rest of the year I am going to concentrate on less well-known designers in the hope of spreading their fame across the Blogosphere.

The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

This month I have chosen Jody Rice from Satsuma Street and her "Pretty Little Cities" series.  I have been stitching Pretty Little London as a SAL with Linda and Kate.  Here is this week's progress picture:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

This week I stitched the blue and yellow under the bridge and the yellow for Big Ben's tower.

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

No, this is my first Satsuma Street design.

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Yes!  I have already got two more in the City series - Paris and Italy (yes, I know Italy is a country not a city!) and I also bought Cross Stitch Crazy this month because it features an interview with Jody and three city charts, smaller ones this time and stitched on black.  These will look great with the larger city designs.  My plan is to stitch all the European ones first then move onto the rest of the world.

Cross Stitch Crazy issue 202

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

I love the bright blocks of colour using only whole stitches which make them super quick to stitch.  I chose London as the first one to stitch because this is the city I am most familiar with.  Several of my family have lived there and we visit as often as we can.  We love to do the tourist thing!

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

As I mentioned before, Jody only uses whole stitches, she also rarely uses backstitch relying on the contrast between her colours to outline the various elements on the design.  I love the way she uses bright and outrageous colours for the usually grey buildings.  It would be so much fun to sneak out and paint the city in these colours for real!

There are interviews with Jody here and here, she also has a blog here.  One of the things she mentions in the interview is "I make sure that every single thing I put out in the world, whether it’s an Instagram image or a Facebook post, is consistent with my brand. From my choice of fonts to photo backdrops — even down to the choice of shirt I wear in a photograph for a magazine — I aim to keep a consistent look. "

 I found this fascinating because you can really notice it on her blog and her shop.  This is very similar to a designer called Helen Philipps, everything she does has the same vibe and feel including her blog.  She focuses on fresh pastel colours whereas Jody goes for the brights!  Even their names seem to reflect their different styles.

Finally, I have put together another little Pie chart of my stitching this month, just for fun!