#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MYSTERY AUTHOR LORI ROBERTS HERBST ON CRAFTING CHARACTERS AND HER OWN ATTEMPTS

Award-winning author Lori Roberts Herbst writes the Callie Cassidy Mystery series. Lori is a former journalism teacher and counselor who now writes, indie publishes, and markets her books. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

Just as I always wished to be more athletic, I've always wanted to be "crafty." Sadly, both those talents seem to require more coordination than I possess. (Case in point: not too long ago, I broke my wrist while strolling down a sidewalk.)

 

But let's put the lack of athleticism aside and focus on crafts. We'll start with painting. The two times I tried Painting with a Twist, the effort resulted in what could best be classified as abstract art. (That would all be well and good, but I was going for realism.) Then, when I took up knitting, my mini-afghan contained so many dropped stitches it looked more like a doily. (The knitting phase provided me with some thoughts about possible fictional methods of murder, so all was not lost.) And let's not even talk about cake decorating. (I'll just mention the Leaning Tower of Pisa and leave it at that.)

 

The one crafting skill I seem to possess is an aptitude for cross stitching. Since cross stitching is a bit like color-by-numbers, it doesn't require a great deal of innate talent on my part—just the ability to discern colors, to organize threads, and to count. Once I complete all the prep work, there's not even a lot of thinking required. It's an excellent way to keep my hands busy while I'm watching TV, and the dozen or so Christmas stockings I've created for family members fill me with a sense of accomplishment.

 

Still, I see people who possess so much crafting talent, and I sometimes long for more skills of my own. Perhaps that's why I created a character who leaps with unfettered abandon into so many activities. Maggie Cassidy—the kind, loving, funny mom of the main character in the Callie Cassidy Mystery series—tries out a new craft in almost every book. In fact, her family calls her a "hobby jumper," because she bounces from one pastime to another in the quest for an artistic endeavor that scratches her creative itch.

 

For example, in Suitable for Framing, Maggie proves she's a much better knitter than I, especially when it comes to creating sweaters for Callie's dog Woody and cat Carl. When she takes up cake decorating in Double Exposure, she even wins an award at the local Fireweed Festival. In book three, Frozen in Motion, scrapbooking snags Maggie's interest, resulting in a sentimental Valentine's album for her devoted hubby Butch.

 

Though a trip to a dude ranch in Photo Finished means a hiatus in Maggie's crafting journey, she'll rededicate herself in book 5, tentatively titled Negative Reaction. (I'm thinking origami might be right up her alley.) And I can already foresee her undertaking in book 6: genealogy—more specifically, grave rubbing. (Who knew that was even a thing? I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to researching it.)

 

And therein lies the beauty of being a writer: I can live vicariously through my characters. Will I ever be a grave rubber in real life? Seems unlikely (though now that I think about it, I do live within walking distance of a cemetery...) But Maggie can pursue it. She can invest the time and money in whatever craft captures my interest, and she'll be successful in a way I likely wouldn't.

 

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. When a specific mode of murder piques my curiosity, I can let it play out on paper. When certain people irritate me, I can use their annoying traits to manufacture characters I can finish off in unsavory fashion—and I'll never face a consequence. This author gig is the next best thing to counseling. (Or maybe all this only goes to show that I need more counseling...)

 

Maggie and I are always looking for new and interesting crafts to entertain us—and our readers. What are some of your favorites?

 

Photo Finished

A Callie Cassidy Mystery, Book 4

 

When a visit to a Colorado dude ranch turns deadly, it's up to photographer Callie Cassidy to corral the killer...

 

Callie thinks she has planned the perfect bridal shower for her best friend Tonya: a week-long girls' trip to Moonglow Ranch, where they can all bask in nature and enjoy each other's company. Then, a conniving local woman publicly threatens the ranch's owners, and Callie worries the trip may be destined for disaster. The next morning, she and her golden retriever Woody and tabby cat Carl discover the woman's body in the stable, trampled by a horse. Or did the woman die from a snakebite? Or—as Callie suspects—could something even more sinister be at play? Answers are as difficult to find as a needle in a haystack. And when the town's police chief accuses the ranch owners of murder, Callie realizes she'll need to lasso the real outlaw—before the wrong people end up in the pokey.

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON ON HOW EAVESDROPPING GAVE BIRTH TO A COZY AMATEUR SLEUTH

Since March is National Crafts Month, it seemed fitting to turn the blog over today to my author Lois Winston. Keep reading to learn how her craft designing career was born from eavesdropping on a conversation and how that career eventually led to Lois creating me, the eponymous reluctant sleuth of her Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. 

Two Roads Diverged & I Took Both

(With apologies to Robert Frost!)

By Lois Winston

 

When I was in college, I taught myself embroidery and needlepoint. Because I was majoring in graphic design and illustration, I designed my own projects rather than buying kits, which were also too expensive a luxury for someone putting herself through school on scholarships, student loans, and various part-time jobs. I even incorporated needlework into my junior year end-of-term project in my photography class.

Fast-forward a few years and I’m now a new mother and a freelance graphic designer. One day I was in a needlework shop and overheard a conversation between the shop owner and a customer. The customer mentioned having sold some designs to a needlework company located a few miles from where I lived. When I got home, I called the company and set up an appointment to show my designs. A week later I walked out of that initial meeting with an assignment to design a line of counted cross stitch kits. (I went home and quickly taught myself how to do counted cross stitch!)

That assignment led to many more for that company and other kit manufacturers, as well as designing for various craft and needlework magazines, women’s magazines, and book publishers. Over the years I’ve worked as a craft book editor, a design coordinator, and the head designer for several needlework and craft companies. I also traveled the country working trade and consumer shows.

Fast-forward again, this time a few decades. I’m still designing in the craft industry, but I’ve also caught the writing bug and penned several romances and romantic suspense novels. One day my agent called to tell me she’d spoken to an editor who’s looking for a crafting mystery series. Given my background, my agent thought I’d be the perfect person to write one.

 

Crafting mysteries? At the time I had no idea there was such a thing. So I set about doing a bit of research. I discovered that most crafting mysteries featured an amateur sleuth who either owned a specialty craft shop or was a crafter of one specific craft, such as candle-making, pottery, knitting, doll-making, etc. I decided to do something a bit different. Tapping into my own background as a crafts editor, I created a sleuth who works as the crafts editor at a women’s magazine. That way I could feature different crafts in each book in the series. Thus was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

I’m currently working on the eleventh full-length book in the series. There are also three connecting novellas. At this point Anastasia and I are pretty much joined at the hip. And it all began thanks to two conversations, one about needlecrafts and one about writing.

 

Stitch, Bake, Die!

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 10

 

With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the New Jersey chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.

 

The sweet little old ladies Anastasia is expecting to meet are definitely old, and some of them are little, but all are anything but sweet. She’s stepped into a vipers’ den that starts with bribery and ends with murder. When an ice storm forces Anastasia and Cloris to spend the night at the Chateau, Anastasia discovers evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and a bevy of suspects.

 

Can she piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?

 

Crafting tips included.

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--HALLOWEEN BLACKWORK

Halloween Blackwork Sampler 

With Halloween this Sunday, it’s the perfect time to share a blackwork sampler design that was created for CrossStitch & Needlework in 2015. Blackwork is a form of counted cross stitch worked entirely with black floss. It’s also sometimes known as Spanish blackwork because it was believed to have been introduced to the court of Henry VIII by Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first queen. However, a form of blackwork may have been in England prior to 1500 because Chaucer makes mention of black silk embroidery on a white collar in his Canterbury Tales.

 

Blackwork is visible in the garments of many portraits painted in the 1500s, but because of the corrosiveness of the thread’s iron-based dyes, there are few well-preserved English examples of clothing from the period. There are, however, surviving examples from non-English pieces because their silks contained less iron in the dye. These days, most blackwork is stitched using cotton embroidery floss, not silk.

 

If you want to spend your weekend with a Halloween-themed cozy mystery, you still have time to grab your copy of A Stitch to Die For, only .99 cents through Sunday.

 

A Stitch to Die For

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 5

 

Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED APPLE WREATH ORNAMENT

With September nearly upon us, those of us who enjoy crafting for the holidays, both for decorating and gift giving, are looking ahead to Christmas. Here’s an apple wreath design you can stitch in an evening and finish as an ornament.

Stitch on 25-ct. white linen with two strands floss worked over two threads.

Backstitch with 1 strand black floss.

Stitching Area: 41w x 39h

Size: 3-1/4” x 3-1/8”

Find more Christmas crafts in Drop Dead Ornaments and Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, Books 7 and 8 in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series by Lois Winston.

Drop Dead Ornaments

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 7

Anastasia Pollack’s son Alex is dating Sophie Lambert, the new kid in town. For their community service project, the high school seniors have chosen to raise money for the county food bank. Anastasia taps her craft industry contacts to donate materials for the students to make Christmas ornaments they’ll sell at the town’s annual Holiday Crafts Fair.

At the fair Anastasia meets Sophie’s father, Shane Lambert, who strikes her as a man with secrets. She also notices a woman eavesdropping on their conversation. Later that evening when the woman turns up dead, Sophie’s father is arrested for her murder.

Alex and Sophie beg Anastasia to find the real killer, but Anastasia has had her fill of dead bodies. She’s also not convinced of Shane’s innocence. Besides, she’s promised younger son Nick she’ll stop risking her life. But how can she say no to Alex?

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Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide (Pre-order ebook now; print available 10/1)

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 8

Two and a half weeks ago magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack arrived home to find Ira Pollack, her half-brother-in-law, had blinged out her home with enough Christmas lights to rival Rockefeller Center. Now he’s crammed her small yard with enormous cavorting inflatable characters. She and photojournalist boyfriend (and possible spy) Zack Barnes pack up the unwanted lawn decorations to return to Ira. They arrive to find his yard the scene of an over-the-top Christmas extravaganza. His neighbors are not happy with the animatronics, laser light show, and blaring music creating traffic jams on their normally quiet street. One of them expresses his displeasure with his fists before running off.

In the excitement, the deflated lawn ornaments are never returned to Ira. The next morning Anastasia once again heads to his house before work to drop them off. When she arrives, she discovers Ira’s attacker dead in Santa’s sleigh. Ira becomes the prime suspect in the man’s murder and begs Anastasia to help clear his name. But Anastasia has promised her sons she’ll keep her nose out of police business. What’s a reluctant amateur sleuth to do?

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--A CLADDAGH FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Irish Blessing design with Claddagh by Lois Winston,
featured in The Cross Stitcher magazine, 2004

By Lois Winston

Writers are often told, “Write what you know.” As a designer, I often had to create needlecraft projects on themes I knew little about. The craft magazines I worked for featured holiday-themed crafts because crafters love crafting for the holidays. After Christmas and Halloween, one of the biggest crafting holidays is St. Patrick’s Day. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day—or so marketers would have us believe.

I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me, so when years ago I was tasked with creating a design featuring a Claddagh ring motif, I first had to learn about the Claddagh.

The Claddagh is a traditional Irish ring that dates from the 17^th century in the village of Claddagh in Galway, Ireland. There are a number of legends surrounding its origin, but most people believe the Claddagh ring was first created by silversmith Richard Joyce. His maker’s mark appears on the earliest surviving Claddagh ring.

The story goes that while on his way to the West Indies sometime around 1675, Joyce was captured by Algerian Corsairs and sold into slavery. He was bought by a Moorish goldsmith in need of an apprentice. In 1689 King William III sent an ambassador to Algeria to demand the return of all British subjects. Legend has it that Joyce’s captor offered Joyce half his wealth and his daughter’s hand in marriage if Joyce would stay in Algeria. Joyce declined and returned to Galway where he set up a jewelry business. It was there that he created the Claddagh ring.

Joyce was not the first jeweler to create a ring with clasped hands. Known as fede rings, finger rings date from Roman times. The clasped hands were used as a symbol of pledged vows and were used as engagement and wedding rings in Europe during both medieval times and the Renaissance.

The distinctive design of the Claddagh features two hands clasping a heart. The heart has a crown mounted above it. The heart represents love, the hands represent friendship, and the crown represents loyalty.

Claddagh rings are most often worn by women of Irish heritage. They can be considered cultural symbols or used as friendship rings, engagement rings, or wedding rings. Mothers often give Claddagh rings to their daughters when they come of age or are handed down from a mother to her eldest daughter or a grandmother to her granddaughter.

There are a variety of ways to wear a Claddagh ring, depending on the message the wearer wishes to convey. If the ring is worn on the right hand with the point of the heart toward the wrist, the wearer is either not looking for a relationship or may already be in one. If the heart points toward the fingertips, the wearer is single and looking for love. The wearer is engaged if the ring is worn on the left ring finger with the point of the heart toward the fingertips and married if the point is toward the wrist.

Happy almost St. Patrick's Day!

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON'S FAVORITE #VALENTINE CROSS STITCH DESIGN

Those of you who follow this blog know that I spring from the imagination of author Lois Winston, who has had a long career as a designer in the crafts industry. (Is it any wonder she made me a crafts editor? Write what you know, right?)

Anyway with Valentine’s Day coming up, I asked Lois to stop by to share with us one of her favorite Valentine’s Day designs. This heart and floral piece appeared in The Cross Stitcher magazine fifteen years ago.

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED PATRIOTIC PATCHWORK FLAG

Memorial Day is two weeks away, plenty of time to whip up this cute patriotic patchwork flag to celebration the day. 

Materials:
3" x 4" white or ecru perforated paper
floss as indicated in Color Key plus black for backstitching
#24 tapestry needle
2" pinback
jewelry glue
scissors

1. Using three strands floss, cross stitch the design centered on the perforated paper following the chart.

2. Backstitch with one strand black floss.

3. Trim perforated paper to one hole from edge of stitching.

4. Glue pin to back of stitching.

5. Wear with pride!

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--COUNTED CROSS STITCH COFFEE GRINDER

If you're like me, and can't function without that first cup of coffee in the morning, you're probably grateful that you don't first have to hand crank your beans. Still, you might want to harken back to the olden days with this cross stitch design, perfect for a refrigerator magnet. and as a reminder of how appreciative we are for our modern conveniences.

Design measures 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" when stitched on 14-ct. fabric or 1" x 1" when stitched on 18-ct. fabric.

Cross stitch with two strands of floss. Backstitch with one strand black.

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED APPLE PIE

What could be more American than a slice of apple pie at a summer picnic? Okay, a slice of watermelon springs to mind. Perhaps that will be a future cross stitch project. For now, enjoy stitching up this quick and easy design.

Stitch count: 19 x 19
Size: approximately 1-3/8" x 1-3/8" when stitched on 14-ct. fabric

Cross stitch with two strands floss. Backstitch with one strand black (DMC 310, Anchor 403).

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--COUNTED CROSS STITCHED #SPATTERWARE COFFEE POT

Spatterware is very popular as a collectable. This blue spatterware coffee pot would make a great complement to anyone's collection as a magnet or stitched on a potholder or kitchen towel. Stitch on 14-ct. Fiddler's cloth or white, cream, or ivory Aida cloth.

Stitches: 17w x 19h

Approximate Size:1-1/4" x 1-1/3"

Cross stitch with two strands floss. Backstitch with one strand black (DMC 310, Anchor 403).

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--BASKET OF EGGS CROSS STITCH

Design measures approximately 1-3/8" x 1-3/8" when stitched on 14-ct. fabric or on 28-ct. evenweave or linen worked over two threads. Suggested fabric colors: white, antique white, Fiddler's Cloth, coffee, beige, or your choice.

Cross stitch with two strands floss. Backstitch and French knot with one strand black (DMC 310/Anchor 403).

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED CONTAINER HERB GARDEN

This design is approximately 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" when stitched on 14-ct. fabric. The design colors will work well stitched on ivory, off-white, or cream Aida cloth or 28-ct. even weave or linen, worked over two strands.

Cross stitch with two strands floss. Backstitch with one strand black (DMC 310/Anchor 403)

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED VALENTINE HEARTS

Get a jump on Valentine’s Day with this cross stitched hearts design worked in a combination of cross stitch, decorative stitches, and French knots. The design is approximately 2-1/2” x 2-1/2” when worked on 14-ct. fabric and would be perfect for a sachet, greeting card, hanging ornament, or on a garment using waste canvas. Work the cross stitches with two strands of floss and the decorative stitches and French knots with one strand in your choice of color.

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED ROSE

This rose design is 1-1/2" wide x 1-1/8" high when stitched on 14-ct. cross stitch fabric.

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED CLADDAGH

photo courtesy of Royalcladdagh

I have a Pinterest page on which I post all the crafts and recipes that appear on Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. Two years ago I posted a cross stitch design for a Celtic knot on the blog. That design has been repinned on Pinterest more than anything else on any of my Pinterest boards. So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day coming up in a little over a week, I’ve decided to post another Irish cross stitch design. This one is for a Claddagh.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Claddagh, it’s the design used in a traditional Irish ring. The hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the crown represents loyalty. Claddagh rings are sometimes used as friendship rings but more often as engagement or wedding rings. In many Irish families the rings are passed down from mothers to daughters.

The Claddagh ring had its origins in Roman times, but the ring as we know it today comes from the small fishing village of Claddagh, located outside of Galway and was first made in the seventeenth century.

The cross stitch design below is 37 stitches wide x 29 stitches high. When stitched on 14-ct. fabric it will be approximately 2-2/3" x 2".

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED SNOWMAN

It's never to early to start thinking about Christmas crafts. This counted cross stitch snowman is 2-5/8" x 3-1/2" when stitched on 14-ct. fabric. (click pattern to enlarge.)

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--APPLE BUTTER CROSS STITCH

Stitch count: 25 wide x 27 high

Finished size: 1-3/4" x 1-7/8" when stithed on 14-ct. fabric

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--BUNNY AND CHICK CROSS STITCH

Here's a quick design to whip up for Easter. It would also look cute stitched with waste canvas on a baby's onesie. Finished size when stitched on 14-ct. is 2-1/8" wide x 1-5/8" high.

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GINGERBREAD CROSS STITCH ORNAMENT

Do you realize there are only 86 days until Christmas? Time to start thinking about all those gifts you need to give. Why not start by stitching up some Christmas cross stitch ornaments? This little gingerbread guy would be the perfect accompaniment to a platter of cookies when you need to bring a hostess gift to a Christmas party or for Sunday school teachers, scout leaders and teachers. And if you don't have time to haul out your sewing machine for finishing,  stitch on perforated paper for a no-sew ornament. -- AP

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--HALLOWEEN CROSS STITCH

It's never too early to start thinking about Halloween. The holiday now ranks second when it comes to decorating our homes. This quick-to-stitch cross stitch design can be made into a Halloween ornament for decorating a tabletop tree, as a doorknob hanger, a plant poke, or stitched on goody bags filled with candy corn or other treats. What else might you use the design for? Post your suggestions in the comments section. -- AP