In our November issue (259) you'll find heaps of decorating ideas for your home this Christmas. From Felicity Hall's cosy cottage banner to this folk art-inspired table linen by Emily Peacock. There's the main design to make into a tablecloth as well as a matching napkin ring and placemat...

Bold fabrics and juicy palettes of clashing colours are bang on trend this season, which is why we couldn't resist giving the colourburst craze a go ourselves.

We've selected the brightest threads and most glorious fabrics to creating amazing results you'll be itching to stitch for your own home, such as the trio of graphic cushions featured on our zingy cover. Plus, Emily Peacock's Happy Happy House sampler (below, left) is a nifty inverted design that leaves the letters completely unstitched - clever huh?

Your FREE GIFT is a selection of John James Needles handpicked by the team and packaged in a nifty Pebble case - in either a zingy lime green or punchy peach shade. Delicious.

With spring on its way, we've teamed up with RICO Design to bring you this irresistible baby sampler hoop (below, right) complete with six adorable animal motifs you could use again and again for childrens birthdays and greeting cards.

If you've always fancied meeting Mr X Stitch, Jane Greenoff of the Cross Stitch Guild or the fabulous Emily Peacock (among others) then you should get yourself down to the Stitch & Craft Show at London's Olympia on 15-18 March.

There you'll have an opportunity to meet the teams from Cross Stitch Collection, CrossStitcher, Papercraft Inspirations, Mollie Makes, Simply Knitting and The Knitter and take advantage of some exciting workshops from guest stitchers. There will be an opportunity to stock up on some wonderful stitchy goodies for your stash and to find out what's new in the crafting industry.

When we announced that this spring marks our 20th birthday, we didn't expect so many fabulous messages to be sent our way. We've been blown-away by the posts on our Facebook page and heaps of tweets over on Twitter - what a lovely bunch of readers you are!

As a thank-you to everyone who's sent us a message, we're sharing this happy birthday chart by Emily Peacock - specially designed for our 250th birthday issue.

* CrossStitcher issue 250 is on sale until 20th March, don't miss it! If you haven't managed to grab your copy yet, why not enter our seven birthday competitions instead?

There's everything from a free subscription to a Singer sewing machine up for grabs on our competitions tab...

To help raise funds for Breast Cancer Care Pink Fridays campaign that runs throughout October, CrossStitcher magazine (Commissioning Editor Charlie, above right) have teamed up contemporary needlepoint designer Emily Peacock (above left) to create a stylish ‘stitch-it-yourself’ pink ribbon!