Oops!

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Whoops! I forgot to add the “bling” to Santa’s cap! The design called for a single strand of green floss to make a pom pom, but I wanted something more 3-dimensional. At first I thought about doing a green pom pom in turkey work, but then I found that I had these teeny little jingle bells I picked up at Hobby Lobby last Christmas, “just in case”. I think it looks adorable!

XXX
Carrie


Stripey Santa is Done!

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My stripey Santa from a Durene Jones design is done! My first thought was to use these wooden snowflake buttons in place of the smaller white stitched snowflakes, but they were much too large. So I will work them into the finishing somehow when I turn this into a pillow or flat fold.

I decided not to stitch the bottom row of white that Santa is stitching on, because the white really doesn’t show up well on this Vintage Blue Whisper fabric from Zweigart. Instead I may use a piece of lace stitched onto the fabric, or come up with some other way to show him off.

XXX
Carrie



Stripey Santa

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I’ve started this new freebie from Durene Jones called Stripey Santa, but I’m not liking the chosen shades of red. It seems like they are too similar instead of creating a distinct “striped” look. I think I am going to leave the lighter color since I already have so much of that done, and rip out the darker and try to find a color in my stash that is even darker yet. Stay tuned!

XXX
Carrie


A Treat for Rudolph

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I love the colors in this project. Although the stitches were a bit harder to see than usual because of the fabric, I think it turned out wonderfully and I can’t wait to get this stitched up into a “burlap” sack that I can add some reindeer feed to for next Christmas. (The “feed” will probably something non edible to ensure it doesn’t go bad!)

The pattern is from CrossStitcher magazine January 2022 issue and was designed by Cheryl McKinnon of Tiny Modernist.

XXX
Carrie


Reindeer Feed

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I’ve had this project in my to-do pile for a few months and finally decided to get going on it. It is stitching up super fast, although the fabric is a bit much for my eyes! I am not sure if the linen is 32 or 36 count, but these Xs are tiny!

When finished it will be made up into a small sack and filled with something… although I am not sure what. My first thoughts were either rice or oatmeal, although I would hate for something like that to go rancid after a while. Maybe crumbled up paper would be a better bet.

The pattern is from CrossStitcher magazine January 2022 issue and was designed by Cheryl McKinnon of Tiny Modernist.

XXX
Carrie


Merry Christmas Robins

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It has been months since I started this free cover kit from The World of Cross Stitching magazine October 2021. I believe I first started it in the waiting room at the hospital, last November. And then after that I put it away and just didn’t have any interest in it. I decided I need to get all my WIPs finished, so I dug it out again.

I have made a few changes from the kit. Instead of using the teeny tiny little piece of Aida they give you, I swapped it out for a piece of white 28 count Jobelan that I had in my stash. Because of my arthritis, I cannot stitch “in hand” any more, so I need to use a larger piece of fabric which I can fit into a hoop. I think the Jobelan makes it look much richer, too! I also did not include the wooden snowflake charm. I think I will save it for another project. I am also going to finish it off as a cushion instead of a card, so I will save the card and envelope for something else. But the card they gave with the kit was red with white polka dots and I happen to have calico fabric exactly like that! I recently used it on a reindeer design. So I think I will stick with that again for this finish.

XXX
Carrie


Happy Holidays

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Back in November I posted about wanting to start this Bent Creek Happy Holidays chart but not knowing which fabric and floss color scheme to go with (you can read that post here). I ended up going with the pale green fabric and the red, green, and yellow floss. I think that choice was a winner!

This piece stitched up very quickly. Instead of using the snap from the chart, I opted for a tiny green button from my stash.

Because I didn’t want the Weeks Dye Works “Noel” floss to be too overpowering, I used regular DMC floss for the outer red border and the yellow blocks at the top and bottom. I think this was a great choice. They complemented the overdyed floss and made the lettering stick out instead of everything just blending in.

This will eventually be finished off as a small cushion or flat fold.

XXX
Carrie


A New Pattern

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I’m so excited about this new chart I just purchased from Durene Jones’ Etsy store. Etsy had given me a coupon for $5.00 off my next purchase, because it had been a while since I had shopped there. I knew the coupon was a gimmick; the odds of finding something for exactly $5.00 are pretty slim, so it is a way for them to get you to come back and spend some money. Well, I am a huge fan of Durene’s and decided to peruse her store. Many of the patterns in her shop I already own, because I subscribe to the British magazines and they are featured there first. But when I saw this pattern I knew I had to stitch it, and it was not a pattern that had been released elsewhere before. The pattern cost $5.61 and so with my $5 discount code I got a real bargain! I am not going to start on this right away; I have decided in the new year to focus on some smalls to decorate my home during holidays throughout the year.

This will probably be a summertime pattern, especially since it features a lot of white on a khaki background, just like her gingerbread houses did.

I think the two projects will look wonderful by each other!

You can purchase the Merry Christmas chart through Durene’s Etsy shop here, and the gingerbread houses chart here.

XXX
Carrie


Rudolph!

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Rudolph is finished! I just love how he turned out. I did struggle a bit with the red polka dot fabric because when I cut it straight on one side, the polka dots did not line up correctly in the perpendicular direction – they went downhill. In the end I decided to not try to line the dots up evenly with the edge of the linen, and I think it turned out OK. I also always struggle with how much stuffing to add to these little cushions, and I keep adding more and then taking some out. I am too much of a perfectionist!

XXX
Carrie


Merry Christmas!

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I finished this cushion a couple of weeks ago but didn’t have any Christmas decorations up to display it and take a photo. So far, this is still all we have as of December 11. We need to put a tree up but I just don’t know when that will happen. Santa can’t put gifts under the tree if there isn’t one, so that is next up on the to-do list. We plan to have a real tree this year (I’ve never had a real tree, ever!) so it will be a lot more work than just dragging the artificial tree out of the garage. My husband said we also need tinsel if we are going to have a real tree (normally I use wired ribbon). The only place I could find any was target.com so that is on the way and should be here Monday.

The weather is absolutely horrendous right now. My daughter was supposed to have a bowling Christmas party with Girl Scouts but they cancelled it a few hours ago. I am somewhat thankful even though that will mean a lot of disappointed kids. I heard from one mom that the roads are really treacherous and I’m glad to stay inside the warm house. Maybe it’s time for some Christmas music and a mug of hot chocolate!

I hope you have a lovely Christmas and a happy New Year!

XXX
Carrie


Ho Ho Ho!

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I have had so much fun stitching this Ho Ho Ho Rudolph from Lizzie*Kate! I did mess up on the counting on the snow pile, which made the border closer than it should have been. And I changed the border from white to blue so it would show up better. My fabric was apparently a lot lighter than the color in her stitched model. I also changed the stitched snowflakes to Mill Hill beads.

Now I just need to figure out how to finish this little guy off. I can’t decide between a flat fold (which I have actually never made before!), an ornament, or a mini pillow. I really don’t need any more tree decorations and I could use a bunch of mini pillows for decorating, so that is probably what I will go with.

XXX
Carrie


Christmas Stitching

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Usually I stitch medium to large cross stitch projects that take quite a bit of time and concentration. Lately, however, I have been gravitating toward smaller, easier, and quicker projects. My stitching time is so limited and I want to be able to finish as many things as fast as possible. I’ve also gotten rid of a lot of projects in my WIP pile this year. The only two unfinished projects I have now are Peacock Tapestry and A Summer Ball. I would like to work on A Summer Ball sometime soon, but I don’t have plans on finishing that one for years. Instead, I would like to build up a large collection of smalls for each holiday. That is what I have decided 2022 is going to be – A Year Of Smalls. I am going to start working on Christmas and winter designs, and once I have a bunch of those done I will probably work on 4th of July and Halloween. Those are the 4 main themes I want to stitch for. If time allows I would also like to have a few designs each for St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Thanksgiving.

I also want to have a bunch of projects kitted up to have ready to go whenever the mood strikes. I don’t mind if I work on multiple projects at once. One of the projects I have just started is F128 HoHoHo Holiday JINGLES Flip-it by Lizzie Kate and it is adorable!

So far I only have Rudolph’s red blanket (saddle??) and part of his body stitched. But I will work on this one for quite a while before moving on.

I also plan on working on Happy Holidays by Bent Creek which I blogged about recently, although I have not yet decided on which color scheme I want to go with.

Another fun winter project is this adorable snowman, J.T. Fuzzy from Sisters and Best Friends. I have not kitted up this one yet, but assuming I have the correct 7 count Klostern fabric on hand, this one will be a really fast stitch because it is very small. I just love the carrot button nose and real scarf!

And last but not least, is a free cover kit that came with a recent issue of The World of Cross Stitching. It features robins (well, British robins!) and the words Merry Christmas, along with a wooden snowflake charm. Although it came with a card and envelope, I am going to finish it off as a small pillow or flat fold instead. I actually started this project in the waiting room at the hospital a couple of weeks ago while waiting for my husband to have a procedure done. I have not worked on it since but it will be going into the rotation.

XXX
Carrie


Decisions, decisions!

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I have been looking for several quick and easy projects to kit up so that I can always have something ready to work on when needed, especially if I need to take a project on the go (like in the car for when I’m waiting). I had this chart laying around and liked it but thought that the brown color scheme seemed all wrong for the holidays. So I picked out two pieces of fabric that I like and two skeins of Weeks Dye Works variegated floss. My plan is to stitch the design with only one color of floss, to make it easier and faster.

The tough choice is, which do I choose? I absolutely love the pink fabric with the Bethlehem floss, but the green fabric with the Noel floss is more “Christmasy”. I also have a lot of pieces of fabric like the green, whereas I only have that one piece of pink. And I only have one skein of Noel, whereas I have 4 skeins of Bethlehem. I sort of want to save the pink fabric for a design a bit more “worthy” of the fabric. But I have yet to come across anything in my stash that would work with only one skein of floss and on that small size of piece of fabric. I think I will think about this for a few days!

XXX
Carrie


A Santa Cushion

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I decided to finish off Santa and his reindeer as a long cushion. First I picked a coordinating calico fabric and cut strips which I sewed to the sides of the design.

Then I cut off the excess fabric from the top and bottom.

Next I pressed the seams open.

I then sewed on a piece of white ric rac down the length of each strip of fabric (but I forgot to take a picture of that part…oops!)

Next I picked out a different piece of coordinating fabric and sewed that to the back, with right sides together. I left one side open for turning.

After turning the piece right side out I stuffed it with fiberfill and used a chopstick to push the stuffing into the corners.

Then I finger pressed the side seams to the inside and held them together with Wonder Clips. The next step will be to hand sew the opening closed. I probably won’t be able to do this for a few days because this week is going to be crazy with doctor visits and other appointments. I’ll post pictures of the finished result when I’m done! And in the meantime I will look for my next project.

XXX
Carrie



Santa’s On His Way

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My newest project is a Bent Creek Zipper Kit, called Santa’s Reindeer. This is my progress for the last couple of days.

This is going to be much larger than I expected. The fabric is supposed to be 18 count, although I checked it in several places and it is definitely 20 count. But it is to be stitched over 2 threads, so I am ending up with a 10 count project. I was thinking this would be small enough to make into a small cushion to use as an ornament or decoration but I don’t think that will be the case. At any rate, I am loving this project. The counting is so easy and the pearl cotton makes this one stitch up so much faster! There is no separating of floss and because it is only one strand it is not tangling or knotting at all. There is also large areas of one color, which I love. My brain fog has been so bad lately that counting is difficult, and my hand pain makes it hard to hold onto anything, such as bowls and cups, my phone, and embroidery hoops. I love that my sit-on stand has a hoop adapter so I can stitch hands free!

XXX
Carrie


Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

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I have had this Rudolph cover kit from an issue of The World of Cross Stitching for a couple of years at least. I don’t even recall which issue it came with. But recently I found it and decided to give it a go even though it would not be ready before Christmas. It just seemed like such a cute little project, and quick to stitch. I worked on it during two weekends, then finally finished the backstitch today and mounted it into the card blank that it came with. I think he is so adorable and I’ll hang on to him until a future Christmas when I will send him to someone special.

The finished cross stitch, without any backstitch:

XXX
Carrie


Finished at Last!

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Hot off the scroll frame! I am so happy to be done with this project at last, and before October! That gives me a good two months to track down the correct kind of pom pom trim and to put the entire thing together.

This project was featured in Cross Stitch Gold magazine, issue 141 (British numbering system, or issue 63 in the US). It was designed by Durene Jones.

XXX
Carrie


One House To Go!

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I was finally able to get in a little work on the gingerbread houses and I am happy to say that the last house is about 1/3 done! I can’t wait to finish this project that has been years in the making. After this house is finished there will be just a few beads to add to the top and bottom border. Luckily there is pretty much no backstitch at all in this project! But the finishing is what is overwhelming to me. Not just the actual putting together of the hanging, but finding the green pom pom trim that needs to go on the bottom. We don’t exactly have a lot of choices around here for buying things like that, and I hesitate to buy online in case the colors don’t match.

XXX
Carrie


The Home Stretch

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I now have the first house done in row 3, plus half of the bottom border. Two more houses to go!

Sorry, bad lighting + camera phone = poor quality photo.

I think I will tackle the rest of the side and bottom border first, then the extra snowflakes, and finally the last 2 houses. I really want to get done with this project so I can start something new, like this awesome sugar skull from the October 2018 issue of Cross Stitch Crazy.

I just love how this looks on black fabric! But it might be hard on the eyes.

I also really need to finish up the deer in the woods and get some work done on a Summer Ball. And all those Egyptian charts… I guess they will have to wait a while! 🙁

XXX
Carrie



House #7 in Progress

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This 3 day Easter weekend I am going to take it easy and try to get in as much stitching time as possible. I would love to complete gingerbread house #7 by Sunday night. Here is my progress from yesterday and so far today:

I’m definitely slower at stitching than I used to be. I have to get up and walk a lot, and my hands get tired. But this pattern is so easy to follow and has such few colors and full stitches only, so that really helps. I think after this house is finished I will work on the bottom border. Then I will just have 2 houses to go!

XXX
Carrie


House #6

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I am now officially 2/3 of the way done with this project!

3 more houses to go. But, life is about to get real busy. With January comes paying taxes (I am soooo unorganized this year) and… Girl Scout cookie sales! My husband has already been taking our daughter around the neighborhood for a couple of days. Last year was her first year as a Scout. Hopefully this year will be even better!

XXX
Carrie