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


Gingerbread Mandala

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Merry Christmas! I was finally able to finish off these little guys today. I don’t know how I will be finishing it off, but this turned out so cute! I was a bit worried about the color scheme in the beginning but I think it all came together nicely.

I just picked up this pack of fat quarters at Walmart and I think one of them will work perfectly for the finishing!

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



House #5

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House #5 is done at last! This project has been a work in progress for a long time. I didn’t get it done in time for last Christmas, and I didn’t get it done in time for this Christmas. But instead of putting it away now that Christmas is over, I plan to keep working on it. It’s just such a fun project. Here is what it looks like in the hoop – it is the third and final house on the top row.

Next I will move on to the third house on the second row. I had to move the hoop anyway, so I decided to give it a quick iron. It’s not perfectly pressed, but at least the hoop marks won’t be as hard to get out once it is completed and washed.

XXX
Carrie


Gingerbread!

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I switched over to my gingerbread houses project and am having a lot of fun with it. The color changes are very few, and there is no backstitching – yay! I got the top border done (minus the French knots, which I will do at the end) as well as a good amount of the side border. I won’t work on the rest of that until I have to move my hoop down. It is kind of annoying having to use a hoop for this project because the size scroll rods I need are being used on the mermaid project.

I really need to get my husband to make me a new set of dowels in the same size, so that I can have multiple projects of the same size on the go at one time. I am just happy that the sit-on frame I have came with an attachment to hold a hoop or Q Snap. So I can still use the frame and stitch hands-free. This is a must for me because the pain in my hands would never let me hold an embroidery hoop. The frame I have was purchased on eBay about 10 years ago and the company is no longer in business. It is called Stitch EZ cross stitch frame. It is such a great frame – it came with three sizes of scroll rods, a detachable chart holder, and a Q Snap or hoop holder. The sides of the frame and the Q Snap holder have magnets to hold your needles.

Next up is house #5!

XXX
Carrie





Gingerbread House Sampler

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I have started a new project. I know, I know. I have several WIPs already. But the deer in the woods is just not fun to work on, and A Summer Ball is quite challenging (and huge). I wanted to work on something that I could complete in the next couple of months, and have fun working on at the same time. I chose this gingerbread houses wall hanging from issue 141 of Cross Stitch Gold magazine. This pattern was designed by Durene Jones, and is just so adorable. There is no backstitching, no fractionals, and only a handful of french knots. The entire chart is done in only 7 colors, and has large blocks of one color. I have not worked on it much yet, just a couple of hours over the weekend, and I already have a good portion of one of the houses done. Photos to come!

This was not one of the projects I had in my “to do” pile. I really did want to start on either the colorful butterflies or the red headed mermaid. But I didn’t have the right fabric for the mermaid, and this chart seemed so much easier than either of them. Bigger, possibly, but with a lot less color changes and counting. And although I am not a huge fan of gingerbread cookies or cutesy things like this in general, I just knew I had to make this wall hanging when I saw it! I especially adore the green pom pom trim at the bottom.

XXX
Carrie