Calico Prairie blog giveaway

Today one of the cross-stitch blogs I follow (Jacqueline's Stitching and Musing's) introduced me to another blog called Calico Prairie. I've really enjoyed reading it already, and she is having a giveaway of some really beautiful cross-stitch kits and other goodies. Go check it out and enter (well, maybe not because that will decrease the odds of my winning, ha ha!).

Calico Prairie Winter Giveaway

Wedding Frame

I haven't worked on my Mary Wigham SAL much because I've been working on a super-secret high priority project - a wedding frame for my co-worker who is getting married today. Since I'm not done with it yet, which I'm famous for not getting things done on time, I'm printing out pictures of the progress to put in the card.

So, I'll now be posting progress of this project, along with work on Mary when I get to it. The frame is based on a listed idea in Needleprint's Rebecca Blake Sampler pattern pamphlet. I put in the top part of "Bridegroom's Heart Motif" that Needleprint has a free download chart for, exchanging the letters in the chart for the initials of this happy couple. Here's an up-close pick of that top motif:


What will be interesting is how to wrap it to make the frame when I'm done with the stitching, because I haven't a clue how to do that yet, lol. I'm loving these Quaker samplers, though, because they are much more relaxing than changing floss color all the time.

Mary Wigham SAL

I'm so very excited to be participating in my first-ever SAL (Stitch-A-Long) making this beautiful sampler. It was made by a girl named Mary Wigham back in 1790, while she was a student at the Ackworth School - a Quaker boarding school founded in 1779.

Needleprint has worked together with the school to chart the sampler and offer it as free downloads in sections for this SAL, asking only for donations to further Ackworth School's efforts in conservation of this and many other samplers. Go to this post at Needleprint if you'd like to know more about the decision to release the chart this way. If you are at all interested, I encourage you to check it out and join us.

This will be the first time that I am going to stitch on linen - I've only ever used Aida cloth before. The fabric (Wichelt Lambswool Linen) is on order and should be here soon, and I can hardly wait to start. I'm actually intending to stitch it in monochrome - meaning that I will only use one floss color, which I think I've chosen a blue for it. I may vary it a bit by using lighter shades of the same color, but we'll see how it goes and whether I feel like sticking to the monochrome.

I think there will be an "official" blog dedicated to this SAL that I will link to for my updates once I know what it is and I get started stitching. Until then...happy stitching!

Stocking Ornaments

I know it has been ages, but here are the stocking ornaments I've made. The one on the left with red and green stripes I made first two years ago for my friend, Cheryl, and then the variegated one last year for my Secret Santa, Cindy, at work. I used a pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's free patterns, but it was for large stockings with regular worsted weight yarn. I guessed that if I used crochet cotton and a small steel hook it would make it small enough for an ornament, and it worked just beautifully.



This year my Secret Santa was Jane, and I made this one for her. I cross-stitched the tree, which was an idea from my step-mom Viki.



And now, finally, this one I made for my friend Wendy - also this year. Obviously a variation on the last one.

Heart cross-stitch

I made this for my dad and stepmom when they got married, but sadly among those that somehow haven't made it into the frame. The problem is that I discovered from one I had made my mom many years ago that marks from the hoop showed up after awhile. I wanted to figure out how to clean that one and this one before I put this one in a frame. Oxi-clean seems to have worked, but I'm still afraid of putting it in the frame my stepmom got because she has an adhesive backing that if it does show marks down the road I may not be able to fix it.

Cat Home cross-stitch

It has been entirely too long since I've posted something here. I made this cross stitch for myself just because when I saw it in the store I thought it was so cute and so appropriate for my love of cats. It took FOREVER because it is huge - I had to get a 11x15 frame for it. The picture is a little blurry - I'll try to take a better one with my new camera (a Kodak EasyShare Z812!) soon.

Lion & Lamb cross-stitch

I made this several years ago for a friend who was adopting a girl from Korea. It took me way too long to get it done, that then when I finished the stitching I felt embarassed that it was way after she got her daughter and so never got around to framing it and actually giving it to her. One of these days I need to just get over my feeling ashamed, and just get it framed and give it to her.

Phil. 3:5 cross-stitch

I made this one for my sister. I enjoyed making the flowers the most, seeing how the different shades come together to make it look like a real flower. I bet God enjoyed making flowers the most, too, with all the variety of hues and colors he used. I believe He also enjoys seeing how gardeners cross-breed to make new colors, seeing what they do with the wisdom and talents that He's given them.

Flowers & butterflies cross-stitch

This is the one I made for my mom over 10 years ago, and hoop marks showed up probably a couple of years after I made it. Thankfully it wasn't permanently attached to anything in the frame, so I was able to take it out and clean it with oxi-clean.