Snowman 2023

 Lindsey Weight of Primrose Cottage released the first of her Snowman series in 2023. Meet Top Hat Henri!

 

The stitch count is 57w x 61h and the called for fabric is 28ct Light Taupe. I selected a piece of 14ct aida I had in my stash that was a mottled tan and blue/gray. Instead of using all the called for DMC, I chose to use some of the Color and Cotton floss and some Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss.

• DMC 676
• DMC 3362/Tree Lot
• DMC680
• DMC 3776
• DMC 839
• DMC 3777
• DMC 844/CMSS Winter Coal
• DMC B5200/DMC 3865
• DMC 3052/Aloe Vera

I wanted to mount his one on the same kind of board I did the later ones but could not find the right size. So this is what I came up with.

 

Christmas Ornament 2004

 Christmas Ornament 2004 by Blackbird Designs appeared in the Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue 2004.  The stitch count is 60x60. I chose a piece of 18ct Opalescent white aida to stitch mine on (what was I thinking?). I used some of the called for colors and changed a few.

• GA Black Crow/GA Black Licorice
• GA Soot
  
• GA Dried Thyme
• GA Avocado
• GA Rhubarb/VMSS Bright Candy Pink
• GA Straw Bonnet/DMC 727

 

 

 

Not sure how I will finish this one, a small pillow or a flat ornament. 

A Grateful Heart

 A Grateful Heart by The Scarlett House was an exclusive kit offered in the Homespun Needlework (Cross Stitch and Samplers) Facebook group a few months ago. I received it as a gift.

The kit was offered with various counts and kinds of Hawthorne fabric  by Needle and Flax, with hand dyed floss or silk floss and some extra goodies. I chose the 16ct ct aida Hawthorne and the Weeks Dye Works floss. The fabric is a beautiful mottled light taupe color with slightly darker areas. The chart pack includes the big sampler as well as a small pin pillow.

 

 

 The verse on the sampler is what sold me on stitching this one. 

Each dawn brings a new day
For us to do whatever we may
Choose to be happy with a grateful (heart motif)
For we have been given a brand new start  

Rather than stitch the rabbit that was the critter on the the far right, I changed it to another dog as we have two dogs. The black dog represents Shadow and the reddish brown one is Sheila. I took the final stitches on the sampler today. Now all I need to do is decide on a frame.

Since I had a gift card to Hobby Lobby, I decided to try out their framing department. This is the one I selected and the rabbet is deep enough to hold the glass, spacers, stitched piece mounted on foam core and another piece of foam core as backing. Now all I have to do is decide where to hang it.

 

Sounding Joy

 Sounding Joy by Heartstring Samplery is intended as a companion piece for her previously released “Love & Joy” and “Joyous All Together” pin cushions, this design features lyrics from the dearly beloved “Joy To The World”.   

The Stitch Count: 121 x 63
Needle Bling Designs: Shrekie’s Tan, 36 count
Gloriana Silk Thread: Sassy Green

I chose a piece of 16ct Platinum aida and for floss Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Dried Ferns.

I will be finishing it as a small pillow. Now to find the perfect backing fabric. I decided to use a piece of Blackbird Designs fabric I had in my stash as it was the perfect color. The felt heart on the back covers the hole I used for stuffing.

 

 

Moving my blog

 I've had my personal WordPress blog  on Bluehost for the past ten years but the cost for the server space just keeps going up and is unreasonable for hobby sites. The price for the next year was almost $400. I was able to get them to reduce it to $243.52 for the next year but have decided to move to Blogger. I will just start from scratch with this and try and save the posts in my old blog for each year as a booklet for me.

 

I will also look into new hosting for my Blackbird Designs site but that may be the only one I keep going. We'll see what I am able to find before January 2027. 

Snowman 2025

 Snowman 2025 is the latest release by Lindsey Weight of Primrose Cottage in her snowman series.

The stitch count for this one is 85w x 45h. The recommended fabric is 32ct taupe. The recommended floss is by Color and Cotton which is what I used. I chose a piece of 16ct Antique Lace by Seraphim to stitch it one. This one joins her Snowman 2023 and Snowman 2024 which I also stitched.

Several years ago I bought some frames on sale at Michael’s. I decided to try one of them to see how it would look. I’m happy with how it turned out.