NEW! Silly Snaps - Monster Kitties

It's been a while since I designed anything, but I was inspired this summer by kitties, of course. I don't know if I've shared, but I'm a cat lady. I have one elderly kitty named Minnie. We've been together for 15 years, and we've been through a lot together. One of my favorite things to do in the evening is flip through cat stories on Instagram.

Anyway, I think I've also shared I'm not much into Halloween (scary movies sign me up, Halloween, eh), but I am a fan of cutesy Halloween. I thought about Halloween and kitties and what I'd like to have up in my house, and these adorable monster kitties were born.

I wanted something small since I'm a slow stitcher, and it could be finished differently depending on the stitcher's preference. I also wanted something that could be expanded, like a series, so Silly Snaps was born. I've already got ideas around other themes. Quick little projects that are cute and likely involve a cat in some way.

If you wanted to finish them as something other than pillows, they could be finished individually or as one piece, horizontally or vertically, with a few stitches between the frames.

You can grab them as a set, or individually in my Etsy shop here.

Tiny Temperature Rainbows Cross Stitch Pattern!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted things on the blog. I’ve been pretty busy, with what, I could not tell you, but there’s been a lot of crafting going on and a lot of work going on in my day job.

Anyway, I do have something to share! I’ve created my first cross stitch pattern. I jumped on the temperature train! Okay, it’s not my first cross stitch pattern, but it is the first one that I’m sharing with the world. Since it makes me so happy every time I walk by it, I put together a pattern for it!

The pattern is available in my Etsy shop. It is $10.00 and includes the pattern in both color and black and white, an alphabet so you can create your location, a close up of the actual rainbow pattern in case you need to see it a little bit better, and a blank chart area so you can chart you location. It also includes the DMC and Paintbox Crafts Embroidery Floss temperature chart (with a blank chart if you’d prefer to create your own color scheme), plus charts to record your highs and lows in case you get behind (like I did).

I used antique white 32-count Lugana from Zweigart and Paintbox Crafts Embroidery Floss for mine. It was a super fun project, and I love it even more now that it’s done and I get to enjoy it.

Get your copy here!

January Calendar Crates + Tiny Sweater Pattern

It's been a very long time since I shared anything here on the blog. I've mostly been posting to Instagram, and even that has been sporadic lately. I've been thoroughly enjoying everyone else's posts, though! I don't know that there's a particular reason I haven't been posting other than it's winter, and I have a tough time in the winter.

Since the first release, I have been stitching all of the Calendar Crates from Stitching with the Housewives. I finally FFO'd the January version even though the stitching has been finished since the beginning of the month. Since it was somewhat knitting-themed, and that's my day job, I decided to add a little knitted element!

I made a really, really lazy tiny sweater to go with the January Calendar Crate! It's just a worsted weight yarn knit on size US4 needles to give it a little bit of density. I was also super lazy about finishing it. I bound it off a little too tight but didn't go back and fix it, because like I said, lazy knitter over here.

I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in colors 202 and 25. I suppose it's sort of a fancy yarn for something so small, but I do love the yarn, and again…day job.

I quickly wrote down the pattern as I was working on it and figured I'd share it here for anyone who wants to make one too.

Tiny Sweater Pattern
In MC CO 12 sts
Knit 1 row
*Change to CC
Knit 2 rows
Change to MC
Knit 2 rows
Repeat from * 3 more times
Change to CC
Knit 2 rows
Change to MC
Knit and CO 6 sts at end of row
Next row: Knit and CO 6 sts at end of row
Change to CC
Knit 2 rows
Change to MC
Knit 2 rows
Repeat this stripe sequence one more time
BO

I just used an old DPN to thread it through the back to help prop it up in the jar. I know it's not perfect, but overall, I'm pleased with the result, and it's another project that makes me smile when I look at it!

FFO: Country Cottage Needleworks January Sampler

When I saw the preview of the Country Cottage Needleworks Sampler of the Month posted on Instagram, I knew that there would be another new year-long project on my list. There was something so appealing about the size, shape, and colors of the January pattern that I couldn't resist. When Fat Quarter Shop announced a monthly club, I signed up right away. I chose the 32 count linen club since I prefer linen or evenweave to Aida.

The pattern calls for (and the club comes with) Wichelt 32 count linen in beautiful beige and floss by Classic Colorworks. I have completed or have in progress a few patterns from Country Cottage Needleworks, so I'm familiar with their pattern layout. The patterns are in black and white. Sometimes if my eyes are feeling a little tired, I will take some colored pencils and color in black and white patterns for easier stitching, but this time, I left it as is and didn't have too much trouble keeping track of the colors and stitches as needed.

I love the way the Really Tealy Classic Colorworks gives the house an icy vibe. I had recently completed a different Country Cottage Needleworks pattern that was winter-themed (which I'll show on another day), so it was nice to have the snowflakes be the same. I didn't have to re-learn how to do them.

It was a pretty quick stitch. It only took me about 18 hours to finish, and I enjoyed every stitch. The linen is imperfect, so some Xs are a little larger than others, but that's the way it is when working with linen. I mostly stitched one X at a time, even though it's faster to go across in one direction and back in the other.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do about a frame for this piece. It is finished on the pattern cover with a 4" x 9" frame from Family Tree Frame Co. It is a lovely frame, but it's not quite my style. It has a little too much going on for my taste, so I did some searching, first on Amazon, and came up with nothing. I then went to Google and stumbled across ArtToFrame.com. They seem to have a huge selection of items that I've only scratched the surface of, but most importantly, for this project, you can order any frame size.

Since I had not heard of them before, I was a little leery about ordering but decided the worst that would happen is that I'd be out a little bit of money. I typed in my inner frame dimensions and was shown a variety of frame options. I think there was a color or style that would work for anyone. I was pretty excited that they were affordable too. The base price of the one I selected, an off-white stain on solid wood, was just over $20. You can then choose the type of glass you want, from a basic plain glass up to museum glass. I selected something in the middle for this, TruVue Conservation Reflection Control, which reduces glare and protects from UV light. You also get your hardware choice, a simple sawtooth, easel back, a wire option, or easy hang. I went with the simple sawtooth since I was planning on using an easel from Amazon to rest this on.

It took about three from ordering to shipping, though I did order on a Sunday, so I wouldn't count that as a day. The shipping step of the way is where we ran into a delay. ArtToFrames ships from Brooklyn, NY. I live in western Massachusetts, so that's only about three hours away. Well, the frame went on quite the adventure with USPS. Instead of traveling directly to the closest hub to me, like I've noticed most of my packages do, this one took a trip to Nashua, NY. After hanging out there for a day or so, it headed to Boston, MA. And, there it sat for five days. It didn't move. I know that USPS is experiencing a crazy amount of volume, so I tried not to stress. After a week of waiting, I eventually submitted a missing mail request, and suddenly, the package was at the hub closest to me and was delivered the next day.

After its adventure, I was worried that the frame was going to be in pieces. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the securely stapled box and saw that the frame was nestled into a unique cardboard holder. I didn't take any pictures of this before sending it to the recycling pile, but I was super happy not to have to deal with all kinds of packing materials. The best way I can describe it is that the cardboard holder allowed the frame to be suspended in the middle of the box, safe from crushing. Overall, I'm very impressed and will certainly be back again for other projects!

To finish the stitched piece, I cut some Sticky Board down to size and spent more time than seems to look like centering the piece on the Sticky Board. I used straight Sticky Board with no batting since it's going into the frame, and for now, I'm keeping it behind glass. I might decide later I don't want it, but I'm pleased with it for now.

I'm happy that I finished this with a couple of weeks left to January. I wonder if I'll be able to complete the February one before February starts?

Details
Pattern: Country Cottage Needleworks Sampler of the Month - January Sampler
Floss: Classic Colorworks in called for colors
Fabric: 32ct Wichelt Linen in Beautiful Beige
Frame: 4" x 9" off-white on solid wood from ArtToFrame.com
Total Hours Spent on Project: 18 hours, 3 minutes

FFO: Let's Talk Autumn from Hands On Design

Well, I managed to get this finished before autumn bids us adieu! I didn't think I would, and I wasn't even sure if I would make it to display before I started busting out the Christmas decorations, but I did.

I love this series from Hands On Design, even though we just have autumn (and I know winter is coming soon, and it'll be hopping into my cart as soon as it shows up at FQS). Something is satisfying about stitching words, even if they take me just as long as a project that's not mostly text.

I know they say you're not supposed to point out your mistakes, but I'm going to because I hope it will benefit someone someday. I think my fix was acceptable, and in the grand scheme, this is a minuscule error. I stitched this on 32-count chalkboard black linen. It's not the easiest to see, and sometimes I don't pay as close attention as I should. It happens to the best of us. You get distracted by something, and the next thing you know, you're off by a hair. And, I really do mean a hair. I ended up being off horizontally by one hole, not even a whole stitch. And it was towards the top, but after I had enough of the project stitched, taking it out just felt devastating. So, I set it aside for a bit and pondered.

As I looked at the chart, I realized I could add that half stitch space between the horizontal sections, and I could make it work, as long as I remembered to do that. The only place it got a little tricky is at the bottom where the leaves are overlapping, so the word pumpkin has a stitch and a half instead of one stitch between one of the letters. Feel free to zoom in and find it if you must. I think I did a decent job masking it, so certainly someone who doesn't know a thing about cross stitch won't see it. I also had several places where I had to unpick my stitches, which added at least two hours to my time, probably more.

I used the called-for DMC. It was a nice switch from using the fancy floss. I don't really keep any hard and fast rules about how I stitch with my fancy floss. Sometimes I do one half of the stitch across the row and then come back and cross the other way, and sometimes I do each stitch alone. Lately, I've been doing single stitches, which feels like it takes longer, but it's probably just in my head.

I went very simple on finishing this, and I can easily swap out the finishing as the seasons change, and I complete the other versions. I stuck this on an 8" x 10" piece of sticky board and put it in a frame that I purchased from Michael's. I don't have the glass in front, but do have it behind the stitched piece if I decide I want to change that in the future.

Details
Fabric: Wichelt 32ct linen in chalkboard black
Floss: Called-for DMC
Pattern: Hands On Design Let's Talk Autumn (Chalk Talk)
Other: Sticky Board, 8" x 10"
Frame: Gray 5" x 7" Frame with Double Mat, Expressions™ by Studio Décor from Michael's
Total Hours Spent: 60 hours, 28 minutes (I think I'm a slow stitcher)

FFO: Catoween Wanda + Catoween Cal

Recently, I was lucky enough to be the winner of a free copy of Stitching with the Housewives Catoween Wanda while watching Priscilla & Chelsea’s YouTube channel. I don't often win, so I was super excited! I'm not much of a Halloween person. There's less than a handful of Halloween movies I like, but I LOVE cats, so even before I tried to win this one, I knew I was going to purchase it. When Catoween Cal came out, I knew that I wanted to stitch both to add just a hint of Halloween to my decor.

I was going to stitch them on 32 count Wichelt Linen in Chalkboard, but I managed to catch when Fat Quarter Shop uploaded their Picture This Plus 28 count Lugana, so I grabbed a piece in Shadow, not knowing what I was going to do with it. After I hit purchase, I thought, "Oh, this would be great for my Catoween project!" So, as soon as it came in the mail, I trimmed two pieces and started stitching.

I used the called for Classic Colorworks but subbed DMC 3865 for the 12-Grain since that color wasn't available when I was ordering, and I have plenty of 3865. When I finished stitching, I realized that I didn't feel the fabric was quite dark enough to stand in for the design's black areas, so I dug some DMC 310 out of my stash and stitched those no-stitch areas. (I have an abundance of 310, so next time I think I need it, I do not!)

I enjoyed stitching both of these pieces. I prefer evenweave over linen, but it's a little harder to come by in the colors I want to stitch on, so when I can get it, I do. Otherwise, I make do with linen. They were reasonably quick stitches considering I feel that I am a slow stitcher.

To finish, I used sticky board that I trimmed down to fit the stitched piece, added a piece of 100% cotton, and layered the piece over the top. I did use It's Sew Emma Finishing Tape to secure it, mostly because I did not feel like dealing with the glue gun. I had a half yard of Midnight Magic plaid that I used for the background fabric. I knew I wanted to use the candy corn pick I had ordered a while ago, but I wasn't quite sure how. After messing about with the layout, I decided that I preferred the bow/candy corn combination at the bottom. I used a scrap of fabric from my stash that I tore into strips for the bow. I'm not a great bow-maker, but I don't hate the way this one came out.

Looking at these two kitties makes me smile every time I walk by!

Details 

Pattern: Stitching with the Housewives Catoween Wanda, Stitching with the Housewives Catoween Cal
Floss: Classic Colorworks in called for colors but swapped 12-Grain for DMC 3865 and added DMC 310 for the pupils and pumpkin black areas
Fabric: 28ct Picture This Plus Lugana in Shadow; Finishing Fabric - Midnight Magic by April Rosenthal for Moda, random stash fabric for ribbon
Additional Finishing Items: Display Stand Set from Amazon, Candy Corn Pick from Michaels
Total Hours Spent on Project: Wanda - 8 hours, 47 minutes; Cal - 8 hours, 34 minutes, plus about an hour finishing both

FFO: Hello Fall

I have finished another cross stitch project! This one is to decorate my house for Fall. Let's ignore that it is now October 7th, and I haven't even put my Fall decorations up yet. I'm usually much faster. The first week of September, but I haven't been ready to let go of summer, and we've had an on-going basement project, which means my decorations are currently a little harder to get to.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of Priscilla and Chelsea of Stitching with the Housewives/The Real Housewives of Cross Stitch. I'm thrilled that they've started releasing their own patterns and love that many of them are on the smaller side because that means I can complete them in a reasonable time. I track my crafting time, mostly because I like to see what I've done with my time. Before I started doing that, I would inevitably hit Sunday night and say, "Did I even DO anything this weekend?" Now, I know whether I did or I didn't!

This finish is part of the What's in My Cup Series from Stitching with the Housewives and is called Hello Fall. It's an adorable fox popping out of a mug with leaves and acorns scattered around. Even though this is a smaller project, it still took me a decent number of hours. I discovered that most of the reason for this is I tend to get distracted while stitching, because of what I'm watching, where I am, who I'm talking to, or my phone has something VERY (not) interesting on it. Anyway, I stitched this little guy (I don't know why I'm assuming he's a guy, but that's how he's spoken to me) in the called for colors of Classic Colorworks on 32ct Wichelt Linen in Chalkboard. The pattern suggests 28ct, but when it comes to linen, I prefer 32ct. If it's an evenweave, I don't mind 28ct, probably because the threads are a little thicker on most evenweaves than this particular linen.  

Because I used 32ct, my stitches are so tiny. When I first started, I took a picture of the little leaves next to my fingers (which just so happened to coordinate well) and texted it to my sister, wondering if I'd made a terrible mistake. I knew how I wanted to finish it, so I did want the finished stitching a little on the smaller side, and the 32ct would get me where I wanted to be.

Stitching on dark colors can be a little tricky. I've found recently that I have a bit more trouble seeing the holes than I have in the past. I don't know if my eyes are tired from staring at a screen all day, or if my eyes are getting older. (They're not that old...they're only going to be 38 on November 12th, but I don't know when eyes start changing. I did read recently that by age 40, your eyes need twice as much light as they did when you were 20. That was kind of...eye-opening...yeah, I went there.) I've found that having adequate light and putting the pattern in my lap under my stitching makes it easier to see the holes on dark fabric.

I stitched away on my project and kept wondering if I wanted it to say, "Hello Fall." Since we're already in October, it felt a little late to be welcoming Fall in, so I decided to make a slight change to "Happy Fall." I thought that this would carry me through to my Christmas decorations a little better than the original. It was a simple change since I only had to change a few letters. I grabbed some graph paper and did a little doodling, and in no time, I had the new letters.

I knew that I wanted this to be an addition to my autumn decorations, but I wasn't sure exactly how to do that. I love watching Priscilla's finishes every weekend, but I'm still a little new at it, so mine isn't perfect, and I have this terrible trait that prevents me from finishing a project. I think it's two things. I want it to be perfect, and I have a terrible time making decisions and don't want to regret my choice.

About a month and a half ago, I placed an order online at Michael's. The store near me is open, but I'm still trying to avoid going out as much as possible, which is tough, but it feels like the right thing to do right now. I'm a sucker for plaid, and when I saw the 6" Oval Plaid Metal Bucket from Ashland, into my cart, it went. It helped that it was on sale! I added some other assorted finishing pieces, frames, florals and picks, and some ribbon, thinking ahead to some other projects that I wanted to finish. They were all on sale, which is my favorite kind of purchase.

I created a floral arrangement to go in the bucket with various florals that I ordered, sticking to an autumn/orange theme. I haven't picked up any fake flowers since probably the mid-90s, so I had to dig around the garage for some wire cutters to cut the pieces apart. I'm also not super confident with my arranging skills at this point, but I think, overall, the arrangement came out pretty cute.

I didn't take any pictures of my finishing process, since I'm still not a pro with the glue gun, but I used black foam board under the finished piece and sticky board under the fabric. The fabric is from Lori Holt's Prim collection. I cut the foam board to 3" x 4" and the sticky board to 4" x 5" and attached the fabrics to each with a combination of finishing tape and hot glue. Since the bucket is metal, I glued a magnet onto the back of the piece and stuck it on the bucket. I did test the magnet first to make sure that it stuck.

Despite parts of it being a little lumpy, I'm pleased with how this looks. I'm looking forward to adding it to my other autumn decorations, and I think I'll be sad to put him away the day after Thanksgiving.

Details 
Pattern: Stitching with the Housewives Hello Fall
Floss: Classic Colorworks in called for colors
Fabric: 32 Count Wichelt Linen in Chalkboard; Lori Holt Prim Daisy Gingham
Total Hours Spent on Project: 12 hours, 29 minutes stitching, about an hour finishing

FFO: Mistletoe Lane

I have an actual finished object! It's not just a stitched project that I folded up and put into a bin. With inspiration from Priscilla and Chelsea from Stitching with the Housewives/Real Housewives of Cross Stitch, I took glue gun to fabric and made a thing!

I don't have much of a collection of finishing products, but I have slowly tried to add to my stash. I decided to go a little simple with this one since it's my first time finishing a cross stitch project that wasn't just putting it in a frame.

I got the frame from Amazon. It was one of the clip-style. I wasn't sure how they would be attached, but I was happy when it came in, and I unpackaged it and saw they were just held on by small screws. My trusty screwdriver took care of those in no time.

Then, the frame sat for several days while I mustered up the courage to do some gluing. A week or so ago, I purchased several 1/2 yard cuts from Fat Quarter Shop for finishing various cross stitch projects (most that aren't yet stitched). For this, I decided on Swell Christmas Pink and Red Plaid Yardage (now out of stock). I thought it would pull the red, pink, and green in this project together.

I watched one of the videos Priscilla and Chelsea made when they visited Fat Quarter Shop a few times to build up my confidence. Once I felt like I had absorbed all the knowledge I was going to, I started working out what size I wanted each of the parts. I cut my mat board for the fabric to 10.5," and my sticky board for my finished piece to 9", mostly because the Sticky Board I had on hand was 9" x 12".

I used a small piece of It's Sew Emma Cross Stitch Finishing Tape to secure the Swell Christmas fabric to the mat board before I started in with the glue gun so it wouldn't shift. Now, I hadn't touched a glue gun since sometime in the 1990s when I was a kid, and my mom was making a few decorative wreaths for the house that was all the rage back then. Actually, now that I think about it, I think my middle school replica of Mount Vernon was the last time I used a glue gun. I kind of when overboard on that project. If I had a picture, I'd show you. It was GINORMOUS.

Anyway, I carefully loaded my new glue gun, plugged it in, and waited for it to heat up. Once that was ready, I took glue to fabric and board and held my breath. I did use one layer of batting on top of the Sticky Board. I tried to center things as best I could while also trying not to burn my fingers. I pretty much succeeded!

They aren't colors that I usually decorate with, but I thought it might look nice with a multicolored light glass tree I have, so I'll definitely be using it in my house this Christmas. I'm so tickled with the final product!

Details
Pattern: Mistletoe Lane from Fat Quarter Shop
Floss: Weeks Dye Works in called for colors
Fabric: 28 Count Lugana by Zweigart in Light Ash
Total Hours Spent on Project: 70 hours, 16 minutes (which seems like a lot, but I was easily distracted during this one)

Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along Week 2

Week 2 of the Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along went significantly quicker than week 1. This was a pretty easy stitch, and it was nice to add in some additional colors to the piece. I first stitched the dark green leaves and the berries. After that, I filled in the lighter green on the leaves and stitched the stocking. I love how they’re not traditional Christmas colors. I do usually decorate in more traditional colors, but I’m excited to have this in one of the rooms I don’t usually decorate to add a little holiday flair.

I’m currently stitching week 3, which is the house. It is taking significantly longer, but I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get it done and caught up with week 4 (which is a nice small area) by this Friday.

Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along Week 1

I haven’t been shy about sharing my love for Fat Quarter Shop. My wallet may not appreciate them, but I certainly do. I so enjoy all of the content they share with their customers, and the few times I’ve had to contact Customer Service, it has been an incredibly pleasant experience.

I was into cross stitch before Fat Quarter Shop really started to be part of bringing it back, but I have a serious backlog now, in part, because of the great projects I’ve discovered through them. The project that’s been consuming my time lately has been the Mistletoe Lane Stitch Along for Jolly July.

Week one took me significantly longer than I expected. Isn’t that always the way? I feel like every time I plan to do something, it takes twice as long as I think it’s going to. I did stitch the white letters before the red banner just to help prevent the white catching any of the white.

I am using the called for Weeks Dye Works colors, but I’m not using the fabric that Fat Quarter Shop suggested. They suggest a 25ct Lugana, but I prefer at least a 28ct fabric, and while I may not prefer stitching on it, I love they way 32ct looks. I’m using 28ct Lugana in Light Ash. I prefer the tone of this shade to the recommended. I also feel like the slight difference goes a bit better with my general decor.

I’m moving on to Week 2. Maybe I can finish it before the next part is released?