Pat's Cross-Stitch Corner

Summer Schoolhouse – Lessons in Abecedarian

August 16, 2017 By patgeary Leave a Comment

When I first saw the Summer Schoolhouse series by Brenda Gervais advertised, I was not that interested. The main reason is I like to know what a project is going to look like BEFORE I decide to stitch it. Once I saw Lesson #1 I decided YES, I need this. The only problem was the entire series was designed to be stitched on 28ct Mushroom Lugana with 1 over 1. I knew that would be impossible for me to even see but decided I wanted to stitch it anyway, Mine would just not be TINY. I signed up with Crazy Annie’s Stitchin for her autoship program and received Lessons 1 and 2 at the same time. The series consists of 4 charts with 6 projects and includes stitching and finishing instructions for all 6 projects.

And if you are interested, The Story Behind the Series. And the book that inspired the series, The Little Pretty Pocket-Book.

I decided to stitch each of the projects on 16ct Regency Aida by Picture This Plus and use the thread from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe rather than the recommended threads.

Lesson #1

Summer Schoolhouse Lesson #1

Stitch Count: 140wx 103h
Design Size: 8 3/4 x 6 1/2
started Stitching: August 14, 2017

Supplies for Lesson #1

Lesson #2

Summer Schoolhouse Lesson #2

Stitch Count: Miss Polly Pinkeep is 63w x 89h and on Little Master Tommy Pinkeep 67w x 90h
Design Size: Miss Polly Pinkeep is 4 x 5 5/8 and on Little Master Tommy Pinkeep is 41/4 x 5 5/8

Recommended threads and my selection for Lesson #1.

WDW Sandcastle/VMSS Desert Grass
WDW Flatfish/VMSS Mixed Wood Brown
WDW Oscar/VMSS Mountain Laurel
WDW Olive/VMSS Tea Leaves
GAST Woodrose/VMSS Desert Rose
GAST Mountain Mist/ VMSS Old Time Blue
GAST Uniform Blue/VMSS Delft Blue
CC Eggshell/
CC Used Brick/VMSS Cranberry Bog
CC Cayenne/VMSS Prairie Rose
CC Hazelnut/VMSS Spiced Cider

Lesson #2 adds these thread colors:

WDW Peach/
GAST Lexington Green/
GAST Old Hickory/
CC Pebble Beach/

Lesson #3

This chart is due to be released in late August.

Lesson #4

This chart is due to be released in late September.

She Sights a Bird by Blackbird Designs

August 11, 2017 By patgeary Leave a Comment

She Sights a Bird is #3 in the Loose Feathers for the Birds series by Blackbird Designs. The title of this pattern is inspired by Emily Dickenson’s poem, “She signs a Bird – she chuckles.” It seems perfect for this cat surrounded by three birds. Think of this piece as more of a peaceful kingdom that what Emily Dickenson implies in her poem.

She Sights a Bird by Blackbird Designs chart

The sugggested fabric is 36ct Oaken by Picture This Plus but I have chosen to use 16ct Regency by Picture This Plus with the recommended threads.

She Sights a Bird Supplies.

Started Stitching: August 5, 2017

Progress She Sights a Bird.

Finished Stitching: August 13, 2017

She Sights a Bird FINISHED.

Queenstown Blue Crab

July 19, 2017 By patgeary 1 Comment

Sometime during the Fall of 2014, a fellow stitcher on the 123Stitch Message Board posted a project she was stitching for a relative. It was the Queenstown Blue Crab. When I saw the piece, I knew it was something I wanted to stitch for my youngest son. Both of my boys had spent lots of time fishing and crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay when they were young.

Queenstown Blue Crab by Queenstown Sampler Designs

I asked her if she was interested in selling her chart and she offered to give it to me. I accepted.

The designer recommended Wichelt Belfast linen 32 ct. Platinum for the fabric with DMC cotton floss. Since I have difficulty seeing 32ct and since the design had only full crosses, I decided to use 16ct Aida. I ordered a piece of 16ct Mercedes Aida from Picture This Plus. I thought it would be the perfect color for stitching this chart. And 16ct over 1 would give me the same finished size as 32ct over 2.

Stitch count: 130 high X 160 wide
Design area: 8.2″ high X 10″ wide

I did not write down exactly when I started stitching this project but the first mention of it was November 2014. I worked on it for a while and then my husband’s health issues caused me to put it aside. I picked it up again in July of 2017 determined that I should finish this one. I also moved the project from qsnaps to my larger scroll frame so I could see more or the gridding at one time.

Progress on Queenstown Blue Crab

While all of the stitches are full crosses, there are many color changes.

Progress on Queenstown Blue Crab 7/21

Queenstown Blue Crab Progress 7/28

Queenstown Blue Crab Finished!

Now to decide how to frame it.

Samplers by The Scarlett House

July 8, 2017 By patgeary 1 Comment

I had never heard of The Scarlett House before until someone posted a preview of this chart from the Nashville Market for 2017. Once I saw it, I decided to order it along with my Blackbird Design charts. It arrived and I stuck it away in the file cabinet.

Samplers by The Scarlett House

Then a new Facebook group started called The Scarlett House Stitchers, and I decided to join it. The administrator of the group started a poll to see who might be interested in a Stitch-A-Long (SAL) and Samplers was selected. The suggested fabric was 40ct Ale linen from Picture This Plus. I knew I would never be able to see that small a count fabric even stitched over 2 so I selected 16ct Legacy Aida by Picture This Plus. I also decided to use floss from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe rather than what was recommended. I’ll include the colors I selected later on in this post. The stitch count is 218w x82h. The SAL was going to start on July 1st.

The one part of the design I will need to change is two small birds that are stitched over 1. I am going to try and find two small bird buttons or charms to use in their place.

I gathered my supplies, gridded my fabric and put it on the scroll frame.

Supplies for stitching Samplers

Started Stitching July 1, 2017
Finished Stitching July 16, 2017

Fabric Used: 16ct Legacy Aida by Picture This Plus

Floss Recommended: The Gentle Arts/Floss Used: Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe

Black Licorice/Darkest Blue
Ruby Slipper/Victorian Cranberry
Pomegranate/Heirloom Red Cherry
Barn Grey/Blue Sage
Piney Woods/English Moss
Dark Chocolate/Plantation Brown
Forest Glade/Black Forest
Parchment/Country/Tan
Chalk/Primitive White

Progress on Samplers

Progress July 12, 2017

Samplers by The Scarlett House stitching completed.

I do plan on adding a small bird charm that I have just above the basket in place of the 1 over 1 stitched bird. The other bird, I left off.

The Light Upon the Lawn by Blackbird Designs

June 30, 2017 By patgeary 1 Comment

The Light Upon the Lawn is #2 in the Loose Feathers For the Birds series. The stitch count is the same as the first one in the series, It’s Spring Fever and uses the same floss colors. The recommended fabric for this one is 36ct Ale by Picture This Plus. I am stitching this one on 16ct Regency Aida by Picture This Plus.

The Light Upon the Lawn chart

The title of this pattern is inspired by Emily Dickenson’s poem, ‘A Light Exists in Spring’. In the poem she speaks of the light in spring being colored differently than the rest of the year. I loved the idea of spring light awaiting on the lawn … ready for us to come outside and view the landscape. You can read her poem here.

The Light Upon the Lawn Supplies

I am thinking that instead of framing these, I will have them finished three vertically into a bell pull/wall hanging. Another thought would be to have them framed as one piece, vertically. I have plenty of time to decide that once I finish stitching all nine of them.

Started stitching: June 19, 2017
Finished Stitching: July 1, 2017

Progress June 26, 2017

Progress as of June 30, 2017

The Light Upon the Lawn – Finished

Quaker Family Register by Blackbird Designs

June 18, 2017 By patgeary Leave a Comment

Quaker Family Register was one of the projects taught by Barb Adams and Alma Allen at the Spring Fling Retreat at Stitchville USA in April 2017. While I did not personally attend the Retreat, a stitching friend offered to lend me the chart to stitch.

Quaker Family Register by Blackbird Designs

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads, I decided to use that instead of some of the colors.

Recommended Floss and what I used:

WDW Caper – VMSS Black Forest
WDW Confederate Gray
WDW Dirt Road
WDW Loden – VMSS Garden Green
WDW Parchment – VMSS Country Tan
WDW Schneckley – VMSS Basket Weave
WDW Straw

Started Stitching: June 2, 2017
Finished Stitching: June 18, 2917

Quaker Family Register Fabric, Chart, and Floss

I did make some changes from the floss pictured as I stitched. Part way into the project, I decided to stitch this in honor of my paternal grandparents, Leonard Little and Sammie Bayless and their five sons: Adrian (my father), Winston, Clifford, John, and Mahlon. My grandfather was born in Fayettteville TN and they were married there. All but the youngest son was born there so I used that place on the project. Rather than using the initial of the children, I chose to use their first names. Since the dates for the birth of the children were stitched over 1, I chose to omit them. I plan on adding a sheet to the back of the framed piece with all of the information on this family.

Stitching Progress June 6, 2017

Progress June 12, 2017

Progress June 17, 2017 before any personalization.

Quaker Family Register personalized

Now to decide on the framing.

The Winter is Past by Blackbird Designs

May 12, 2017 By patgeary Leave a Comment

Our spring garden, bursting with tulips and pots of posies, welcome the birds returning from their winter home. Some joyous songs will fill the air as the birds work like industrious carpenters building their homes of twigs patched with bits of mud.

Come, sit on the porch with us and stitch a bit while we welcome spring.

The Winter is Past by Blackbird Designs

I knew when I first saw a preview of this chart from the Nashville 2017 Market that I HAD to have it. I love the soft blue colors. The recommended fabric is 36ct Oaken by Picture This Plus but I can no longer see well enough to stitch on that small a count fabric, so into my stash drawer I went in search of something else. I selected 16ct Toasted Almond from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie and used the recommended threads.

Supplies for The Winter is Past

Started Stitching: April 23, 2017
Finished Stitching: May 12, 2017

The Winter is Past by Blackbird Designs

Now the decision on how to frame it and where to display it so I can see it every day. Thanks Barb and Alma for another beautiful project.

Forget Me Not by Blackbird Designs

May 6, 2017 By patgeary Leave a Comment

I had a request from my granddaughter that she would like something I had stitched with her father’s name on it. I had recently loaned out one of my Blackbird Design books, Tokens of Friendship that had the chart Forget Me Not. It had been stitched in a beautiful shade of blue. I decided that this would be the perfect thing to stitch in my son’s memory for his daughter.

Rather than using the recommended fabric and floss, I selected a piece of 16ct Doubloon Aida by Picture This Plus and a selection of floss from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.

Churn Dash (dark blue)
Blue Sage (light blue)
Western Wall Flower (yellow)
Flower Basket (green)
Faded Barnwood (dark brown)
Primitive Taupe Brown (light brown)

Supplies for Forget Me Not

Started Stitching: January 13, 2017
Finished Stitching: January 22, 2017

Forget Me Not by Blackbird Designs

I decided to frame it with a dark blue frame I bought from Graphix Dimensions, my favorite supplier for frames.

Forget Me Not framed

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Floss

May 4, 2017 By patgeary Leave a Comment

I am not sure when I was first introduced to Nancy Turner and her Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss, sometime in 2015 I think. Anyway it seems to have become as big an addiction as Blackbird Designs charts. As I accumulate more of her collections and after joining two of her floss clubs, I decided I had better organize this collection so I could find colors when I want to substitute the recommended colors in a project for the VMSS ones.

Each skein of her floss contains 20 yards so there is plenty for large projects. And the colors are luscious.

My DMC floss is organized by the color numbers, my Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Arts by color names. Since I select the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads by color, I decided to organize them in color groups. Here is my collection as of May 2017.

Browns and Tans Color Group

Shades of Green Color Group

Reds and Blues Color Group

Oranges and Yellows Color Group

Shades of Purple Color Group

I have a large drawer I am going to keep these in. The browns in a box and the rest in zip lock bags for now.

If you subscribe to Nancy’s blog, she has giveaways quite often. You could also join one or all three of her floss clubs. I promise you will not be disappointed in her floss.

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Floss Club

Sunflower Charms by Blackbird Designs

April 26, 2017 By patgeary Leave a Comment

Sunflower Charms is another of the older charts from Blackbird Designs and one I had in my collection. It was in my collection, that is, until our new puppy dog decided to eat it. I had left it on the bed as I was going to use it to stitch the sampler for my great-granddaughter. Big mistake!!

Sunflower Charms chart by Blackbird Designs after being destroyed by puppy.

I was lucky as an online stitching friend offered to loan me her chart. I had the perfect piece of fabric called Frothy Toffee by Joni Nolen of Fabtastic Hand Dyed Fabrics on 14ct Aida and instead of the recommended threads, I chose to use Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads – Golden Chestnut, 1880 Pumpkin, Butter Pecan and Parsley.

Materials for stitching Sunflower Charms

I started stitching on April 18, 2017 and finished on April 22, 2017. It really was a quick stitch and I love the way it turned out.

Sunflower Charms finished piece.

Now to select a frame for it and get it in the mail to her.

Sunflower Charms Framed