I saw both of these stitched designs posted in a Facebook group a couple of years ago and purchased them. Fast forward to 2023 as I was looking to stitch some small Christmas gifts, and decided these two would be perfect.

Quaker Holly Pinwheel

I chose a piece of 16ct Parchment aida and the called for colors of floss (Gentle Arts Rubby Slipper, Chives, Forest Glade, Wood Trail, and Harvest Basket.)

Started Stitching: September 27, 2023
Finished Stitching: October 1, 2023

I think I may stitch this one again using a brighter shade of red.

Quaker Carnation Pinwheel

I also stitched this one on a piece of 16ct Parchment aida with the called for floss (Gentle Arts toffee, Wood Smoke, Cinnamon and DMC 3012 since I did not have Green Tea Leaf.)

Started Stitching: October 1, 2023
Finished Stitching: October 4, 2023

Both will be finished as round ornaments as pictured on the original designs. I’ll stitch this one again as both were a quick stitch and I love them.

Gathering Stitches is another in the Gathering Series designed by Misty Pursel as Luminous Fiber Arts.

There are six in the series so far and I have stitched those listed below:

• Gathering Acorns
• Gathering Clover
• Gathering Berries

Rather than using the called for materials, I chose a piece of 14ct Friendship Greene aida and Victorian Motto Shoppe Prairie Sage floss.

Dany Chevallier Forest (Creation Danybrod) is a new designer for me. While I have purchased a number of her charts, I have not stitched any of them yet. Her designs are small, delicate and beautiful. She also has a Facebook page. Her blog is where she sells her charts which are in pdf format.

Hydrangeas or Hortensias

Hydrangeas has a stitch count of 80h x 57w and uses four colors of Hand-dyed by Nina floss (Artichoke, Olive Oil, Hunter, Caribbean). DMC colors are given on her blog but are not included with the chart.

I chose to stitch this one on 16ct white aida using Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss:

• Dried Hydrangea and Downy Lobelia for the flowers
• Flower Basket (darkest green)
• Lambs Ear (middle green)
• 17th Century Sea Mist (lightest green)

I have tried all of my various devices to take a photo of the finished piece and for the life of me, none of them show the true colors so this will have to do until I get it fully finished and hope I can get a better photo.

HERBARIUM – Peonies & Golden Buttons

There are actually two charts included in this project. The first is peonies with a stitch count of 58w x 54h. The colors appear to be a variegated red/pink and medium/light blue.

I am going to stitch this one on 16ct cream aida using Classic Colorworks Belle Soie Sister Scarlet and Au Ver A Soie #108 (sage green).

The second one included is Golden Buttons or Buttercups. The stitch count for this one is 45w x 49h.

On this one, I plan on using 28ct white Monaco and Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss (Yellow Marigold and Winter Rose.)

Now all I have to do is figure out how I want to finish them.

Tranquility by Jan Hicks Creates is the first in a series and was designed for a SAL with Helen D. of Cobweb Corner. The SAL starts on June 13th. The bird is in deep shades of turquoise and aqua with pale motifs. Stitch Count: 80 x 79.

I chose to use 16ct Mercedes aida by Picture This Plus and a combination of fancy floss and DMC.

The stitching is finished so now I need to decide how to finish it. Perhaps a small pillow or mounted onto a wooden board.

I decided to finish this one as a small pillow. The backing fabric is from my quilting friend and the trim is ruched ribbon following Vonna Pfieffer’s excellent tutorial.

Redbird Samper by Heart in Hand was released back in 2018 and included a small red heart button. . It was one of the first one in this series I stitched back in 2019.

I stitched it on 16ct aida using Olde Cranberry by Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. I sent it off to Vonna Pfeiffer, The Twisted Stitcher for finishing and she did a fabulous job.

On the Alder Bough by Blackbird Designs was one of the projects at the 2022 Shepherd’s Bush Retreat.

The recommended fabric is 36ct Veldt by Picture This Plus. I chose to use 25ct white Lugana. I used the recommended floss 3 over 2. The finished size is a bit under 5″x 5″.

Started Stitching: May 11, 2023
Finished Stitching: May 19, 2023

I added the initials of my maternal grandmother Ruby McLaughlin Tucker who was born May 20, 1895. She lived to be exactly 84 years old and died on May 20, 1979.

The frame is from therustyroof.

Tiny Pumpkin by Blackbird Designs is from the book, When the Leaves Fall.

The project was meant to be stitched on Moda toweling fabric with black banding (19 inches per stitch wide x 21 stitches per inch high). I chose to stitch it on what I had in my stash which was 16ct aida with the called or colors.

I was not really sure how I was going to finish this one but decided on a long, skinny pillow. I did add some rickrack to each end and the back is just the same fabric. I just folded it over and made the seam in the middle of the back. It joins some of the others in the dough bowl.

I love red and projects stitched in red. When I first saw the 2023 Collector’s Heart by Heart In Hand Needleart, I wanted to stitch it but it was only offered as a kit which came with linen as the fabric. I saw the chart only offered for sale on one of the stash selling sites and I grabbed it.

I chose a piece of 16ct white aida and DMC 115 which is variegated garnet.

Once I finished stitching it, I decided to mount it on a reddish color board I had in my stash. I laced the stitched piece to a piece of matboad.

The first image shows the stitched piece with a guideline added for lining up the stitched piece to the matboard. The 2nd Image shows the stitched piece laced to the matboard. And the last image shows the finished piece mounted to the board.