Recently a friend sent me a bunch of Au Ver A Soie silk threads. I decided I wanted to stitch something special with at least some of them. When The Bells on Christmas Day by Blackbird Designs was released in 2019, one of the projects was a small sampler that fit inside a wood and glass box. It is the one pictured on the top center of the cover. I bought the box and selected a piece of 18ct ivory aida to stitch it on. Then I put it away.

Once I received the silks, I pulled the following colors to use in stitching this project.

• #20 very dark green
• #209 brighter green
• #108 sage
• #109 dark cranberry red
• #307 medium rose
• #022 yellow green
• #303 dark gold

My plan was to paint the box red as instructed and place the stitched piece inside. Unfortunately, I had forgotten there were two sizes of the box and the smaller one which I had already stained was the one meant to fit this piece when stitched on the higher count. So . . . . .

I may stitch this one again on 14/28ct so that it will fit in the bigger box painted red.

I recently saw this design posted in one of my Facebook stitching groups and new I wanted to stitch it. It’s called Bunny and Violets by SamplersPrimitive. It is one of several bunny designs she offers.

The chart was available as a pdf download so I bought it.

One a recent trip to my local Michaels store, I found two pieces of printed DMC 14ct aida that I purchased. One was called Sunset 3609 and was shades of pink, blue, and lavender and I decided to use that piece to stitch this one on. The regular price of a 15×18 piece of the fabric is $11.99 but I had a 30% off coupon.

The design uses 25 mostly DMC colors and I had all but a couple in my stash. Purchased the others with the fabric. I had most of the Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Arts floss and subbed DMC for what I did not have.

I finished stitching this on March 20, 2022. As you can see by the photo below, the colors are much darker than the photo of the finished piece shows. If I was going to stitch it again, I would select different shades of the green. I will most likely finish it as a small pin pillow.

And the backing fabric for this one is the same deep purple I used for Easter Parade.

Gathering Acorns (pictured lower left corner) is one of the five charts in the Gathering series by Misty Purcel of Luminous Fiber Arts. This is the third one in the series I have stitched.

Again, I am using 16ct white aida with Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss Russet. I have chosen not to use the buttons on my projects. I have also ordered the trim that goes with each of them but not exactly sure how I will finish them. Next up will be the one pictured at the bottom left corner, Gathering Snowflakes. And the center one, Gathering Honey is on order.

Autumn Sound is one of the designs included in the book, Winds of Autumn by Blackbird Designs. Stitching this one is my second foray into using linen to stitch on. I was given a yard of 28ct Cashel linen in antique ivory and decided I needed to at least try it. My 16ct aida is much easier to grid but this looks so pretty.

I started this one on March 3rd and right away had to frog the bird. Gentle Arts and Weeks Dye Works both have a floss called Deep Sea but they are NOT the same color. I wondered why my bird was not a blue blue. Once the frogging was done and the correct floss pulled, it proved to be a quick stitch as I finished it on March 6, 2022.

I am very happy with the project and ready to try a larger piece on linen, one of the BBD samplers, I think.

June 2022 – I decided to try and finish this piece as a drum. Vonna Epperson Pfeiffer has an excellent tutorial on drum finishing in the Summer 2022 issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher magazine as well as a video tutorial. And Claudia Bourgeois gave me a tip of using foam core for the top and bottom which made it easier for me to pin those pieces to the drum body.

I still need to figure out how to keep the trim from raveling but maybe just run a needle and thread through the end. Anyway, I am happy with my first attempt and found two other stitched pieces in the drawer that I am going to try this finish on. I also ordered some felted acorns to perhaps dangle from the side.

I was recently given a collection of charts, and floss and fabric by another generous stitcher. I kept some and gave some away. One of the pieces was a one yard cut of 28ct Cashel Linen Antique Ivory. I had not stitched on linen since 1985 when I completed an Eva Rosenstand bird kit. I decided to try it again so selected a small design from the Winds of Autumn book by Blackbird Designs, Blooming Sunflowers Sewing Bag.

I had all the called for colors with the exception of WDW Oscar and DMC 3011 is almost a perfect match. The main reason I don’t like stitching on linen is the uneven thickness of the threads, some are like regular sewing thread and some more like pearle cotton. Gridding the fabric is a must for me and the uneven thickness of the threads makes this more difficult.

Started Stitching: February 27, 2022

Finished Stitching: March 1, 2022

Fast forward to November 2023 and this one is now fully finished. I used a pretty bronze colored ribbon to create the ruched ribbon trim.

Bittersweet Acorn by Blackbird Designs was one of the retreat projects for 2021. It should be available at the Nashville Market 2022. I received it as a gift along with a piece of 18ct Wren by Picture This Plus. I switched out the fabric for a piece of 16ct Regency also by Picture This Plus.

The called for threads are all Weeks Dye Works – Cinnamon Twist, Cocoa, Cognac, Dirt Road, Oscar, Roasted Fig, Tobacco Road, and Swamp Water.

I started stitching this one on January 6, 2022.

No idea at this point how I will finish it. I think I will stitch this one again on a different count fabric (perhaps 20ct over 2) cause I like the way it looks.

I decided to finish this one using a small wooden board I bought from Hobby Lobby for half price. The boards were available in both a dark and natural color so I got several of them. I had purchased some Fall trim and added that to the edging. It was a bit stiff to work with so no bow or whatnot.