Pat's Cross-Stitch Corner

Wildflower Woodland Quaker by Tempting Tangles Designs

February 24, 2018 By patgeary

I have NEVER been a fan of Mystery Projects. I want to see what the finished project is going to look like BEFORE I order it or start stitching. I belong to a number of Facebook Cross Stitch groups and someone posted a picture of a portion of the Wildflower Woodland Quaker by Tempting Tangle Designs. It was enough to pique my interest so I went exploring.

The project would be released as 16 separate charts spaced about every two weeks apart. The cost was only $5. so I figured I did not have much to lose if I did not like it.

Recommended Fabric: even weave or linen, 32 count;
Design size is 164w X 164h
Finished size on 32 count if worked over 2 = 10-1/4w X 10-1/4h inches
Each of the 16 sections is 41 x 41 stitches

I purchased the chart, signed up for the Facebook SAL group and downloaded all of the available sections. Since 32ct fabric is too hard for me to stitch on because of my eyes, I selected a 16ct cream Aida that I had in my stash. I also changed out some of the called for DMC threads for Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads which is some of my favorite floss.

DMC 597 turquoise
DMC 611 Drab Brown
DMC 642 Beige Gray Dark/VMSS Mocha Tan
DMC 644Beige Gray Medium
DMC 758 Terra Cotta Very Light/VMSS Pink Peony
DMC 3021Brown Gray Very Dark
DMC 3045Yellow Beige Dark
DMC 3345 Hunter Green Dark/VMSS Dark Watch Plaid
DMC 3347 Yellow Green Medium/VMSS Holly Leaves
DMC Terra Cotta Very Dark/VMSS Glorious Red
DMC 3782 Mocha Brown Light/VMSS Mocha Tan
DMC 3809 Turquoise Very Dark
DMC 3830 Terra Cotta Medium/VMSS Sweet Pea

Wildflower Woodland Quaker – Parts 1-4

Wildflower Woodland Quaker – Parts 1-7

Wildflower Woodland Quaker – Parts 1 -11

Started Stitching December 31, 2017
Finished Stitching: April 23, 2018

Wildflower Woodland Quaker by Tempting Tangle Designs.

Wildflower Woodland Quaker by Tempting Tangles Designs

July 2022 – Released from prison and framed. Ordered a frame from Amazon that I thought would work and it was only $14.00. Liked it well enough that I ordered three more.

Forest Snowfall by Country Cottage Needleworks

February 24, 2018 By patgeary

I’ve been a member of the Facebook group, Little House and Country Cottage Stitching group since 2014. I own and have stitched a number of their charts. I kept seeing the projects folks were stitching called Forest Snowfall. I loved the verse written by Nikki Leeman and the design in general.

“While snow is softly falling, gliding gently to the ground, our neighbors from the forest cozy up and gather round.”

Forest Snowfall by Country Cottage Needleworks

I ordered the chart and waited impatiently for it to arrive. I selected a piece of 16ct Aida in Alchemy by Picture This Plus. I also decided to use Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads rather than what was called for.

Stitch Count: 157w by 106h.
Recommended Fabric: Zweigart’s 28 count Pearl Grey Linen.
Threads:

DMC 644
DMC 3371DMC White/VMSS Primitive White
Crescent Colours Country Lane/VMSS Golden Sand
Crescent Colours Little House Brown/VMSS Mocha Tan
Crescent Colours Deep Fennel/VMSS Alpine Forget-Me-Not
Crescent Colours and Weeping Willow/VMSS Bittersweet

I started stitching Forest Snowfall on February 15, 2018 and finished it on February 23, 2018.

Forest Snowfall by Country Cottage Needleworks

And this one will soon be arriving in my mailbox. Finishing by Vonna Pfeiffer, The Twisted Stitcher.

Forest Snowfall by COuntry Cottage Needleworks

Eighth Day of Christmas Give-away, enter now!

December 8, 2017 By patgeary

They have such lovely names, Farmhouse Memories and Let Me Call You Sweetheart. On the Eighth Day of Christmas Giveaway, Nancy Turner of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is giving away your choice of either one if you are the winner. All you need to do to enter is:

You must be a follower of her blog. Click to follow by Faithful Friends at the right sidebar.
You must post a comment each day that you want to enter.
Post on your blog , stitching group or Facebook and get 100 more entries!

Farmhouse Memories includes: Tree Swing, Covered Porch, Buggy Wheel, Olde Homestead, Chicken Coop, Hay Loft, Summer Kitchen, Vegetable Patch, Mama’s Quilt Top, Carrot Patch, Churned Butter and Well Pump.

Farmhouse Memories Floss Collection

Let Me Call You Sweetheart includes: Surrey with the Fringe on Top, Sunday Hayride, Memory Lane, Pressed Flowers, Penny Violets, Stroll in the Park, Sleigh Ride, Picking Daisies, Moonlight Serenade, The Old Mill Stream, Wedding Carnation and Grandma’s Beau.

Let Me Call You Sweetheart Floss Collection

Nancy’s floss is truly lovely and great to work with. And each skein consists of 20 yards. I am stitching a new Blackbird Design project with some of her floss now. So head on over to her blog for a chance to win some of her lovely floss. You can enter every day for twelve days so lots of chances to win. Thank you again, Santa Nancy for sharing with the stitching community.

Flowers for Sarah

November 18, 2017 By patgeary

Some time ago I purchased the book, Thank You Sarah Tobias by Blackbird Designs. The book contains seven stitching projects based on Pennsylvania Dutch motifs from a sampler stitched by Sarah.

Thank You Sarah Tobias Book Cover

The project from this book I most wanted to stitch was Flowers for Sarah Needcase. I knew that I did not want to finish it as a needlecase but loved the sampler itself.

Flowers for Sarah Needlecase

The called for fabric for this project was 30ct Espresso by R & R Reproductions but I chose to use 16ct Legacy Aida by Picture This Plus. I did use the recommended threads, Crescent Colors – Tennessee Red Clay, Poblano Pepper, Little Brown House, and Joshua Tree.

Started stitching: November 10, 2017
Finished Stitching: November 18, 2017

Flowers for Sarah Sampler

I have a couple of narrow spaces on our house so I think I will probably finish this as a bellpull.

Flowers for Sarah finished as a bellpull

Fairy Garden by Blackbird Designs

November 11, 2017 By patgeary

Fairy Garden is #11 in the Blackbird Design Garden Series. This series of twelve can be stitched as one large project or as individual pieces as I chose to stitch them. The suggested fabric is 32ct Straw by Weeks Dye Works. I chose to stitch it on 16ct Regency Aida with Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads.

Fairy Garden by Blackbird Designs chart

The tiny house surrounded by the lush garden is an invitation for any fairy passing through to step in and take up residence or rest a bit.. After all, what fairy worth her salt wouldn’t want to have the spectacular view offered here.

I started stitching this one on November 8, 2016 and completed it on November 13, 2016.

Recommended Threads/My Substitutions

GA Antique Rose/VMSS Pink Roses
GA Burlap/VMSS Dried Spice
GA Dried Thyme/VMSS Garden Ivy
GA Lambswool
GA Maple Syrup/VMSS Cocoa
GA Old Red paint/VMSS Old Roses
GA Terra Cotta/VMSS Peach Dahlia
Toasted Barley

For the house I used Weathered Tan, Weathered Barnwood and Mocha Cream.

Fairy Garden by Blackbird Designs stitched piece

Finishing into the small pillow was done by Vonna Pfeiffer – The Twisted Stitcher.

Fairy Garden finished as small pillow

Peace on Earth by Blackbird Designs

November 10, 2017 By patgeary

As many of you know, I am a big fan of the ladies who make up the design team Blackbird Designs. Recently another member of the Fans of Blackbird Designs Facebook group, offered her Danish Christmas catalog to the members of the group. The catalog contained a free chart designed by Alma Allen called Peace on Earth. Not surprisingly, Annemiek Koning was swamped with requests. The catalog itself was beautiful to look through and although the original is in Dutch, she did provide an English translation.

There was no picture of the finished project but it reminded me of Blackbird Designs newest Loose Feather series For the Birds. Peace on Earth measures 104w x 109h. The recommended fabric is 36ct Straw by Weeks Dye Works. I chose to stitch mine on 16ct Vanilla Latte by Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. The called for threads were all by Weeks Dye Works which I used except for four colors which I did not have. I started stitching this piece on November 2nd and put the last few stitches in the morning of November 10. I am not sure how I will finish this piece.

UPDATE: August 4, 2022 Another one released from prison and ready to hang.

A Stitcher’s Companion

October 12, 2017 By patgeary

A Stitcher’s Companion is one of the projects included in the book, Honeysuckle Manor and is OOP.

Honeysuckle Manor by Blackbird Designs

Recommended fabric is 30ct Ligonier Latte by R & R Reproductions 2 over 2. I chose to stitch this piece on 28ct cream Monaco with Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Forever Blue.

Started stitching May 16, 2017
Finished May 21 2017

The finishing was done by Vonna Pfeiffer, The Twisted Stitcher. She finished it as a Pin Pillow with ric-rack and Mill Hill Beads accents.

A Stitcher’s Companion from Honeysuckle Manor.

This will join my other small pin pillows in one of my baskets from 1803 Ohio Farm Baskets.

Thank you for Letting Me See the Colors

October 8, 2017 By patgeary

Thank You for Letting Me See the Colors was a chart by ANNE Originals way back in 1977. It is difficult to find a picture of it on the Internet or the chart itself for that matter. A generous member of the 123Stitch MB sent it to me. I’m not sure why I was so drawn to it, perhaps the colors or the fact that as I age my eyes are getting worse.

As I went searching for a color picture of it, I found this one on Google Images. I believe it was stitched by Debbie Miller and framed by Jill Rensell Studios. Jill and Amber always do a fantastic job.

Lord Thank you for letting me see the colors stitched by Debbie Miller .

I stitched mine on 28ct white Monaco over 2 with DMC threads.

Started stitching Oct 2, 2017
Finished stitching October 7, 2017

Thank you for Letting Me See the Colors.

This one has been sitting in the prison drawer since 2017 because I really was not sure how I wanted to finish it. I took it out and laced it onto a circle board I had in my stash. I had earlier purchased a beautiful batik print in shades of purple that I decided to use as a background. I ordered an inexpensive frame from Amazon in white. I used the piece of acrylic that came with it coved with a layer of batting then laced the purple circle on that. Using tacky glue, I added the stitched piece to the purple board and popped it into the frame. Happy with how it turned out. Frame is 8″ inside.

Summer Schoolhouse – Lessons in Abecedarian

August 16, 2017 By patgeary

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.

4 Charts and Hornbook

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
Finished Stitching: August 26, 2017

Summer Schoolhouse Lesson 1 – Finished.

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

Summer Schoolhouse series Lessons 1 & 2.

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/Mocha Cream
CC Used Brick/VMSS Cranberry Bog
CC Cayenne/VMSS Prairie Rose
CC Hazelnut/VMSS Spiced Cider

Lesson #2 adds these thread colors:

WDW Peach/VMSS Flesh (1 strand)
GAST Lexington Green/VMSS Lighthouse Blue
GAST Old Hickory/VMSS Regal Brown
CC Pebble Beach/VMSS Mocha Tan

Lesson #3

Summer Schoolhouse Lesson #3

Stitch Count: 113w x 106h
Design Size: 7 1/8 x 6 5/8
Started Stitching: September 8, 2017
Finished Stitching: October 29, 2017

Lesson #3 Summer Schoolhouse series

Lesson #4

Summer Schoolhouse Lesson 4.

Summer Schoolhouse Lesson 4 Hornbook

Summer Schoolhouse Lesson 4 Strawberry Emery Preserves

The whole series! An old fashioned school box houses the collection. Directions for finishing the school box are included with Lesson 4. However the box will not fit unless you have stitched the series on 28ct over 1.

Summer Schoolhouse Entire Series – An old fashioned school box houses the collection.

I will probably display mine in my long basket. I did order the hornbook kit in the hopes I can stitch it over 1 on 28ct. We shall see if my eyes cooperate.

October 2021 – These pieces have been languishing in the drawer just waiting for me to decide what to do with them. Framing each of the series would have been expensive so I looked for another way to finish them. After finishing the For the Bird series as a wall hanging, I thought that type of finish may work for this too. I laid the pieces out on the bed to see how they might look and decided yes. Then the search began for the perfect fabric. I tried the blue that I had used for the birds but it seemed a bit to dark. I had bought a piece of green fabric with dots that I thought might work. I did not have a big enough piece so off to see if I could get some more.

My son cut the dowel rod for me and I painted them with a basil green shade. And now the piece is hanging in my bedroom not stashed away in a drawer unseen.

She Sights a Bird by Blackbird Designs

August 11, 2017 By patgeary

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.