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Top Ten: Stitching Then and Now

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Colorado Cross Stitcher is located in Loveland, Colorado. She has a FlossTube/YouTube channel and runs a virtual Cross Stitch Camp. She also publishes a newsletter. Her last one contained the article Top Ten: Stitching Then and Now. You can sign up for her newsletter on her website. You can also follow her on Instagram. My comments are in italics.

1. It’s not just about geese and teddy bears any more. While I never stitched geese, I certainly did a few with teddy bears. One was a notebook cover for my Mom where she could keep info on her stitching.
2. The color palettes have shifted.
3. We used to work on one project at a time. Pretty much. You’d go to the stitching store and pick a pattern, a fabric, and the flosses. You’d work on it until it was done. Then you got to go back to the store and pick another project. The only stash we had was a stash of patterns that we had already completed. And now I have multiple projects going at one time and my stash is enough to last me for many lifetimes.

4. We stitched with DMC pretty much exclusively. (Unless you were fancy and bought a kit with imported threads.) A good day was finding DMC 10 skeins for $1.00 at Lee Wards, so you could round out your stash on your bobbins. The only time I had stitched with anything other than DMC was when a chart appeared in JustCross Stitch magazine by Eva Rosenstand that used her floss which I special ordered. I still have my Columbine Pillow. And through the years, my mom and I collected what was then a full set of DMC.

5. Here’s a question for you – what did we keep our projects in? I don’t remember any project bags. Or even Ziploc bags. After a time, I remember a type of project keeper. You’d buy one of those (if you were lucky) for your one project. Before that, did we keep them in tote bags or something? The first tote bag I remember is one my mom got me. It was a quilted bag with handles and pockets inside. I still have it.

6. Now we have Hand-Dyed Fabrics – Remember when we were excited to have just 3 or 4 Aida options? Now the options truly seem almost limitless. Hand dyed fabrics bring more texture and variety to your stitching, and can make the finished piece more interesting. All I really had was aida in cream or white or a flecked oatmeal color. Now the choices of fabrics and colors is unlimited. But because of poor eyesight, I am back to aida.

7. Now we have Hand-Dyed Flosses – As with the fabrics, the variance in hand-dyed flosses brings more interest and texture to your finished pieces. Whether you cross your X’s as you go, or stitch down a row and back, the color variation is fun to watch. (Although most all of us also still stitch with DMC as well.) My first use of hand-dyed floss was in 2014 with my very first Blackbird Design charts. I love them now.

8. Now we have Silk Flosses – I’m not sure if there were any silk options back in the day, but I’ll tell you what – I’m not sure I would have stitched with anything else if I had tried it back then. It’s like stitching with butter. While I love some of the silks out there, some are so slippery I find them impossible to use. My favorites are Glorianna silks. My very favorite is Poinsettia. Unfortunately, I don’t use them much because of the cost.

9. Now we have cool notions and fun things to bring extra joy to our stitching. Things like: Beautiful Scissors, Pins, Needle Minders, and Stickers.

10. Patterns, patterns, and more patterns. All done up in different styles, different colors, and different sizes. A plethora of patterns! Our choices now are never ending. And there are some designers I have never stitched yet I have enough charts to last me several lifetimes.

The Sampler Drum

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Hobby House Needleworks is offering a new series based on The Mary Allcorn 1764 Sampler. The Sampler Drum is the first of several smalls that will be released by Hobby House as kits, culminating in the release of the full reproduction sampler later this year!

I decided I wanted to order this one especially since they offered an aida option (16ct Thornfiled  from Needle & Flax. Linen is just too difficult for me to see to stitch on. The floss in the kit is Weeks Dye Works and Classic Colorworks. After a wait until the supplies, we received and shipping started, the kit arrived in my mailbox.

It was beautifully packaged, and the fabric and floss are just lovely. And yes, it is still available with a variety of fabric counts and floss.

Started Stitching: July 29, 2023

And here it is the middle of April 2024 and the sides of the drum are finally finished. I really love this fabric.

Now to stitch the top of the drum so I can assemble it.

I thought about changing the initials on the top to my own and the numbers to the current year but decided to just stitch it as charted. Now to assemble the stitched pieces into a drum.

She’s a BIG GIRL, measuring 16 1/2″ around and heavy. I used poly beads on the bottom, then crushed walnut shells and some fiber fill at the top.

The Long and Winding Road

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Blackbird Designs has so many wonderful projects to stitch, it is always hard for me to pick the next one up. I have had this LeHay Shaker Box since 2016 and decided it was time to stitch something for it, so The Long and Winding Road is next up.

I’m stitching it on 18ct mystery aida I had in my stash with all of the called for floss. I would rather be stitching on 16ct but then it would not fit on the box lid.

You can find more info on the box here. https://www.lehays.com/pages/shaker-round-box-6 However, at the current time, the box is only available in his antiqued natural finish.

Creation Danybrod

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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.

A Tribute

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A Tribute, designed by Barb Adams is a cross stitch chart included in the quilt book, Women of Grace and Charm: A Quilting Tribute to the Women Who Served in WWII from Blackbird Designs.

They were the unsung heroines of World War II – the women who built the planes, wrapped the bandages, nursed the wounded. Now their inspiring personal stories are combined with beautiful quilt work in “Women of Grace and Charm.”

Each of the 12 quilt blocks, designed by best-selling authors Alma Allen and Barb Adams, feature a center star. The stars represent the service star that families placed in their windows to recognize sons and duaghter in the armed forces.

Allen and Adams demonstrate how one design can have infinite variations in this compelling tribute to the strong “Women of Grace and Charm.”

The book was published by Kansas City Star Books on October 2003 and is now Out of Print. I saw the project stitched in green on Instagram and decided I wanted to stitch it. Luckily, I was able to get the book at a reasonable price.

I went in search of fabric and floss and ordered two pieces for Fabrics by Stephanie – Simply Sage and Friendship Greene.

And my start on this lovely project.

Tranquility SAL

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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 Sampler

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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.

Thy Love More Strong

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Thy Love More Strong by Blackbird Designs was one of the retreat projects at the 2022 Shepherd’s Bush Retreat.

The called for fabric is 36ct Veldt by Picture This Plus. I had some 18ct Veldt but decided to use a piece of 16ct mystery fabric that I had in my stash. I just thought it would be an easier stitch. I am using all of the called for floss.

It’s a finish, Thy Love More Strong stitched in honor of my great-great-grandmother, Melissa Phillips (1841-1924. Added her husband’s initials GBS (Guy Bayington Sherman) and her daughter’s initials AES (Addie Ellen Sherman) who was my great-grandmother. Stitched on 16ct mystery aida with called for floss. Melissa is pictured on the far right. Addie is in the single photo. I will be adding to the back all of the info on the family and the two photos.

2023 Cross Stitch Camp

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ColoradoCrossStitcher (Sheri Truax Berger) is sponsoring a virtual Cross Stitch Camp, and anyone can participate. It runs for three months (June, July, and August) with a different challenge each month.

The Challenges

  • June: stitch a pattern that includes a bird
  • July: stitch a pattern that includes something that grows
  • August: try something new (new fabric, count, thread, designer, finishing technique, etc.)

You can find the rules and more details at 2023 Summer Cross Stitch Camp – Colorado Cross Stitcher.

June’s Challenge

For June’s Challenge, I decided to stitch Hummingbird Sampler by Heart in Hand. For this one I chose a piece of 16ct antique white aida using Au ver a soie silk floss.

This one was a quick stitch. The chart came with three tiny buttons to add to the project but one of mine did not have the holes punched all the way through. Since I could not get the button to work, I chose one of the tiny buttons in my collection which was a small heart in a shade of green that would match the colors I had used to stitch it. Now to find some backing fabric and trim and finish it as a small pin pillow that will join the others in this series – Bluebird Sampler, Cuckoo Bird Sampler, ye old crow sampler, and the Redbird Sampler.

And here it is fully finished. The backing fabric is the same as the green on the bottom of the stitched piece. I thought I might add ruched ribbon trim but decided on the pompom trim instead.

Cuckoo Bird Sampler

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Cuckoo Bird Sampler is the latest in this series by Heart in Hand. The model was stitched on 36ct Antique Lace linen using Weeks Dye Works Bark floss.

Cuckoo Bird Sampler cover.

I had already picked out a piece of backing fabric, so I selected a different color scheme. I chose a piece of 16ct aida from my stash and Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss Chestnuts and Bronze Dahlia. The tiny beads used on the branch came with the chart. This will join the other small pillows in one of my dough bowls once I finish it.

After I finished this one as a smallish pin pillow, I decided to add some rusched ribbon following Vonna Pfeiffer’s wonderful tutorial.