Mini Cross stitch Decoupage

I went through a phase where I stitched up a bunch of little tiny cross stitches.  I had no idea what to do with them as they were too tiny to frame.  Then I had this idea to mod podge them onto a canvas.

It took me forever to figure out the layout, but it's very satisfying to know they all have a home now.

To me, the whole thing has a bit of a Jane Austen/Regency feel to it. hmm, or maybe that's just because I got done watching Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time today.

Either way, it's another one of those things that makes me smile when I look at it.  The picture now lives behind baby Groot in my computer room.  Baby Groot approves of Austen dontcha know.

Partial Nouveau Sampler

Sometimes I see a Cross Stitch pattern that I really like, but not enough to stitch the whole thing.  I have a small house and not everything I want to stitch is going to fit on the limited amount of wall space that I have.  Plus I don't seem to have the patience for a large cross stitch piece anymore.

I had been eyeing Mirabilia's Le Nouveau Sampler for some time.  Then one day I saw that someone had stitched up just the center motif.  I thought that was a smashing idea so I did the same.

The background of the design is a pale teal.(The photo does not do it justice.)  I just so happened to have almost the same color fabric in my stash.

I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on framing so I found a cheap white frame on clearance at Michaels.  I had such a hard time finding a square frame the right size that I improvised with a rectangular one.  I had some wide lace that I thought would work well to balance out the space of the design.

The framing isn't as centered or lined up perfectly parallel to the frame, but it's close enough.  It's another one of those things that falls into the "finished is better than perfect" categories.  At least it's not sitting tucked away in a drawer where no one, especially me, can see it.

Regarding Zombies and Sanitation

This cross stitch is now hanging in my kitchen. 

I chuckle every time I see it.

 It was stitched over one on 22 ct cream evenweave.

And here it is for scale reference over my sink with the dirty breakfast dishes still in it. 

(Just keepin' it realz!)

If you like the design, the chart can be purchased at Pixel Power Design.

January Cross Stitch Finish

I'm pretty jazzed about this cross stitch I made in January.  It's Lizzie Kate's "To Do List." 

I'm usually not a big fan of the simplistic primitive style cross stitches, but the words in this design really spoke to me. 

This year instead of making a resolution I chose a focus word.  My word was BREATHE.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the day to day minutia of life. I find I need to take a deep breath to bring me back to the present.  I also get preoccupied with the things I can't control.  Again, I need to take a deep breath and just let those worries go.

In a completely different vein, the word breathe also ties into the one goal I set for myself this year.  I want to run a mile without stopping. This is something I've NEVER been able to do, not even as a kid.  I'd get half or a quarter of the way through and feel like my lungs were being mashed into a trash compactor.  My mom even had me tested for Asthma.  (The dr said I was just lazy and it was all in my head.  ::insert eye roll here:: ) It seems like such a silly goal, particularly when my husband is planning on running a marathon.  But, for me, this is a tough, but attainable goal, just like the marathon is for him.  I'll probably be as proud of myself for running a mile as I will be for him running a marathon.

Now for the stitchy details.  The fabric is a piece of tea dyed, cream 18 ct aida.  I think I'm really getting the hang of the tea dying thing.  I got lots of splotchy light and dark bits this time.  I like the aged look it gives to the stitched design.   I also changed up the thread, using what I had in my stash. I'm really digging how there was just enough room for the year under the wavy hump of the word breathe.  It seems like it's just another little reminder that this is what I want to focus on for 2014.

A big Cross Stitch Finish for December

I wrote about this one separately because I was too lazy to iron it in time for the post I made on Wed.
So here it is in it's ironed glory.

The design is called Bethlehem by Imaginating.

For my birthday in 2012 my husband gave me a free for all in the most awesome cross stitch store near where my mom lives.  (Big shout out to Stitchville USA.  You rock!) One of the things I purchased was this chart and the fabric.    The fabric is 32ct hand dyed linen.

I started it in December of 2012 but stopped because it wasn't Christmas anymore and I was tired of stitching all in dark brown.  I picked it up again in Dec 2013 and finished it one week before Christmas.

Normally, we don't frame the cross stitches I make anymore, but I think I may ask for this to be framed for my birthday this year.

Here are a few close ups:

As a side note, I named all the buildings while I was stitching them. They are from Left to right: Mushroom, Castle, Bullet, Alamo, Plantation, and the Adler Planetarium.  (Because I'm sure Jesus was born right next to the Adler Planetarium.)

Nov and Dec Small Cross Stitches

I've been trying to get back into crafting.  I always feel better when I've got a project to work on.  Sometimes it's just knowing I have a project that I CAN work on is more important than actually working on the project.

Over the holiday season I wanted to do projects that didn't require a lot of concentration.

A few weeks before Thanksgiving I started Bent Creek's Thankful Quaker.

I used a piece of 18 count cream/antique white colored aida I had in my stash.  I also used DMC thread instead of the specialty threads listed on the chart.

I've no idea what to do with it, but it was a fun little seasonal chart to work on.

Being in the mood for whimsy, while I was visiting my mom over Christmas, I stitched this Grumpy Kitty.

Eventually I'll finish him into an ornament.

The chart is by Brooke's Books Publishing and can be found here for free.

This design was stitched on a scrap of blue grey 28ct evenweave I had in my stash.  Amazingly I left this design unaltered!

Don't you just love Grumpy Kitty?

The Fledge

I am the queen of misheard lyrics.  When I first heard LMFAO's  "Party Rock Anthem," I swear it sounded like they were singing, "Polly Pocket's in the house tonight.  Everybody just have a good time."

via

Now I know they are singing "party rock is," not "Polly Pocket," but it totally sounds like Polly Pocket.  I even intentionally sing the song that way to make Blockette crack up.  Works every time.

Anyhow, flash back to when I was a wee kindergartener.  I was a pretty skilled reader, which back in the 70's was fairly rare for a kindergartener.  When we learned the Pledge of Allegiance it wasn't written down anywhere.  I guess they figured they didn't need it written anywhere if they thought we couldn't read it.  We just had to pick it up by listening to what the teacher was saying. 

I came home from school asking my mom why we had to talk about witches every day.  Naturally she inquired further, to which I replied, "Yeah you know.  When we say the Fledge of Allegiance?  Four witches stand.  Who are these witches?  Why are they standing? etc...."

Oh yes.  Much hilarity ensued.  I'm pushing 40 and I will never live that one down.  So, to embrace and celebrate my dorkiness, I created this cross stitch.

I adapted it from a pattern called "Wicked? or Wise?" by The Stitcherhood. 

Notice the witch on the far left is holding a flag.  (You can't say "The Fledge" without a flag, Amirite?)  The witch on the far right is sporting ruby slippers, in red metallic thread, of course.  You can't tell from this photo, but the two witches in the middle are fist bumping each other.  Yeah.  It's a pretty hip bunch of witches.

The design is 53x93 stitches.

The threads I used are as follows (2 strands of each unless specified):
Dresses and hats: GAST Black crow
Skin: GAST Spring Grass
Lettering: WDW Mulberry
Cauldron Whisps: one strand each -Whisper W79 and DMC5272
Stars and Moon: WDW curry
Ruby Slippers: on strand Kreinik #4 braid 061
Red on flag:814
Blue on flag: 336
White on flag: 00
Flag pole: 3784
Cauldron: Crescent Colours Black Coffee
Cat: Rainbow Gallery Splendor 5801

The design is stitched on some sort of 28 count light tan linen.  My guess is that it is DMC brand.

Five Cross Stitch Bookmarks

I made these five bookmarks for various teachers at the end of the school year. 

They were a big hit with the recipients.  Now all I have to do is figure out what to make for an end of the year gift next year as Blockette will have some of the same teachers she had last year.  Luckily I have LOTS of time to solve that dilemma.

Nov Cross Stitches

The needles were flying in November.  I completed 9 ornaments from various Just Cross Stitch Ornament issues.  For all the ornaments that called for beads, I used french knots instead. Surprisingly, that was the only change I made to the designs.

Out of all 9, the Christmas Robin is probably my favorite.  Maybe because yesterday it was 69F and felt like spring? 

Christmas Robin by Victoria Sampler : Ornament issue 2010

Country Star by Elizabeth Designs: Ornament issue 2010

2010 Ornament: The Sweetheart Tree: Ornament issue 2010

Joy to the World by Casey Buonaughurio Designs: Ornament issue 2012

Happy Holidays by Country Cottage: Ornament issue 2012

Peace Pin Button by Jeannette Douglas Designs: Ornament issue 2012

Xmas Love by Lizzie*Kate: Ornament Issue 2012

Please Xmas by Raise the Roof Designs: Ornament issue 2012

Peaceful Retreat by Something in Common: Ornament issue 1999

Sept Cross Stitch

Just a wee bit of stitching on some wee little designs.

This design is Snowy Night by Prairie Schooler, from 2008 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine. It was stitched over one on 25 ct off white fabric.  I had stitched the design before many years ago as a gift, but that one was on black fabric.  I was surprised how much of the white fabric shows through the stitches.  It's less noticeable in person because the actual design is so small.

This design is Sugar Plums  by Country Cottage, from 2009 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Magazine.  It is also stitched over one on cream 25 count fabric.  I changed the color of the pillow from bright white to a more muted cream.  The white just looked to garish against the antique-y feel of the fabric.  I also changed the lacey border from white to a greyish periwinkle blue.  I thought about changing it to the same cream that I used for the pillows but it didn't stand out enough for my liking.  Of course I didn't write the color down that I used because I was forgetful and lazy.

This last design is the top part of When Witches Go Riding by Prairie Schooler.  I have plans to make this into a bookmark some day.  I used: GAST espresso bean for the black, Crescent colors lobster claw for the orange, GAST Butternut squash for the yellow, and WDW Monkey Grass for the small "x"s in the border.  I used a scrap of 28 (I think) count linen that my lovely friend Julie gave me.  (I asked her if she had any leftover scraps from completed projects and she gave me this huge bag of stuff.  Jackpot!  Whoohoo!)

 That's it for the month.  Maybe I'll eventually get around to finishing these projects into ornaments and a bookmark in the not too distant future.

August Cross Stitches

I only stitched three things during the month of August.  I was really distracted by the Olympics, and more recently, Mad Men!

The three designs I did stitch were of London landmarks.  I thought that was a fitting crafty multi-task for the 2012 London Olympics!

These designs were from a British cross stitch magazine.  I think Cross Stitch Card Shop.

These were all stitched on a pale grayish blue 18 ct aida. 

Ugh.  What a nightmare that was.  They really should have been stitched on 14/28 count, or even 16/32 count fabric.  As it was, the back stitching sometimes got lost.  This was particularly the case with the Trafalgar Square design.  There is an insane amount of backstitching detail in the bottom third of the design.  All of this detail got all muddled together and there is absolutely no definition. 

Oh well.

It's not like I have any plans for the designs.  I just stitched them for fun.  Although, I do think they'd look nice if they were framed together in a horizontal triptych.

July Cross Stitches

July was a very stitchy month. I don't know when I've done so much stitching!

 It's been a very long time to say the least.

This design below was from the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments Issue.

The design was by La-De-Da.  I used a variegated silk.  You cant tell very well in the picture, but the colors go from white to very light pink and very light blue.  The fabric is 14 count navy aida.

The next design was stitched on black Aida 14ct, and stitched with a variegated silk.  The original was done on a tan fabric with red thread.  It's amazing how different the design looks with these bright colors.

The design was from the 2009  Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue, by the Sunflower Seed.


The following charts were all freebies:

This one is from By the Bay Needleart.  It was stitched over one on off white 22 ct evenweave.  I added blue for the sky because I thought the motif didn't stand out enough.  I thought the full stitch was too dark, so I just did a half stitch.

The design above is Autumn sampler from cosmic handmade. 

It was stitched on 18 count heathered oatmeal Aida.

Little House Freebie from The Floss Box was stitched on 28 count espresso linen.  

I believe I swapped some of the threads out for other hand dyed floss I had in my stash.  

I stitched this design up over the 4th of July.

Irish blessing chart from The Sampler Girl was stitched on the same fabric as the design from Floss box.  I used hand dyed threads by GAST and WDW, although you can't really tell from this horrible photo.


Finally, the piece de resistance:

This free chart from Disegni per Punto Croce, an Italian site.  I tried to find out if this was a chart with a key, but all I could find was the same chart on several different Italian, Russian and Spanish speaking Blogs.  I figured it would be a great challenge for me to make up my own key.  Through a bit of trial and error I did it.  Here is the finished project.  I'm so proud of it!

It's stitched over two threads on a 28 ct evenweave, possibly monaco, but the tag fell off so I'm not certain.  It was originally off white, but I "tea dyed" it with hot chocolate.  Ok so that sounds weird.  We have this hot chocolate mix that is years old.  I love it, but it gives me a tummy ache every time I drink it.  That's probably why the mix is so old.  I thought it would be fun medium to use to experiment with when I wanted a brown fabric.  I was impatient and didn't let the fabric sit in the cocoa long enough.  Originally, I had wanted the fabric to be a much deeper shade of brown.  As it is, I think the light tan complements the design nicely.

If you'd like to stitch this chart, but don't want to go through the hassle of figuring out your own key, here is what I did.  It's kind of hard to describe as the chart is solely a color chart, without any symbols.  I've listed all the colors from light to dark and hopefully you can figure it all out from that.

The same website has similar designs for peaches and grapes.  Maybe someday I will be brave enough to tackle creating a key for those charts as well.

Oranges key (All threads are DMC unless specified)
Oranges - lightest to darkest
742
741
740
720 +740 (one strand each)
720
 Outline of oranges and words:900
outline of tiny oranges on the tree inside the "o": 720

White on orange slice: Anchor 275

Purple (lightest to darkest)
210+553
552+3837
outline of banner: 550

White: 000
Light blue on flower: 162
Flower outline: 820

Browns for dirt (light to dark)
783
781
780
Dirt outline: 433

Center of flowers (Light to dark)
3821
3820
outline: 781

Tree trunk browns (light to dark)
433+801
801
801+938
tree outline: 938

Sky (light to dark) I did this graduated not really following the charts colors because i wanted the sky to be graduated to navy.
000+827
827
827+826
826
826+824
824+823 (this is the navy color)
Black: 310

Blue-ish greens (light to dark) see the colors on the two smallest trees for reference
563
562
561 (I used this color to outline the green circles in the dirt)
all other green outline: 895

Yellowish greens (light to dark)
Anchor 255
Anchor 256
Anchor 257 (use this color for the branches to the flowers and the buds)
Anchor 258

HAPPY STITCHING!

June Cross Stitches

I completed four small projects this month. Not too shabby considering all the books I read as well.

The design below didn't photograph well.  It's actually done on Navy Aida with this funky fluorescent yellow.  I wanted to do it in glow in the dark thread, but they didn't have any at the craft store by me. 

The Crafty Companion: Lumos

I actually started this cross stitch over a year ago.  It was my travel project for the plane when we went to Disney World last spring.    For some reason poor Tink was abandoned, only half finished.  This came as part of a kit.  I didn't like the stiff Aida that it came with, so I switched it to an evenweave with a higher count.  The design is stitched over two threads.

Janlynn: Tinkerbell Giggle Sketch

The next two designs I bought back when Blockette was just a baby.  They are both stitched with hand dyed threads.  I had to change a few of the colors, as I didn't have all the suggested ones in my stitching stash.

Bent Creek: Spooky Row

I wound up outlining the skeleton because I felt he didn't stand out enough against the light colored linen fabric.

I'm pretty bummed out that the cat between the "e" and "f" doesn't show up well.  I might outline that one as well.

Bent Creek: Kitty Row

I particularly like this design as the two cats sitting together remind me of my own crazy kitties.

As usual, I have no idea/plans for any of these cross stitches.  I just did them for fun! 

May Cross Stitches

Only two cross stitches completed for the rest of the month of May. What can I say, I decided to read instead of stitch! Horray for books that don't suck!

This design was a freebie from a French blog.  The chart can be found here.

The design looks so much better close up than it does at a distance. You'd think this would be a good thing, but as I was planning on adding this to the rest of the silhouette cross stitches, it wound up being a complete waste of time.  As cross stitch is basically pixilated art, it's SUPPOSED to look better from a distance.  This design just gets blurry when you look at it from more than a few inches away.  Let that be a lesson to me that not everything looks good on 22 count fabric.  No super detailed monochromatic stuff.  Oh well.  Lesson learned...hopefully.


This Scandinavian Red and White style design was another freebie.  I found this one at Tom Pudding Designs.

I had so much fun stitching this design. I'm not even quite sure why. It's not my usual style, and I have no plans for the finished piece.  I guess it was one of those things where you enjoy the journey more than the actual destination.

More Mini Cross stitches

Here is my next batch of stitched up mini cross stitches. They are all done on the same hand dyed antique white 28 count lugana fabric, with the exception of the last picture. That one is stitched on plain old Antique white lugana.

I saw this design here over at the blog Little Lovelies, but it comes from the book A Rainbow of Stitches which they carry at my lovely local library.  The original was done in two colors but I liked it in just the one.

This is a free chart from from sub rosa called Keys to the Past. It's the companion freebie to Locks and Keys that I wrote about here.

I found the chart for this pretty little lady here via pinterest. The Chart was created by Corinne Leroy Creations.  I changed the colors to fit the basic muted brown color palate of all the mini cross stitches I've been stitching lately.

Finally, this was supposed to originally be a black dress, but again I changed it to a redish maroon, with dusky pink flowers to fit the color palate of the other small stitches I've stitched so far.  The pattern is another freebie from Les douces Heures de Piatine.

And that's it so far!

Thread Catcher

If you do any kind of sewing, or hand work, you know that you get little thread bits everywhere.  These little threads are often refered to as Orts, an archaic word for useless scraps. I usually put my orts on the arm of the couch, then I put my arm there or the cat jumps up and the bits get scattered. All. Over.  Drives me nuts.

Or even worse.  You're stitching with dark thread and you keep looking at the thread bits out of a corner of your eye thinking it's a bug.  Cause you know the one time you don't give it a second look it actually WILL be a bug.  And that bug will GET you. (You know it will.)


 Something needed to be done to stop the madness. 

Once upon a time I used a small ceramic Japanese tea cup to contain the bits, but I was always knocking it over and spilling the contents.  It was a miracle it never shattered.

Maybe now I can use it for actual tea?  Nah.  Way too crazy of a concept for me. More likely I'll keep my marbles in there.  You know, so I don't lose them.

A fabric thread minder seemed like my best bet.  If I dropped it, no big deal.  And as an added bonus, the thread bits would most likely cling to the fabric.

I'd seen these triangle-y pyramid-ish shaped thread catchers on Pinterest, and for the life of me I could not make heads or tails of the tutorial.  I sat there puzzled, scratching my head.  Then, I realized I hadn't taken a shower in four days, or something like that, and that was why my head was so itchy.  So I took a shower.

Once I was all clean and clear headed I did what any sane person would do, look on Google for a better tutorial.  Brilliant.  I found this Thread catcher tutorial from Gingerbread Girl's Quilting Adventures.  The pictures explain everything so well, even I could understand it.

I made two, one to keep at home, and one to keep amongst my travel sewing kit.  I love how they fold flat.  Even stuffed with orts they take up less space than my old jar.

The photo above is for size reference against my freaky big hands, and also to show the bottom of the thread catcher.  What was tripping me up originally was that I thought this was made from 3 triangles instead of one.  A picture of the bottom would have been a big help.  So here you go internet community, a picture of the bottom of the triangle thread catcher. 

I love these little guys.  They were fun to make.  I wanted to make more but I couldn't justify having more than two of them.  I do think they'd be a cool thing to add if you were making a sewing kit as a gift for someone learning how to sew.