Pat's Cross-Stitch Corner

A Place to Share a Craft I Love

Catch the Wind Mystery SAL by Tempting Tangles Designs

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Catch the Wind with Quaker motifs/whimsical sea creatures/sailing boats/fish/loch ness monster/whale/cross stitch/counted thread.

The description of the Catch the Wind Mystery SAL by Tempting Tangles Designs intrigued me, so I decided to join in this one too. The price is right too since the three that I had joined were only $5. each. Again, the project is 16 parts with one part released about every two weeks.

Specifics on Catch the Wind

Design Size: 168w x 168h
Recommended Fabric: Wichelt 36ct Jobelan Lambswool

Recommended Floss: Ship’s Manor cotton floss (conversions for DMC and Gentle Arts are suggested. The colors I chose are listed.

  • Sugar Plum 1 skein/GAST Claret
  • Witches Knickers 2 skeins/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Concord Grape
  • Cleopatra 2 skeins/GAST Verdigris
  • Autumn Sunset 1 skein/GAST Copper
  • Neverland 2 skeins/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Into the Blue

I chose to us 16ct Regency Aida by Picture This Plus

Started Stitching: May 1, 2018
Finished Stitching: October 19, 2018

Supplies for Catch the Wind.

Supplies for Catch the Wind by Tempting Tangles Designs

 

Catch the Wind Parts 1-4

Catch the Wind Parts 1-4

 

Catch the Wind Parts 1-6

Catch the Wind Parts 1-6

Beware of the horrifying, cannibalistic Humboldt Red Squid (pictured below) – the Red Devil of the Seas. Here in “Catch the Wind SAL”, this monster is a more manageable size.

Humboldt Red Squid from Catch the Wind Mystery Sampler.

Humboldt Red Squid from Catch the Wind Mystery Sampler

 

Catch the Wind - Parts 1-7.

Catch the Wind – Parts 1-7

 

Catch the Wind Parts 1 - 10.

Catch the Wind Parts 1 – 10

 

Catch the Wind Parts 1-13.

Catch the Wind Parts 1-13.

Catch the Wind parts 1-16.
Catch the Wind parts 1-16

UPDATE: July 2022 – Framed with a simple black frame and ready to hang.

Catch the Wind framed

Swans and Shears Mystery SAL by Tempting Tangles Designs

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Swans and Shears is another project offered by Tempting Tangles Designs and Deborah Dick. The description was intriguing: This SAL is filled with Quaker medallions and hidden scissors and swans. Since I had enjoyed stitching the earlier one, Wildflower Woodland Quaker, I decided to try this one too.

The entire project is made up of 16 parts released about every two weeks. There is a Facebook group you can also join to share your work and where the files are posted.

Specifics for Swans and Shears are:

Design Size: 176w x 148h
Recommended Fabric: Linen, evenweave, Aida  – size and color your choice

Suggested Floss with my substitutions:

  • DMC 612/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Waves of Grain
  • DMC 500/Carrie’s Creations Bay Breeze
  • DMC 936/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Ripe Avocado
  • DMC 3740/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Purple Splendor
  • DMC 869/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Basket Weave
  • DMC3836/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Spring Lilac
  • DMC 501/Carrie’s Creation Pacific Blue
  • DMC 3803/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Cherry Swirl

This design can also be stitched with all one color which will require 6 skeins of the desired color.

I chose a piece of 28ct Monaco I had in my stash to stitch this one one.

Started Stitching: March 17, 2018
Finished Stitching: August 18, 2018

Swans and Shears, a start.

Swans and Shears, a start

Swans and Shears Parts 1-5

Swans and Shears Parts 1-5

Swans and Shears, a bit more.

Swans and Shears, a bit more.

Swans and Shears, Parts 1-9.

Swans and Shears, Parts 1-9.

Swans and Shears Parts 1-12.

Swans and Shears Parts 1-12.

Swans and Shears Parts 1- 14.

Swans and Shears Parts 1- 14

Swans and Shears by Tempting Tangle Designs.

Swans and Shears by Tempting Tangle Designs

Swans and Shears by Tempting Tangles Design Framed December 5, 2022

Rosehips and Ivy by Blackbird Designs

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Rosehips and Ivy was a release of the Ladies Prim Society towards the end of 2017.

Rosehips and Ivy Kit by Blackbird Designs.

Rosehips and Ivy Kit by Blackbird Designs from Ladies Prim Society

I thought first of stitching it as just a small horizontal picture, then decided to go ahead and stitch it as a drum. The materials that came with the kit included the floss and linen.  I chose to use a piece of 16ct Aida I had in my stash.

Recommended Fabric: 36ct Winter’s Brew by R & R Reproductions
Recommended Floss: Weeks Dye Works

  • Baked Apple
  • Brick
  • Caper
  • Cinnabar
  • Garrison Green
  • Mocha
  • Oscar
  • Saltwater Taffy

Started Stitching: 12/12/2017
Finished Stitching: 1/5/2018

Rosehips and Ivy Stitched Piece.

Rosehips and Ivy Stitched Piece. for body of the drum

Rosehips and Ivy stitched piece for top of the drum.

Rosehips and Ivy stitched piece for top of the drum

The two pieces of have mailed to Vonna Pfeiffer, The Twisted Stitcher for finishing as a drum. I’ll post a picture when I get them back.

And here it is, the finished drum. I LOVE it!!

Rosehips and Ivy by Blackbird Designs.

Rosehips and Ivy by Blackbird Designs

Deck the Halls by Blackbird Designs

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Deck the Halls is one of the newest books by Blackbird Designs released during the Nashville Needlework Market 2018. The book contains six patterns that can be stitched as strawberries OR small charts for finishing as pin pillows or whatever you want. The book also contains finishing instructions for the strawberries.

Deck the Halls by Blackbird Designs.

Deck the Halls by Blackbird Designs

I decided to stitch at least four of them and attempt finishing as strawberries, something I have NEVER done. I was able to purchase the suggested lace trim (#257691) from Hobby Lobby. I could not locate the recommended seam binding ribbon but another stitcher very generously sent me some. It is 1/2″ wide dark olive by Hug Snug.

Christmas Cactus

The first one I selected to stitch is called Christmas Cactus. The recommended fabric is 36ct Sand by Picture This Plus but I cannot see well enough to stitch on the small a count so I chose 16ct pink that I had in my stash. I did use the recommended floss on this one which is all Weeks Dye Works – Aztec Red, Baked Apple, Olive, Oscar, Palomino. One recommended color, Whiskey, I did not have so substituted DMC 680.

Started Stitching: 4/13/2018
Finished: 4/19/2018

Christmas Cactus by Blackbird Designs.

Christmas Cactus by Blackbird Designs

Christmas Cactus by Blackbird Designs

Christmas Cactus by Blackbird Designs

Dancing Sugar Plums

The recommended fabric for this one is 36ct Opal by Picture This Plus. I used the same 16ct pink Aida I had in my stash to stitch this one also. I used the recommended floss – Weeks Dye Works – Cranberry Ice, Dolphin, Oscar, Pink Sand, and Palomino. I did not have Cattail so used DMC 543 and for River Rock used DMC 3860.

Started Stitching: 4/23/2018
Finished: 5/13/2018

I did work on some other project during this time so took longer to finish up.

Dancing Sugar Plums.

Dancing Sugar Plums from Deck the Halls

Dancing Sugar Plums from Deck the Halls

Dancing Sugar Plums from Deck the Halls

Vintage Birds by Jeannette Douglas Designs

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When I first saw this chart as one of the sneak peeks from the Nashville Needlework Market in 2017, I knew I wanted to stitch it. I ordered the chart from Crazy Annie’s along with a number of other Nashville releases.

Cover of Vintage Birds by Jeannette Douglas Designs.

Cover of Vintage Birds by Jeannette Douglas Designs

Fast forward to 2018 and I decided it was time to stitch this beauty. While the recommended fabric was 36 Ct. Legacy, I chose to us 16ct Legacy by Picture This Plus. I also decided to switch out some of the floss and use one of my favorites Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads.

Stitch Count: 145W x 156H.
Design Size: 9 1/8 x 9 3/4inches
Uses specialty stitches which I made some changes to

Recommended Floss/Substitutes I Used

  • GA Baby Spinach/VM Spring Grass
  • GA Copper
  • GA Dried Thyme/VM Prairie Sage
  • GA Gold Leaf/VM Gold Rush
  • GA Honey Dew
  • GA Loganberry/VM Sweet Violets
  • GA Maple Syrup/VM Weathered Barnwood
  • GA Old Purple Paint/VM Jacob’s Ladder
  • GA Old Red Paint/VM Cherry Bush
  • GA Pomegranate/VM Be My Valentine
  • GA Portabella
  • GA Summer Meadow/VM Prairie Parsley
  • WDW Cadet
  • WDW Charcoal
  • WDW Deep Sea
  • WDW Kentucky Blue Grass
  • WDW Lucky
  • WDW Peacock
  • WDW Pelican Gray
  • WDW Tiger Eye
  • GA Tarnished Gold
  • GA Tradewind
  • GA Wood Trail

This was one of a number of projects I was rotating through. I started stitching on February 28, 2018 and put the last stitches in on the night of April 2, 2018. For now it will go into the bottomless drawer of finished pieces.

Vintage Birds by Jeannette Douglas Designs - Stitch Piece.

Vintage Birds by Jeannette Douglas Designs – Stitch Piece

December 5, 2022

And here it is four years later, and Vintage Birds is now framed. I chose the SLIM COPPER WOOD PICTURE FRAME from pictureframes.com and it was on sale for 40% off with free shipping. 

 

Wildflower Woodland Quaker by Tempting Tangles Designs

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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 1-4

Wildflower Woodland Quaker - Parts 1-7.

Wildflower Woodland Quaker – Parts 1-7

Wildflower Woodland Quaker - Parts 1 -11.

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

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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.

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.

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.

Forest Snowfall by COuntry Cottage Needleworks

Eighth Day of Christmas Give-away, enter now!

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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.

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.

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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Flowers for Sarah finished as a bellpull

Fairy Garden by Blackbird Designs

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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.

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.

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.

Fairy Garden finished as small pillow