Emily’s Bliss by Summer House Stitche Works was an exclusive offered in the Facebook group, Homespun Needlework (Cross Stitch and Samplers) in November 2021.

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me; fluttering from the Autumn tree.” Emily Brontë penned her poem Fall, Leaves, Fall as an ode to the beauty of the seasons in 1846. It was this poem that was the inspiration behind Emily’s Bliss. Fall is my favorite season with it’s crisp days, smells of apple and pumpkin and of course, the falling, colorful leaves that cover the mountainsides. The design is stitched with luscious Gloriana silk floss on 32 count Natural Light Linen from Wichelt. The overdyed silk brings the autumn colors to life as they dance around the drum finish. What better way to continue the autumnal fun than to top it with cozy wool from Weeks Dye Works, embroidered wool felt leaves and a wool felt acorn with a real acorn cap. As the days grow shorter, I hope you enjoy stitching up Emily’s Bliss to celebrate the season! (Note: Kits with 16 count Aida and/or an overdyed cotton conversion from Weeks Dye Works and Classic Colorworks are also available.)

I ordered the kit with 16ct aida and the overdyed cotton floss.

I stitched this much and then for whatever reason put it aside.

I picked it up again in April 2024 and decided I had to finish it. And it is much prettier than this photo shows. I will probably finish it as a drum to add to my drum collection.

The top is a bit wonky but at least it is finished.

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.

Kindred Spirits was an exclusive release of the Country Sampler Soul Sister’s Club in 2017. It has never been released to everyone. It is not a chart I had in my collection, but a generous stitcher offered to loan it to me.

The recommended fabric was 36ct Oaken by Picture This Plus, but I chose a piece of 16ct Doubloon by Picture This Plus. I am using the recommended floss (WDW Cognac, Flatfish and Onyx) but two strands rather than one.

The stitching is finished. Not sure if I will finish it as a drum or frame it. I added the initials of Jim and his five daughters (Anne, Laetitia, Martha, Leslie, Ellen) in green and me with my two sons (Michael, Frank) in the brown. Love the way it turned out.

I decided to finish this as a drum and turned to Vonna Epperson Pfeiffer’s excellent tutorials. There is one for drum finishing in the Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher magazine Summer 2022 issue. I also used her twisted cording tutorials. I need more practice sewing on the trim.

I LOVE Autumn designs and colors. They are some of my favorites to stitch. When I first saw Acorn Gathering Sewing Roll by Brenda Gervais, I knew I wanted to stitch it. It was first released in 2014 but I did not see it until 2022. It was only available from Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI so I ordered it from them.

Chart for a sweet little Autumn-themed sewing roll.  Furry-tailed little squirrels, acorn motifs, big potted mumms along with some quaker-inspired motifs adorn the flap of the sewing roll.  Old mother of pearl buttons and vintage Taffee Beige seam tape adds just the right finishing details to the sewing roll.  And like any good little squirrel, we have hidden a surprise project to stitch inside of the pattern.  It will be a great little companion piece to the sewing roll!  The design is worked over two threads on the 40 count Doubloon linen.  The roll is backed in a coordinating calico.  Stitch count – 160 wide x 67 high.

I selected a piece of 16ct Everything Else by Mystic Fabrics and a mixture of the recommended floss and DMC to stitch this one. I plan on finishing it as a drum once it is stitched.

Started Stitching: 8/7/2022
Finished Stitching: 9/12/2022

Now to finish it as a drum.

When This You See by Blackbird Designs was offered in 2017 as a UNICEF Fundraiser by Gigi R. It is now OOP. The chart called for Picture This Plus Lupine fabric which I ordered in 16ct aida rather than the called for 32ct which I can not see well enough to stitch on. I also ordered some of the finishing fabric At Home (#2792-14 and 2790-14) also by Blackbird Designs.

The recommended floss is: Classic Colorworks Dublin Bay, Colonial Rose, Caramel, Gingerbread, and Ye Olde Gold.

I knew when the fabric arrived I could not see well enough to stitch on it so stuck it in a drawer. Fast forward to 2021 and I posted in the Fans of Blackbird Designs Facebook group to see if someone would be willing to stitch it for me and finish it in return for fabrics to stitch and finish one for herself. Shelley Heigert volunteered to help me. I absolutely love her stitching and finishing.

United We Stand by Blackbird Designs was an exclusive kit to the Facebook group Homespun Needlework, Cross Stitch and Samplers. It has not yet been made available to the everyone and is no longer available. The kit included the exclusive pattern, serged linen or aida for the project, fabric for the bottom, 13 skeins of Weeks Dye Works Floss, needle, and exclusive thread holder with Blackbird Designs logo and project name.

I ordered the kit with aida fabric as it was the easiest for me to stitch on. Once I finished stitching it, I sent it off to Vonna Pfeiffer, The Twisted Stitcher for finishing.