Pat's Cross-Stitch Corner

A Place to Share a Craft I Love

Spoiled Dog by Stoney Creek

By

Spoiled Dog is in included in the leaflet Dog Bone Wisdom by Stoney Creek. It shows in the leaflet (lower right corner) as a repeating border on a towel. I knew I wanted to stitch it as a small wall hanging or mounted piece I could use on our front door.

Dog Bone Wisdom cover

Since the chart has fractional stitches, I chose 28ct Monaco and used as assortment of the called for colors and Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss for those colors I did not have in my stash. I cannot say this was a fun stitch with all the backstitching and fractional stitches but I did get it done.

Spoiled Dog by Stoney Creek

Now to finish it. I already have the fabric that I used on a previous piece, A Dog’s Last Will and Testament.

I asked for some suggestions in how to finish this one as I wanted to use it on our front door as a small wall hanging. A stitching friend suggested I use the triangle corner method for the back which I did. My son cut a thin board to use as a dowel and it is hanging on the door with alien tape.

Back of spoiled dogs project
Two Spoiled Dogs hanging on the front door

Mighty Acorn sampler

By

Wild is the music of the autumnal winds amongst the faded woods.

~ William Wordsworth ~

Mighty Acorn is one of the samplers included in the new book by Blackbird Designs called Winds of Autumn. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw the cover photo. Once I received the book, I cut some fabric for two of the included samplers and pulled the floss.

Winds of Autumn with fabric and floss for two samplers

Recommended Fabric: 36ct Wren by Picture This Plus. I am stitching this one on 16ct Heartland by Picture This Plus. At least, I think that is what it is.

Recommended Floss and any changes I made cause I did not have the color.

  • WDW Chickpea
  • WDW Cognac
  • WDW Carolina Cecil
  • WDW Dirt Road
  • WDW Sage
  • WDW Oscar/DMC 3011 and VMSS Garden Green
  • WDW Schneckley
  • WDW Oilcloth
  • WDW Pamlico
  • WDW Havana
  • WDW Cocoa
  • WDW Chestnut
  • WDW Swamp Water

Started Stitching: December 31, 2020
Finished Stitching: January 31, 2021

Winds of Autumn pix and fabric.
Winds of Autumn
Mighty Acorn sampler Progress 1/18/2021.
Mighty Acorn Progress 1/18/2021

And the finish line is in sight. I really am loving this one.

Mighty Acorn progress 1/29/2021.
Mighty Acorn progress 1/29/2021
Mighty Acorn sampler by Blackbird Designs.
Mighty Acorn sampler

I added the initials of my two sons, Frank and Michael to honor them. We lost Frank to cancer in December 2011.

And here it is framed ready for spacers and glass.

Mighty Acorn sampler

Berries in Bloom

By

Berries in Bloom is a free chart offered by Hands on Designs. The stitch count was on 65 x 64 so I figured it would be a pretty quick stitch. I was also looking for a design I could use with some buttons I had purchased for another project I decided NOT to stitch.

Berries in Bloom by Hands on Design.

The picture above shows the project stitched on 32ct Vintage Tiffany from Fabrics by Stephanie. I chose to use 14ct Friendship Greene also from Fabrics by Stephanie. I switched out quite a few of the recommended threads for Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads.

  • DMC 3831/VMSS Burning Bush
  • DMC 309/VMSS Nexessaire Red
  • DMC 501/VMSS Dark Variegated Pine
  • DMC 469
  • DMC 367
  • DMC 610
  • DMC 3865/DMC 543

The button is merry.go.round (#10196) shown below from Just Another Button Company.

Merry-go-round button

The finished size on 14ct is 4 5/8 by 4 5/8. In hindsight, I probably should have used 16ct. I have three of the buttons so may choose to use the 16ct on the last one as I already have both 14ct piece cut and gridded.

Berries in Bloom with button
Detail for pine needles

Sampler Stocking Ornaments

By

I have the series of three Sampler Stocking Ornaments by Abby Rose Designs in my stash for a while now. I decided to get an early start on some ornaments for 2021 and pulled these out. They are small and would be a quick stitch.

Sampler Stocking Ornaments by Abby Rose Designs.
Sampler Stocking Ornaments by Abby Rose Designs

I used 16ct aida fabric and floss that I had in my stash, some called for and some I used Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads. So far I have finished stitching two of the series.

Sampler Stocking Ornament.
Sampler Stocking Ornament
Sampler Stocking Ornament II.
Sampler Stocking Ornament II

I still need to stitch number 3 and then decide if I will attempt to finish them myself or send them off. And as you can see below, I sent them off the Vonna for finishing.

Winter Cardinal Etching

By

Winter Cardinal Etching was a design by Cecelia Turner that appears in the latest issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher magazine (2020 Christmas/Winter – page 58). The stitch count was only 50×50 so would be small. It also only called for two colors of floss – Classic Colorworks Sticks and Twigs (which I had in my stash) and Cherry Cobbler (which I did not have.)

Winter Cardinal Etching by Cecelia Turner

I chose a piece of 16ct aida I had in my stash, Parchment, I think that was large enough to stitch this design twice. Instead of Cherry Cobbler, I used Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Red Rooster on one and Victorian Motto Victorian Red on the other. I also changed the color for the bird’s beak to black and orange.

Winter Cardinal Etching using VMSS Victorian Red floss
Winter Cardinal Etching using VMSS Red Rooster floss

These are the beginning of my 2021 Christmas presents to be finished as ornaments.

Merry and Minty SAL

By

Merry and Minty was a free SAL offered by Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread. The chart was only 64w by 85h and used a combination of DMC, Weeks Dye Works and Classic Colorworks floss. It proved to be a quick stitch. I chose a piece of 16ct fabric I had in my stash. Not sure of the color but it was dark so the white and cream floss showed up nicely.

Minty and Merry by Brenda Gervais

The cranberry and popcorn string called for Colonial Knots but I could not get the hang of it with my magnifying lamp in place so ended up doing French knots. If I stitched it again, I would use beads instead of fooling with the knots.

I decided to TRY and finish the piece as a cube following Vonna Pfeiffer’s (The Twisted Stitcher) excellent tutorial. She makes it look so easy. It was not for me but that was NOT the fault of the tutorial. First, my tacky spray would not spray at all. Trying to clean the nozzle was a total failure. Then I could not find my package of finishing pins so ordered some more. I was lucky enough to have two pieces of foam core that were just the right size so I used them. I covered one side of the foam core with one piece of batting and the other side with two. The stitched piece would go against the two pieces for a bit more padding. And a had a piece of red plaid fabric for the backing.

I still need to figure out what to do with the top of it but I am happy with how it turned out. Not perfect but . . . .

Minty and Merry finished as a cube.

Autumn Song by Blackbird Designs

By

Autumn Song was published in 2007 and is now Out of Print. I have had it in my stash for some time now and decided it was finally time to stitch this piece to place on the top of one of LeHay’s 8″ recessed lid Needlework boxes. I had ordered two of them in black.

I chose a piece of 16ct Carmel Macchiato from Fabrics by Stephanie and switched out a couple of the threads for Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads.

Design Size: Wreath is 114W X 107H

Recommended Floss: Weeks Dye Works

  • Cognac 10 yards (DMC #3826)/VMSS Roasted Spice
  • Terra Cotta (DMC #921, #920)/VMSS Heirloom Pumpkin
  • Havana (DMC #610)
  • Swamp Water 10 yards (DMC #844)
  • Bright Leaf 10 yards (DMC #977, #976)
Supplies for stitching Autumn Song
Supplies for stitching Autumn Song
LeHay Recessed Lid 8" Needlework box.
LeHay Recessed Lid 8″ Needlework box

And here is the finished piece mounted on the box.

Autumn Song mounted on 8″ Lehay Shaker Box

Trix or Treat by Blackbird Designs

By

Trix or Treat by Blackbird Designs is copyright 2005 and is now Out of Print. NOTE: Reprinted in November 2021. The book includes eight separate designs. I am not normally a Halloween stitcher but the more I saw one of the projects posted, the more I wanted to stitch it.

Trix or Treat Cover.
Trix or Treat Cover

Trix or Treat is the design and I LOVE the bird in this one and it looked like it would be a quick stitch. I chose a piece of 16ct Carmel Macchiato from Fabrics by Stephanie and switched out a couple of the threads since I did not have them in my stash.

  • WDW Mascara
  • WDW Sweet Potato
  • WDW Juniper/ DMC 936
  • WDW Pecan/VMSS Antique Gold
  • WDW Swamp Water
  • WDW Kohl
  • GA Cherry Bark
Trix or Treat Supplies.
Trix or Treat Supplies

Design Size on 16ct: 5 1/2 x 5 1/8
Started Stitching: October 31, 2020
Finished Stitching: November 6, 2020

Trix or Treat finished piece.
Trix or Treat finished piece

Now I just need to decide how to finish it. Probably a small pillow for my basket of smalls.

May 2022 – I had originally thought of framing this but decided to use one of the boards I bought at Michael’s instead.

Hearts Come Home at Christmas

By

Hearts Come Home for Christmas is a SAL being offered by Jean Farish Needleworks. The chart is available as a digital download (pdf) in her Etsy shop. Once I saw it posted, I knew I wanted to add it to my Christmas collection.

Hearts Come Home at Christmas by Jean Farish

The chart is on sale thru October 20th for $5.90 but will return to the regular price of $10 after that date. It has no backstitching and no half or quarter stitches and no specialty stitches which is good for me since I normally stitch on 16ct aida because of poor eyesight.

The stitch count is 114w by 113 high so almost a perfect square. Two color schemes are included: All DMC or Cosmo floss. Jean also suggests two variegated flosses in the Cosmo Seasons line which I chose to order. #8061 for the verse and #5012 for the vine.

I thought about using 28ct cream Monaco but decided on 16ct Colonial Parchment from Fabrics by Stephanie. I will use some of the recommended DMC thread colors but will switch most of them out for Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads.

Jean has set up a Facebook group for the SAL – JFN SAL – and she will be doing a series of Flosstube videos with stitching tips.

My color selection for floss. May make more changes as I stitch.

DMCCosmoVictorian Motto Sampler Shoppe
939169Darkest Midnight Blue
224222Prairie Stitching
223223Victoriana Pink
37212223Hearthside Stitching
2212224True Red
732685 
730686Olive Branch
840716 
3782365 
613366 
612367 
372822Sagebrush
370823Dried Spice
420576 
4702631Stitching Parlor
936635ARipe Avocado
934637Mountain Pines
927981A 
926983 
834573 
Hearts Come Home at Christmas

While I love how this turned out, if I stitch it again, I will use a darker floss for the lettering. Now to finish it.

September 2021 – While I was in Hobby Lobby this morning, I found a round board that I thought would work for finishing this project. It was on sale for half price which made it $4. Now to repaint it to cover up the wording and what color – black or a shade of green?

Hearts Come Home for Christmas with mounting board

Well as you can tell from the final photo, I decided on black. I sanded the board to remove the word and repainted it with Licorice folk art paint. Since I do not have a circle cutter, I ordered some 8″ thin wooden discs from Amazon. My last time trying to cut a circle was not very successful so these worked well. I did add a layer of batting to the top. I may decide to add some trim but since it will be displayed on a wall with other Christmas stitching, I probably will leave it plain.

Hearts Come Home at Christmas

Tall Pines by Little House Needleworks

By

I’m not sure how long I have had Tall Pines by Little House Needleworks in my stash, but I decided I needed to work on a small project so pulled this one out.

Tall Pines


“Under tall pines and stars giving light, a cabin sits wrapped in the still of the night”. While the recommended fabric is 32 Ct. Summer Khaki Linen, I chose to use 16ct Chocolate Milk from Fabric by Stephanie. The recommended floss uses DMC, Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works and Crescent Colors. I am using some of the recommended floss and switching some of it out for Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss (my very favorite.) The stitch count is 99 x 99 so in 16ct, the finished size will only be 6 1/4 x 6 1/4.

DMC 712 cream
WDW Straw/VMSS Golden Sand
CC Brandied Pears/VMSS Kansas Cone Flower
CC Caterpillar
CC English Ivy/VMSS Ripe Avocado
CC La Tierra/VMSS Woodland Trail
GA Mountain Mist/VMSS Prim Stitcher

Tall Pines Progress 10/10/2020.
Tall Pines Progress 10/10/2020

I forgot to note when I started this one but it was a fairly quick stitch and I finished it on October 13, 2020. No to decide how to finish it.

Tall Pines by Little House Needleworks.

August 28, 2022: I decided to use one of the boards I bought from Michaels to finish off this one. I laced the stitched piece on matboard, covered another piece of matboard with fabric and attached them both to the wooden board. Rustic and perfect for this one.