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.
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.
| DMC | Cosmo | Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe |
| 939 | 169 | Darkest Midnight Blue |
| 224 | 222 | Prairie Stitching |
| 223 | 223 | Victoriana Pink |
| 3721 | 2223 | Hearthside Stitching |
| 221 | 2224 | True Red |
| 732 | 685 | |
| 730 | 686 | Olive Branch |
| 840 | 716 | |
| 3782 | 365 | |
| 613 | 366 | |
| 612 | 367 | |
| 372 | 822 | Sagebrush |
| 370 | 823 | Dried Spice |
| 420 | 576 | |
| 470 | 2631 | Stitching Parlor |
| 936 | 635A | Ripe Avocado |
| 934 | 637 | Mountain Pines |
| 927 | 981A | |
| 926 | 983 | |
| 834 | 573 |
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?
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.
I love this sweet stitch! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have joined the SAL.