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Merry and Minty SAL

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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

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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

Winds of Autumn by Blackbird Designs

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From Alma’s Instagram post: Our newest book is almost ready to go to the printer. We have a bit of editing to do first, and then we will ship it out to our distributors. Look for it in your cross stitch shops in about 3 weeks!

THERE IS A CORRECTION FOR THE CHART ON PAGE 11 – Nebraska Prairie. See Winds of Autumn (the-gearys.com) Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Some of the projects included:

  • First Winds of Autumn Pincushion (top left) first released as a Ladies Prim Society kit
  • Spell of the Moon Pincushion (bottom right) first released as a Reward of Merit project
  • October 31st Drum Pinkeep (bottom middle) first released as a Limited Edition Kit
  • Mighty Acorn (Sampler shown lower left corner) NEW
  • Bittersweet September
  • Patchwork Pumpkin Pincushion
  • Waiting for the Harvest Pincushion
  • Nebraska Prairie Drum pinkeep
  • A Sister’s Love Sampler
  • Autumn Sound Drum pinkeep
  • Blooming Sunflowers Sewing Bag (Top middle)
  • Sewing Companions

Trix or Treat by Blackbird Designs

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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

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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

Early Christmas Morning by Blackbird Designs

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From Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs: This pattern was delivered to our printer today (October 7, 2020)! We renamed this drum to prevent confusion as we have another pattern titled Merry Christmas. It’s new title is “Early Christmas Morning.” We have included numerals in the pattern to make it current. It will be available for shops soon! (Around October 21st.) The pattern was first released as a Ladies Prim Society release and called Merry Christmas Drum.

Early Christmas Morning / Merry Christmas Drum

Tall Pines by Little House Needleworks

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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.

Forever & Ever by Brenda Gervais

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Forever & Ever a celebration of love by Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle & Thread was released at the Nashville 2019 Needlework Market. I knew when I first saw it, I had to have it.

Forever & Ever cover.

It is a fairly large piece measuring 336w x 113h. The recommended fabric is 40ct Sheep’s Straw by R & R Reproductions. Besides not liking to stitch on linen, I knew I could not see well enough to use 40ct. I selected 16ct Sand aida which would give me a design area of 21 x 7 1/8 inches. There was a small amount of stitching over one but I decided to improvise.

I started stitching on August 27, 2020.

Because I did not have all of the recommended floss colors, I am going to switch out as I go with Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe thread.

Recommended Floss/What I used

  • WDW Light Khaki
  • WDW Peach
  • WDW Tin Roof
  • WDW Palomino
  • WDW Olive
  • WDW Cinnabar
  • GAST Mulberry/VMSS Victoriana Pink
  • GAST Harvest Basket
  • GAST Brethern Blue
  • GAST Mountain Mist
  • GAST Endive
  • GAST Burlap
  • GAST Ruby Slipper/VMSS Antique Red
  • CC Barn Door
  • CC Gingersnap
  • CC Hickory Sticks
  • CC Jakey Brown
  • CC Hazelnut
Forever & Ever progress 8/28/2020.
Forever & Ever progress 8/28/2020
Progress on Forever and Ever 9/14/2020.
Progress 9/14/2020
Forever and Ever by Brenda Gervais .
Forever and Ever by Brenda Gervais
Forever and Ever framed

The photo above shows the stitched piece just sitting in the frame. I still need to measure, pin and lace it but wanted to see how it looked. Very happy with my frame selection.

Details on the frame I ordered:

Textured Gray Wood Picture Frame SKU: WX586_pkg Frame: WX586( 21 3/4″ x 8 1/2″ ) Total Cost including tax and shipping was $50.93.

The Last Ripe Berries

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The Last Ripe Berries is #9 in the Loose Feathers For the Birds series by Blackbird Designs and the 6th one I have stitched in this series.

The Last Ripe Berries cover.

As with the others I have stitched, I am using the called for fabric Wren by Picture This Plus but on 16ct aida. I am also using the recommended threads. I started stitching this in 2019 but did not finish until August 2020. I decided to leave the date as 2019. I think the reason it took me so long to get get back to it was the large number of lazy daisy stitches which I do not enjoy.

Last Ripe Berries by Blackbird Designs stitched.
Last Ripe Berries by Blackbird Designs

The finished size on this on is 5 3/4 by 5 3/4. It joins Hear the Crickets Sing, The Summer Beaming Forth, She Sights a Bird, The Light Upon the Lawn, and It’s Spring Fever.