A Place to Share a Craft I Love
House on Holly Hill is one of the ten projects in the book Peppermint and Holly. While it has been long Out of Print, it was reprinted in November 2023. It is designed to be stitched on 30ct Goldfinch by R & R Reproductions over 1. I chose to stitch this one on 16ct Friendship Greene by Fabrics by Stephanie with the called for floss, Weeks Dye Works Bark, Cocoa, Lancaster Red, and Angel Hair.
I finished it as a flat ornament with twisted cording around the edge.
Fall is my very favorite time of year. It was always the time of year my husband and I headed out west for our 6-8 weeks camping trips visiting our National Parks. Fall colors are also my favorite colors. When I saw Autumn Skies by Hands on Designs, I knew I wanted to stitch the small pillow.
The chart pack was offered as a kit including the chart, felt trim and buttons. The checkboard ribbon was not included.
I selected a piece of 16ct Natural aida I had in my stash and the DMC floss. Luckily, I had a roll of ribbon that I thought might work.
I’m not sure how I will finish this one as yet but happy with how it turned out.
I decided to finish this one as a small pin pillow to add to my dough bowl collection.
I’m So Glad by Cathy Haberman of Hands on Design, appeared in the October 2015 issue of Just CrossStitch magazine. I saw it stitched in one of the cross-stitching Facebook groups I belong to.
I selected a piece of 16ct aida I had in my stash and two skeins of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss Fireside Glow and Sierra Sunset. I cut two small pieces of felt for the bottom of the acorns.
My plan is to frame the stitched piece and use the leafy fabric as a background. I ended up stitching the bottom part of the acorn rather than using the felt pieces. Framed using a simple black frame I ordered from Amazon.
Autumn Silhouette by Blackbird Designs was published in 2004 and has been long Out of Print. I have seen a number of folks starting to stitch this one and since Fall is my favorite time of the year, I decided to start it.
The chart calls for 28ct Harvest Blend by R & R Reproductions with Weeks Dye Works Swamp Water floss. I decided to use a piece of 16ct aida in a light burnt orange color that I had in my stash along with Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss Rust and Russet.
I’m not sure how I will finish this one. Perhaps just a simple frame.
I decided on a simple dark brown frame from Amazon.
I saw both of these stitched designs posted in a Facebook group a couple of years ago and purchased them. Fast forward to 2023 as I was looking to stitch some small Christmas gifts, and decided these two would be perfect.
I chose a piece of 16ct Parchment aida and the called for colors of floss (Gentle Arts Rubby Slipper, Chives, Forest Glade, Wood Trail, and Harvest Basket.)
Started Stitching: September 27, 2023
Finished Stitching: October 1, 2023
I think I may stitch this one again using a brighter shade of red.
I also stitched this one on a piece of 16ct Parchment aida with the called for floss (Gentle Arts toffee, Wood Smoke, Cinnamon and DMC 3012 since I did not have Green Tea Leaf.)
Started Stitching: October 1, 2023
Finished Stitching: October 4, 2023
Both will be finished as round ornaments as pictured on the original designs. I’ll stitch this one again as both were a quick stitch and I love them.
I recently saw a post on Instagram that used the top portion of the Mighty Acorn Sampler from the book Winds of Autumn on a box. The stitcher had stitched it over one on 28 or 32ct which I knew would be impossible for me. I had recently stitched another piece to fit on the top of one of the wooden jewelry boxes I had purchased several years ago from Hobby Lobby and decided this piece would work perfectly for it. I chose a piece of 25ct Natural Lugana and the called for colors. Once I finished stitching the piece, I laced it onto a piece of matboard with a layer of batting.
I chose to use Folk Art Burnt Sienna to paint the box.
When I first saw Red Letter Sampler by Threadwok Primitives posted in a Facebook group, I knew I wanted to stitch it. I ordered it and it arrived quickly. Nan’s charts are color and hard for me to see but Nan graciously included a black and white copy even though I had forgotten to ask for it.
I chose a piece of 16ct Parchment aida that I had in my stash and the recommended floss. The DMC colors for the two shades of red are a very good match.
Started Stitching: September 15, 2023
Finished Stitching: September 21, 2023
Not sure how I am going to finish it as yet as on 16ct it is 7 5/8 x 4 1/8 which will make a larger pin pillow.
Every Bloom is Charmed by Blackbird Designs was released at the Country Sampler Retreat 2023. It was given to me as a gift. It was designed to be mounted on top of a dark brown rectangular basket (SKU 171389-L) from Hobby Lobby. The recommended fabric was 36ct Heartland by Picture This Plus.
A number of years ago, I had purchased two of the wooden jewelry boxes (SKU: 648196) from Hobby Lobby to use in other projects. I decided this would be a perfect project to stitch this one for and mount on the top.
I chose a piece of 28ct white Monaco I had in my stash to stitch this one one so it would be the perfect size. I am using the floss that came with the kit although stitching with two strands rather than one so I will need to add more floss. I also plan on using something to antique the fabric after I finish stitching.
Started Stitching:
Finished Stitching:
Once I finished stitching the pieces, I decided to leave the fabric as is rather than antiquing it. I stretched and laced it on top of a piece of matboard with one layer of batting. Monaco is a rather stiff fabric, so the corners are more rounded than sharp points, but I am happy with how it turned out. I am really pleased with the basket itself.
Next up is painting the box. I plan on using a blue or gold acrylic paint.
I decided on Colonial Blue because none of the shades of gold was what I was looking for.
I can see I need to do some touchup work on the inside paint. I used a pale, pale blue cardstock cut to size on the bottom of each of the sections. I may either remove it or change it out to a different color in the future, but it will do for now. The fabric backing for the top of the inside is my choice from the three pieces I had that matched the paint color.
Sewing Bird & Company by Sandra Sullivan of Homespun Elegance is a small simple design that I saw posted in a Facebook group. I bought it from one of the stash selling groups.
I am hoping it would fit onto the top of a box I had purchased earlier.
Dimensions:
I selected a piece of 25ct white Lugana and Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss Log Cabin and Hot Chili Peppers. The stitched piece would be 4 3/4″ x 2″. Once I finished stitching the piece, I mounted it on top of the playing card box that I had painted with Folk Art acrylic paint Expresso.
On the inside I used some batik fabric for two of the openings. One has a button I got in a finishing kit and the other has some Sew Pretty pins (Autumn Splendor) and a scissor charm. The mini sampler is from Casting a Spell and the other stitched piece is a freebie Quaker Flower from The Sisterhood. I may add some trim to the top but enough for now.
The Long and Winding Road by Blackbird Designs is #6 in the Magical Mystery Tour series. The copyright date is 2014.
My plan is to mount this on top of a 6″ recessed lid LeHay Shaker box that I have in my stash. I selected a piece of 18ct Parchment aida with the called for floss. While 18ct is much harder to stitch on, I needed to use that count so the stitched piece would fit.
This one was not an easy stitch for me. And the lazy daisy stitches are ones I usually avoid like the plague.
And here it is fully finished with some pompom trim added.
