Valentine's Day Exchange

Design: All You Need is Love
Designer: The Drawn Thread (freebie available here)
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

I stitched this for Staci on the HoE blog.

The freebie from The Drawn Thread was originally much brighter - more reds and deep pinks - but I wanted something softer, so used the palette from the Heart Throb (below) and added a couple of my favourite greens from the 50* range of DMC. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Like all DT designs, it was a pleasure to stitch, and the stitch diagrams are so easy to follow.

I finished the piece as a mattress pincushion, but used a quilting fabric for the sides and base, instead of an evenweave. I think if I do this another time, I will use four shorter pieces instead of one long one, as I think there is room for improvement in the corners, but overall I like the effect, and Staci has told me she likes it, and that's all that matters!

These are the rest of the goodies I sent along - I had a good time finding pink and flowery things. I'm not normally so girly, but sometimes one has to be girly! I found the heart in a gift shop which specialises in 'Fair Trade' goods and it's got me thinking about whether I could do something similar ... LOL

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who reads my blog - may you feel loved and blessed today.

Heart Throb - The Drawn Thread

Design: Heart Throb - freebie available here
Designer: The Drawn Thread
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

I love The Drawn Thread designs, and whilst I was looking through my charts for ideas for the HoE Valentine's Exchange, couldn't resist stitching this up for myself!

Despite all the speciality stitches - and I even did the dreaded Queen Stitches! - it's a reasonably quick stitch, and the result is so pretty :o) Because Cathy gave me a wonderful Valentine fob (see previous post) this is now hanging from a drawer knob :o)

Works in Progress

This is my current focus stitching piece - Summer into Autumn by The Drawn Thread. I'm really enjoying it, but because the linen is 32 count, I need good light to stitch by, and a steady hand, so I'm mainly working on it at weekends, which is slowing the progress. No matter though, as it will make the joy last longer :o)

I am going to finish this as a bellpull I think, and display it with Winter into Spring - which I have yet to stitch!

This is my second pair of socks - one is already finished, and I've just turned the heel on this pair. I'm making them for my closest friend (who doesn't read my blogs) for Christmas, so I should have them completed in plenty of time. The yarn is Italian and lovely to work with, but knitting black has some of the same issues as stitching on black, especially counting! I work on these mostly on the bus, it's quite surprising how much I can get done - it works out at a sock a week.

And because I saw the yarn on Saturday, I just had to start a third pair ... these are for me. I love how the stripes are working out.

Knitting has been very soothing - Colin the guinea pig, star of the recent post, has been rather ill with a respiratory infection so has needed nursing, vet attention and some hand/syringe feeding - and knitting helps dispel the worry somewhat. He has another checkup with the vet today, but appears to be recovering - fingers crossed!

My Favorite Things - The Drawn Thread

Design: My Favorite Things
Designer: The Drawn Thread (Cynthia Zittel)
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count raw Cashel linen

Sorry about the fuzzy picture! Because it's quite long, it's hard to get a good picture of the whole thing, especially as I'm not a good photographer! This is the first 'full size' DT that I've stitched, and it's what got me hooked. I love the design, although that didn't stop me making a few alterations of my own...


A few Queen Stitches got the chop - I subbed in Smyrna crosses and eyelets instead, and after the alphabet, you can see that a bee appeared - also from a DT chart, to keep the style consistent, although I had to stitch it over one to fit the space. If a design is going to be called 'My Favorite Things' how can it not have a bee in it?


I like bunnies (which were on the original design) but I like sheep better! These were from DT's 'Generosity' design, and fitted in very well, although they are closer together than I would have really liked - but that's just me being very very picky! The vertical band on the left had its Queen Stitches subbed too. They are definitely not one of my favourite things! The initials belong to my partner and to my dearest friend.



The completed piece has been made into a bell pull and it is hanging in my hallway - which is too dark and small for me to get a decent picture. Just take my word for it, it looks really nice :o)

Bee Hive - Elizabeth's Designs

Design: Bee Hive
Designer: Elizabeth's Designs
Threads: Gentle Arts Sampler Threads
Fabric: 28(ish) count linen, antique white - but not even!

This sweet little design stitched up really quickly, and I like it a lot. The only thing of note, really, is the linen I used to stitch it on. It was a scrap from my stash, of unknown origin. Although labelled as 30 count, it's actually a different count in each direction - not by much, but if you look very closely, you can see that the stitches are wider than they are tall! I think it's actually made the design look nicer - I like a nice, rounded bee hive :o) - but I'm glad I wasn't stitched a bigger project, it could have looked really strange!

Scotland International Heart - The Victoria Sampler

Design: Scotland International Heart

Designer: The Victoria Sampler (Thea Dueck)

Fabric: 25 count evenweave, white

Threads: DMC and Kreinik #4 braid

I liked stitching this heart - for once, all the elements looked like they were supposed to, although I did fiddle a little with the piper's pipes :o)

These little kits are great for learning some new specialty stitches, as the instructions are so good.

The bird is a type of grouse called a Capercaillie - which coincidentally is the name of one of my favourite bands!. Their Myspace page can be found here.

I did think about making all of them up into a quilt, but know I've discovered pinkeeps, they may very well end up as a series of those!

December Sampler Accent - Periwinkle Promises

I think I will scan this and replace the picture, but this will give you an idea of how one of my last 2007 finishes looks!

It's another little sampler accent kit from Periwinkle Promises, and doesn't it look all serene, with the little angels on it ... those angels caused rather a lot of swearing and frogging, as the spacing isn't consistent across the row, something I failed to recognise, until my angels didn't line up under their haloes ...


I'm still to be convinced that silk is somehow "better" than cotton for stitching with too.


This shall be finished as a mini-pillow, hopefully before this December!


Design details:
To be added

Goals, reviews and future plans...

Where has February gone? Even with an extra day, it's just zipped by!

Fortunately, I achieved my goals for the month, so I'm a happy bunny :o) (white rabbit! by the way)

I'm still very behind on posting pictures to my blog, or even writing much to this one, but I'm getting there - at least photographs have been taken of everything I stitched in 2007, plus exchanges that have arrived here, and some of the things I've made this year ... I'm in awe of the people whose blogs I read, who manage to write something entertaining regularly, and post regular updates!

I don't know if I've mentioned, but my new job is part time, flexible hours (and it's bliss...) - so Thursday and Friday I had the flat to myself, so I hauled out the charts from my stash, the boxes of fabby from my stash, and tried to kit as much as I could up! And yup, it took a day and a half ... obviously, some of the fabric that the charts called for I had, and some I didn't, so often it was judgement calls - and have you noticed how inaccurate the cover photos on charts can be when it comes to fabric colour? I used to specify a lot of print in previous roles, and would never have accepted some of the repro I've seen... Anyway, I have nearly *blushes* 150 projects ready to go with fabby, and I've divided them up into little groups of 8 or 10, and my goal is to work my way through a bag in six months... the upside of this is that I've really looked at my stash, and some charts on my pile I just didn't feel like giving up my precious hoard of fabric to use, so they will probably get passed on.

As a result of this exercise, I have a new start - one of the many Drawn Thread charts in my stash, none of which I have stitched. It's called My Favorite Things, and can be seen here.

I'm not actually stitching it on the specified fabric, but the floss toss worked for me, and I'm enjoying it so far. It's a little more challenging that a lot of the things I've been working on lately, but that's a good thing - and the instructions are incredibly clear.


The picture is a little dark, but it shows my progress after one evening - I've nearly completed four sections, just the backstich tree trunks to do but I can't find my floss in that colour. There's something like 32 sections in total LOL so there's a way to go yet. I have a craft shop within five minutes walk of the apartment, so the lack of floss will shortly be rectified :o) Unfortunately, the shop has become less of a needlework shop in the time I've lived here, and more a papercraft shop, but that seems to be a general trend. At least I'm okay if I run out of DMC :o)

When This You See - Cathy Bussi

This was probably the oldest thing in my "to make up" pile - if you look closely, you can see that the date on it is 1996! LOL!

The design was in an old edition of Cross Stitch Collection, but I changed all the colours - the original was either yellow and green, or pink and purple, I can't remember which!

September Sampler Accent - Periwinkle Promises

I have most of the months of the year in this series, and each one has the same pleasures - and pitfalls.

Firstly - the pleasures. The instructions are excellent, very comprehensive and new stitches are clearly diagrammed. There's plenty of thread included in the kit. The jury is still out on whether stitching with silk is any better than plain old cotton - I don't really think so, but it is nice to work with for a change. Once the outer borders are done, the project grows rapidly, especially if - like me - you substitute regular cross stitch in for the Smyrna stitches!

The pitfalls - the amount of fabric is so measly that I can't put it in a hoop big enough to work the whole border on at once. Another 1.5" all round would solve that!

There's a lot of bands of double back stitch in these little pieces, which is fine although a little monotonous at times, but the dividing bands do grow so much quicker than that border. I hate the borders on these things - I do it first to anchor the design, but it is the thing that puts me off doing more than one in a row!

This will be made into a pillow for my smalls basket.

Design Details

Fabric: 29 count Glenshee linen, natural
Threads: Soie d'Alger silk
Designer: Barbara L Rakosnik, Periwinkle Promises
Kit Details: September Sampler Accent - Periwinkle Promises (c) 1998
Stitch Count: 47H x 59V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Running Stitch, Double Back Stitch, Back Stitch, Mosaic Stitch, Smyrna Stitch, Straighht Stitch,
Threads Used: Soie D'Alger in 4144, 4624, 4623, 4622, F13, 1835, 1846. Cross stitch in one strands.
Embellishments: Cream Mill Hill beads
Modifications Made: None. Many smyrna stitches subsitituted by cross stitches

Plum Berry Sampler - Bent Creek

I think I said pretty much what I wanted to in the last post :o)

I did wonder if the purple was a bit too bright, and thought about frogging all the specialty stitches and re-stitching in a more mulberry sort of colour, but then reality and common sense took over!

Design Details

Fabric: 28 count linen from Silkweaver - Lichen Moss
Threads: DMC stranded cotton
Designer: Bent Creek (Marsha Worley & Elizabeth Newlin)
Chart Details: The Plum Berry Sampler BC418 - Bent Creek (c) 2000
Stitch Count: 40H x 101V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Rhodes Stitch, Smyrna Cross Stitch, Algerian Eyelet Stitch
Threads Used: DMC 3835, 3023, 3787, 3021, 311, 869. Cross stitch in two strands.
Embellishments: Seven assorted buttons.
Modifications Made: Used DMC conversion, substituted recommended buttons

Pumpkin Flower Sampler - Bent Creek

(Hmmm - my pictures are rubbish. I wonder what is going wrong - I'm using macro, and flash and yet they are still very blurry!)

This is one of the set of three samplers published by Bent Creek and I've chosen to stitch them all on the same piece of linen, although I will frame or finish them individually.

I love them - the colours work beautifully - especially on this piece and they are quick but satisfying to stitch, as there are bands of raised stitches in the alphabet.

I chose to use the DMC conversions, and didn't use the recommended buttons - they would have cost me over £5, and the ones I used were from a couple of assorted packets that cost me less than that, and I've used them for several projects! They do go well, I think - I guess that's one of the advantages of having a favourite palette of colours, most things co-ordinate!

Design Details

Fabric: 28 count linen from Silkweaver - Lichen Moss
Threads: DMC stranded cotton
Designer: Bent Creek (Marsha Worley & Elizabeth Newlin)
Chart Details: The Pumpkin Flower Sampler BC420 - Bent Creek (c) 2000
Stitch Count: 40H x 101V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Rhodes Stitch, Smyrna Cross Stitch, Algerian Eyelet Stitch
Threads Used: DMC 436, 611, 3051, 434. Cross stitch in two strands.
Embellishments: Seven assorted buttons.
Modifications Made: Used DMC conversion, substituted recommended buttons

Harvest Time - Elizabeth's Designs

This design is from the booklet "A Stitcher's Year", however the colours are my own choices, and the fabric a little Silkweaver oddment.

I've finished this as a mini pillow, and it's backed with cream moire satin and trimmed with purchased cording.

I'm not entirely happy with how the stuffing looks, but overall I'm pleased with it, as the colours co-ordinate nicely with my living room!

Love - NMI

This was a kit I bought on a whim from eBay, as I'd never tried candlewicking before. I'm not sure I would try it again, as it appears to be French knots worked in coton a broder on calico - so it's a bit of a struggle to pull threads through, and repetitive too!

This has been languishing in my "to make up" pile for several years, so I finally made it into a little padded heart. I think the original instructions called for lace to go round the edges, but as you've already gathered, I'm not the girly frou frou type, so I used some plain-ish braid to hide the little marks left by the transfer round the edges.

Sweetheart Needleroll - The Sweetheart Tree

This delicate sampler/needleroll was (mostly) enjoyable to work, and fairly straightforward but the very delicacy of the stitching made it seem more complex than it was! A little frogging on some of the back stitch was needed, but overall it was fine!

The colours work well together, and the piece has more impact made up into a needleroll than flat.

This is definitely as pink and girly as I get. It's not really "me" although I admit it's very pretty! My favourite thing about this are the specialty stitches - a needleroll is big enough to get the hang of them, but small enough for boredom not to set in!



Finishing was a little different to usual, but looked very effective. I've taken to making all my needlerolls with a French seam - it's more time consuming, especially as I construct them by hand, not machine - but in my opinion, it's the neatest way.

Design Details

Fabric: 32 count Belfast linen, antique white
Threads: DMC stranded cotton, #12 perle, Needle Necessities overdyed floss
Designer: Sandra Cox Vanosdall
Chart Details: Sweetheart Needleroll - The Sweetheart Tree (c) 1995
Stitch Count: 60H x 72V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Diamond Eyelet Stitch, Satin Stitch, Back Stitch, Oblique Herringbone Stitch, Mosaic Stitch, Horizontal Knit Stitch, Herringbone Stitch, Tent Stitch
Threads Used: DMC ecru, 224, 225, 503, DMc #12 Perle in ecru, NN #158 Cluny Rose. Cross stitch in two strands, back stitch in one.
Embellishments: Mill Hill Petite Seed Beads #40123, Rose Quartz Heart Bead.
Modifications Made: None.

Wild Roses - Needleworks by Sue Hawkins

This was one of my target UFOs for this month.

Originally, I started it in December 2004 after the death of my gran, to fill time on a very long car journey to her funeral (she lived 400 miles away) and to fill in what I thought might be awkward times in the packing up of her estate. But strangely, although it was a very sad time, there were some good memories made. My uncle and aunt had come over from the USA, my parents were there, my sister and her husband were there, and there was a lot of laughter and remininscence. So not a huge amount of stitching got done!

When left as a UFO, I had actually done nearly all of the sampler, apart from the top flowers in the border, and the green leaves. I think I thought the border might be complex, but when broken down, after the initial swirl, the pattern repeats and is very simple, so finishing the sampler only took a couple of sessions.

The quilt effect blocks are areas of specialty stitches - in this case bargello and Rhodes stitch - which make the sampler a little more interesting to work, and add texture nicely. The linen is so crisp, it was a little awkward to work in a hoop without catching, but the effect is so nice!

My gran loved flowers, and was a very skilled gardener - gardens were her passion, much as stitching is mine. She was always very proud of anything I stitched for her - the walls and shelves of her home had many small framed pieces which had originally been cards - I think she'd saved everything I'd ever sent :o) Roses remind me of her, because she had a number of old fashioned rambling roses on the high stone walls of her garden. There are another three samplers in this series, and each has some significance to me, and a memory of my gran:

Strawberry - my gran's garden produced the most luscious strawberries (and raspberries) - gran jealously guarded these against the birds and snails, and our summer trips are full of delicious bowls of berries - for breakfast, lunch and dinner, if we wanted! She also grew many of her own vegetables, and there really is nothing to beat newly dug potatoes and freshly picked peas lightly cooked and served with fish landed at market that morning! I'm hoping to finish this sampler this month.

Iris - irises were a favourite flower of my gran, and a favourite of my mum's, too. Gran's funeral flowers were in her favourite colour, blue, and included some gorgeous irises. My goal is to stitch this and Heartsease before the anniversary of my gran's death (Christmas Day).

Heartsease - I love the happy smiling faces of heartsease and pansies - I love the old fashioned name, and their apparent delicacy - when really they are tough and will flower in almost any season. They are one of my favourite flowers. They also symbolise "thoughts" - and I have so many good memories of my gran.

Design Details

Fabric: 28 count linen, natural
Threads: DMC stranded cotton
Designer: Sue Hawkins
Chart Details: Wild Rose (The Language of Flowers Series) - Needleworks by Sue Hawkins
Stitch Count: 86H x 86V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Four Sided Stitch, Back Stitch, Rhodes Stitch, Bargello
Threads Used: DMC stranded cottons (no numbers given) in four shades of pink, two of green, two of mauve, two of blue, two of yellow, plus brown and navy. Cross stitch in two strands.
Embellishments: None.
Modifications Made: None.

USA International Heart - The Victoria Sampler

I'm started stitching these Hearts and I'm not really sure I like them any more ... but I have a couple more of the places I've visited to go, so I'll see how I feel after that ... I did the England one a while ago, and the so called "robin" on it was awful!

Victoria Sampler kits are a model for all kit manufacturers - the instructions are very clear, the contents of good quality, and in generous quantities too, and they stitch up very nicely.

I think I might make these into a quilt. Maybe.

Design Details

Fabric: 25 count Lugana, white
Threads: DMC stranded cottons, Kreinik #4 braid
Designer: Thea Dueck
Kit Details: International Heart - USA - IH #05 - The Victoria Sampler (c) 2003
Stitch Count: 48H x 42V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Back Stitch, Star Darn Stitch, Herringbone Stitch, French Knot,
Threads Used: DMC white, 645, 3371, 3706, 891, 304, 3364, 3362, 930, 931, 729. Kreinik #4 braid #002
Embellishments: None.
Modifications Made: None.

Amethyst - Classic Embroidery/Adele Welsby Designs

What I like about hardanger is the speed with which it grows - if you get the counting of the Kloster blocks right!

It really is an impressive looking technique for not a huge amount of effort - just a steady nerve when it comes to cutting!

The kit instructions were very good, and there was sufficient (just, in a couple of cases!) thread to complete the design.

I stitched this almost as charted - the only modification I made was omitting the picots on the woven bars, as 1. I think they look too fussy and 2. I can never get them even!

I'm not sure what I will finish this as!

Design Details

Fabric: 22 count hardanger, white
Threads: unknown perle cotton in 5 (four colours) and 8 (white)
Designer: Sandra Pim
Chart Details: Amethyst (Hardanger Tile Collection) - HC409 - Classic Embroidery/Adele Welsby Designs (c) 1996
Stitch Count: 108H x 108V
Stitches Used: Satin Stitch, Algerian Eye Stitch, Four-sided Stitch, Woven Bars.
Threads Used: Perle 5 in white, green, dark pink, pink, Perle 8 in white.
Embellishments: None
Modifications Made: Omitted the picots on the woven bars

Beehive Sampler - Charland Designs

This kit was a birthday gift several years ago from my good friend Marci, and I finally finished it! I brought it out at a sad time for Marci, and I hope she could feel my thoughts with her as I stitched on this sampler.

The chart for this kit is particularly clear, with excellent instructions for the speciality stitches, so even though some were unfamiliar to me, I could approach them with confidence.

I loved using the differently textured threads, although at some places, I felt the Wildflowers was a little chunky - there also wasn't enough included in the kit (grrrr...) which held up completion - I had to order them from the USA, as Caron threads are very expensive in the UK! Fortunately, there was more than enough silk included- which is very nice to work with, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra expense to use silk on a regular basis.

I haven't used the silver charm on this yet (it's gone AWOL) but I think - when I find it - I'm actually going to attach it to my charm bracelet, and use another charm for the sampler!

Design Details

Fabric: 28 count linen, natural
Threads: Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Soie Cristale, Caron Wildflowers, Perle 8 Cotton
Designer: Charland Designs
Chart Details: Bee Hive Sampler - Charland Designs (c) 2000
Stitch Count: 45H x 155V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Back Stitch, Satin Stitch, Diamond Smyrna Stitch, Upright Cross Stitch, Long Arm Cross Stitch, Pulled Thread, Modified Rice Stitch, Algerian Eye Stitch, Smyrna Stitch, Cable Stitch, Pattern Darning, Mosaic Stitch, Oblong Cross Stitch.
Threads Used: GAST Soot, DMC blanc Perle 8, Soie Cristale 0057, 0079, 4003, 5004, 6043, 7061, 7063, Caron Wildflowers Moss, Golden Grain, Periwinkle
Embellishments: Sterling Silver Beehive Charm (not used)
Modifications Made: Omitted black beads - substituted Soot cross stitch. Substituted GAST Soot for WDW Charcoal. Omitted some backstitch, and changed colours on others.