So are the “moonlit paths” in front of the gazebo. I stitched them with one strand of light blue and one strand of irridescent white.
Feb16
Waxwing is finished!
Category Archives: cross-stitch
Feb10
Wack-a-Noodle!
That’s mine and PJ’s made up word for crazy! And that is what I’ve gone! I am obsessed with finding old cross-stitch patterns I’ve always wanted to stitch, but never had the time.
<
This is my latest purchase, “At Home with Paula Vaughan, Book Sixty-Eight.”
I have loved her work for years, and you can see, in a recent post, one of her earlier designs I purchased on eBay.
This book was in a rack, along with about 100 others, in the back corner of Michaels on Park Road in Charlotte, NC. I spotted it several months ago, when I 
was looking for yarn.
was looking for yarn. 
It has 29 projects that are all gorgeous, but this one is the one I wanted:
This looks just like my wedding dress from 1984 (Jessica McClintock, remember?) and the sewing machine looks like my granny’s!Feb6
Carried Away
When I was looking for that Stoney Creek church pattern on eBay, I came across a few other patterns I liked. I placed $.99 bids on three of them and won all three! Now, that’s something I need more of, cross-stitch leaflets! I’ll bet I have 200 packed away upstairs!
Feb5
Another Birdie!
I think it’s a robin. Two down and 2 to go! I also adjusted my camera settings to get a better close-up. Learning to do that was an added bonus!
Feb4
Cardinal is Done!
I changed the reds in this pattern to DMC 312 and 814. I wanted the cardinal to be a vivid crayon red like he is in real life! The pattern is, “Four Birds,” from the Cross-stitcher’s Club.
Feb3
I found it! I bought it!
I always wanted to stitch the church covered in snow that said, “Silent Night,” from Stoney Creek. When I first saw it, I was teaching and had a little one to boot. I knew I’d never finish it, so I didn’t bother buying the pattern or the materials. (My mom also assured me I’d go blind stitching on black!) Now that I’m retired, and despite the fact that now I watch my little one’s little one, I’m back into cross-stitching. I decided to see if I could find that old pattern, and I did, on eBay! I just paid for it! It’s in Washington State, so it should be here in a week or so! ‘Gotta get busy on my gazebo in the snow so I can start that one when it gets here!
Feb2
Hand-Dyed Cross-Stitch Fabric
at Silkweavers.
Jan22
First tree finished!
I love being able to enlarge a section of the chart, print it, and mark on it! See where I colored dots over the symbols? That’s where I chose to put irridescent white stitches. Marking through the parts I’ve worked also helps me spot and prevent mistakes. Ha! I just spotted one! I left out two white stitches. Later!
Jan21
The Gazebo is Done!
So far, so good!
Trees are next. The chart shows the snow on the trees in light blue, but that’s so they’ll show up on white background cloth. I’m considering using white and adding a few irridescent white stitches like I did on the gazebo roof.
Here’s a similar design that’s free for the next three days when you join the Cross-Stitcher’s Club.
I think it’s by the same designer. I don’t know why the club doesn’t give credit to its designers. I wouldn’t want to work that hard for no recognition!
Jan14
Good DMC Embroidery Floss Resources
I am about to embarq on a new cross-stitch project from the Cross-Stitcher’s Club. I thought this would be beautiful on royal blue Aida cloth, so I stopped by Michael’s in Mooresville, NC, on the way home from Charlotte. That particular Michael’s has more cross-stitch fabric in stock than any other retail store I currently know of. They didn’t have royal blue, but they did have a 15″ x 18″ piece of navy blue on clearance for $2.49!
I divided the stitch count by 14 (14-count Aida cloth) and determined that the finished piece will be 5.2″ x 7″. That ought to do it!
I just checked to see which colors of floss I already have on hand, and there were only three. Since I’m changing the background color, I think I’ll change up the floss colors to what I have on hand. To help with that, I looked on line for a chart of color names and color descriptions for DMC floss. Now, I’m ready to go back through my thread boxes and see what I can find!