Autumn Stream counted cross stitch project

This pattern is by Candamar/mcgtextiles

I love the finished product, but be warned that the finished stitching is so much more muted than the photo they include with the pattern, as seen from my photo.

If you want that look, you would need to change up your floss colors to more bold Colorado Aspen colors 🙂

The project did include plenty of floss and I had a lot left over which is good. Not all projects seem to give you enough.

I also changed up the sky a bit, adding some blues and variation, rather than the plain beige they instructed. I’m always changing things a bit.

Happy stitching!

Jan

Nightgown to match Christmas stocking

I made this in the spring of last year (2017), and I’m thinking my granddaughter will be able to wear it this winter.  I need to get a picture at Christmas time with her in it and holding the stocking I made for her!!

Update #2 Santa’s journey stocking and more…

Just a quick post on my progress. It’s going well!

On another project I slipped in here when I was bored with cross stitching: a hat and scarf for me newest granddaughter. I know she won’t use this winter but I was anxious to make them!
Sitting in a doctor’s office awhile back, flipped threw a magazine, I took pictures with my phone of this pattern called skinny minnie scarf, so sorry I can’t link to anything. Here is my variation of what the pattern was, as I threw in my own design.

The hat is THIS, and I added a little ruffle along the face edge and a flower.

The yarn I used was Simply Soft by Caron.  The colors are grape and orchid.

Update #1 Santa’s Journey Stocking

Santa has a face!  Oh it looks so much better now.

I have four months to finish.

Happy stitching until next time!
Jan

A new project

I have one more Christmas stocking to do this year besides this one I just completed for my newly arrived Granddaughter. I also have a new daughter in law this year and in sticking with my tradition, as I have for every one of my family members, I needed to make a counted cross stitch stocking for her too.

This photo was from a few years ago, so we are missing a couple grand-babies….but you get the idea of my making all our stockings 🙂
I actually was able to copy my sons stocking on the far left, and make his wife’s exactly the same, just using his as a sample!  They definitely have gotten more elaborate recently 🙂

So here is my new project:  Dimensions Gold Series, Santa’s Journey

Here is my progress so far:

I really like the details Dimensions puts into their patterns and also the Aida 18 count fabric. That alone, brings out fine details, with its fine weave.

For now happy stitching, and I will keep posting updates!  I have 4 months to finish!!!

Jan

 

Final Christmas Morning Stocking

Ready for Christmas now that I’ve finished my granddaughters stocking!
Of course this year she will still be too small(7+months old), to acknowledge this, but she will still get her little treats from Santa!!

A friend recommended I make a nightie to match. I’ll do just that and post my progress.
Until then, happy stitching!

Love it homegrown too!

We moved into a brand new neighborhood last November. And by brand new I mean it went from raw land to roads and houses!  Because of that, it took awhile for birds to visit my yard. But at least now I have Towhees, Jays and Juncos.

Another new neighborhood issue is bees. There aren’t any.  I have plenty of flowers around the yard, but I guess it will take awhile to get them to come and to pollinate my veggies I have growing. In particular my yellow squash, zucchini and cantaloupe.

In doing research online and discussing with my green thumb son, I learned about the flower differences between male and female.  The squash and zucchini are easy.  This is a female flower, obviously, with a successful pollinated zucc!

This is the male;  just a long straight stem and flower.  (And, I see a very tiny female that I need to pollinate as soon as the flower opens!!)

I was able to successfully pollinate my first squash, YUM!

The cantaloupe was another, much tougher issue. I kept seeing these flowers and going, is this a male, a female? what?  These were the only kind I saw. Is there so little difference that I cannot see?

Nope!  Turns out, these are all male flowers.  Yesterday, I discovered what a female flower actually looks like and it does have that little fruit at the end, just like the squash does, but ever so tiny!!  Plus, there are no long stems on the male flowers, making it harder to distinguish.

Yay, finally!  I pollinated that one as well, so we’ll see if it takes.

Every morning, when I walk thru my garden, I do an inspection for more flowers….until I see bees taking over my job 🙂

Happy pollinating and happy stitching…..(I need to post a pic of my completed stocking!)

Christmas Morning Stocking update #4

Moving right along on this cute stocking for my soon-to-be-born granddaughter 🙂

Here is where I did my little amendment to the pattern, taking off some hair from the top of her head and then adding a little length down her neck, instead of looking like little orphan Annie.  I have yet to fill in with the outline detail.

Happy Stitching to you!

Jan

 

 

Sewing a newborn dress is like…..

sewing doll clothes, but oh so fun!!    I’m using McCall’s pattern #M6103 for this jersey knit dress.
I used the same pattern HERE, but made a romper for my grandson.  And here’s the completed dress for my soon-to-be-born granddaughter:

(The color is really off though.  It should be more of a turquoise.)
To go along with that, I decided to make some headbands.  I found the pattern for the headband HERE.  I used Caron Simply Soft in “Blue Mint” and Berroco in #1813.  The yellow is Simply Soft “Sunshine”

Her recommendation for the flower is HERE. I only did to row 4 for the small flower.
I had fun picking out which buttons to use in my stash of thousands.

Oh, and I’m going to try my hand at THESE soon too! ADORABLE!
Next up, a stocking update.  I needed to take a break from Cross Stitching and did some sewing and crocheting!

Happy Stitching…Jan

Christmas Morning Stocking update #3

Here is my progress so far on this cute stocking that I am making for my soon to be born granddaughter…
I was anxious to do some of the highlight stitching, especially her legs, as it looked like one solid elephant leg, haha.

You can be creative in your rendition of it as well by changing things up like I did here:
I did not care for how pale the half cross stitches turned out, using the off-white color per the pattern.  It was just lost with the too-similar color of the Aida.

So, I went back over it, finishing the “cross stitch” with 1 strand of the off-white and 1 strand of a very pale yellow I had in my stash of all kinds of embroidery thread(and that’s not even all of it).  I’m ashamed to even show you what a mess of thread I have all bundled up in an embroidery basket.

Anyway, I like the effect much better.

Happy stitching to you as well as happy daylight savings time and Happy St. Patrick’s Day 🙂

Jan