Teeny Tiny Gingerbread Gal

My love affair with 40-ct linen continues.

Pattern by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

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Teeny Tiny Turkey

I can't believe how much I love stitching on 40-ct linen. 

"Give Thanks" by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

                                         

Look at how tiny that turkey is! How cute is he, seriously?!?

He is so tiny and sweet. Pictures can't convey just how small he is. And how sweet he is. :) 

If you follow me on Instagram (stitchystitcherson), then you've perhaps seen this teeny tiny turkey's progression. I loved stitching him. He was a quick, fun stitch, and is a great addition to my woefully small collection of Thanksgiving finishes.

Gobble gobble! 

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The Bee Keeper

I stitched a little something recently.

The Bee Keeper by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

Stitched on 40-ct Summer Khaki linen, one-over-two

Emphasis on "little."

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Recent Finishes

TINGLES October 31-Jack O Lantern Double Flip by Lizzie*Kate

Sweet Tooth (Limited Edition pattern) by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

Mysterious Halloween Town (Part One) by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

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These Days

These days, I have been putting some stitches in this WIP

and dreaming about what to make with this glorious stack of fat quarters.

I think I need to make a Halloween quilt. I've always wanted to do that. 

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Penguin Ornament

My sweet friend Glenda sent me some cross stitch patterns a couple months ago, so I thought it would be nice to make her a Christmas ornament as a little thank you. 

"Snow Globe Cutie:Penguin" by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

This cutie was stitched on Misty Blue Belfast by Zweigart. The floss is DMC, but not all the colors were the recommended ones. I needed to change the scarf to Christmas-y colors, and I needed to change the body of the penguin so it would stand out more against the blue of the linen. I chose the blue linen so I could skip filling in the background of the snow globe (huge time saver!). I took a cue from a picture I saw on Flickr and outlined the snow globe with metallic floss. I used a Kreinik #4 braid that I had in my stash. I love that stuff!

This little cutie really is little--that's a 4-inch hoop in the first picture. He was a quick, fun stitch. Isn't he adorable?

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Autumn Samplers and Candy Corn Crochet

Hello! It certainly has been a while since my last post. I've been super busy with kids, life, and, of course, stitching!

As you may remember, I was one of the pattern testers for The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Autumn Sampler. That kept me super busy, and boy, was it worth the time I spent stitching it. SO CUTE. 

I also decided that, after both admiring and being intimidated by them for longer than I can recall, I would take the plunge and buy my first Quaker sampler pattern. I LOVE IT. Oh my gosh, I love it so much! I haven't gotten very far yet, but it is wonderful. Words cannot convey how much I love this thing.

Quaker Season Autumn by ByGone Stitches

I am stitching this on the suggested fabric (PTP's Mello Cashel) with the suggested floss (GAST). The linen is dreamy and the colors are gorgeous, and the pattern is easy to follow. I love it. I can't believe I waited this long to stitch a Quaker sampler. (Also, how cute is that scissors needle minder?!?)

In addition to stitching, I decided it was high time to get serious about learning how to crochet. A friend tried to teach me many years ago, but I couldn't get the hang of it back then. With the help of the internet (Crochet School and YouTube, in particular), I was able to finally make it "click" in my head. I can't do anything fancy, but I have mastered the double crochet stitch and can make a washcloth in just a couple hours.

By the way, washing dishes is far more fun when using a candy corn-colored dishcloth. Trust me on this one. 

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The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Autumn Sampler

The calendar (and the thermometer!) may says it's summer, but in my house, it's all about autumn--the Autumn Sampler by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, that is.

I have the honor of pattern testing this sweet sampler for Amanda and Ashleigh, just as I did the Summer Sampler. Lemme tell ya, this pattern is chock full of autumnal goodness!

(You may have already seen this on Facebook; the Pumpkins are very active on their Facebook page and post lots of great pics & updates.)

Isn't it CUTE?!?

The Autumn Sampler works the same way the Summer Sampler did: you sign up for a five-week subscription, and each week (beginning September 23rd) you get an email containing five scenes to fill in. The sampler is up for pre-sale right now, so grab it while the price is discounted!

Speaking of the Summer Sampler...I don't think I ever shared with you a picture of my completed piece. 

Eep! So cute!

So, gather up your supplies, put the final touches on your summer projects, and get ready to settle in with some great fall stitching. 

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Guitar Strings Tutorial

As you may know, I had the honor and privilege of pattern testing The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Summer Sampler. I hope you have signed up for it, because it is adorable and you are in for a treat. I can't even begin to pick which square (out of 25! Wow!) is my favorite. The whole sampler is just that cute. :) 

The purpose of this post, though, isn't to gush on and on about how cute the Summer Sampler is (because believe me, I could, it is just that cute). The Pumpkins asked me if I would share with you the way I did the guitar strings on this square.

Normally when I backstitch, I don't carry my floss over more than six stitches. (I think that is the general rule of thumb for backstitching unless a pattern specifies otherwise.)  In fact, I prefer to backstitch over one stitch. But when I tried that on this cute little guitar, the strings more or less disappeared. And when I broke the backstitch down into even parts (going over five stitches, three times per string), it looked too segmented. So I tried three long stitches, and it worked out perfectly!

To keep my strands from getting twisted, I used the railroad method. This tutorial by thesprucecraft.com is fabulous if you aren't familiar with the technique. (Some people use a laying tool, but I don't have one.) Railroading is something I almost always use for cross stitch, but seldom need for backstitch. But with stitches this long, it was important that I keep the threads from twisting. Just take your time and you shouldn't have any issues. You may need to try more than once--I know I did!--but it's worth it. And if you use the loop method to anchor your floss, you won't even have to worry about covering the tail.

I wouldn't recommend long stitches like this on something that gets a lot of use, like a dishtowel. But if your sampler isn't going to be handled, this is a fun way to experiment with backstitch.


Happy Stitching!

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Sneak Peek

If you follow The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery on Facebook, then chances are you already saw this sneak peek of their upcoming Summer Sampler. But in case you missed it...here it is!

So cute, right? I just love this little lantern. He was really fun to stitch!

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The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Summer Sampler

Woo hoo! I am super excited to share this with you! The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery is releasing a Summer Sampler for your stitching pleasure, and I just happen to have a little sneak peek to show you.

The pre-sale starts tomorrow (May 24th) and the first PDF will be released on June 21st.

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Mr. Gnomey & the Sprout Gang

I am making good progress with my Woodland Sampler.  Mr. Gnomey and his gang of sprouts stitched up very quickly.

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Woodland Sampler--March & April

I am all caught up on my Woodland Sampler.

Hooray!

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Woodland Sampler--January & February

Here is my progress on The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Woodland Sampler that I promised to show you a couple weeks ago.

Fabric: 32-ct Vintage Pearled Barley by Lakeside Linens--soooo yummy!

I haven't done too much, as you can see, though I guess I am technically caught up. March's pattern was just released yesterday, after all. (Some people are already done with March! Holy Smokes!!) I had planned to stitch all the borders in advance, as the Pumpkins sent out the pattern for the borders early to make it easier on people. Had I stitched those borders, all I would have to do each month is fill in the box with that month's pattern. 

But why make it easy on myself? ;)

It's hard to tell in the pic, but the stars are super sparkly. I used Cosmo's Sparkle floss, and it is true to its name! This was a first for me, using the Sparkle floss. It is fabulous to work worth; it's very smooth and much easier to deal with than many of the metallics I've used over the years.

Please wish me luck getting March's border and motif done before April. I have cross stitch ADD right now and keep bouncing from pattern to pattern. I am currently working on this pattern (just started it a couple days ago), and I kitted up this pattern and this pattern and want to start them soon. Oh, and I just finished stitching this kit (another shop model for my LNS). Pics will be coming soon. Oh yeah, and there are the new Jingles that I kinda-sorta kitted up, I need to start those soon, too.

See what I mean? Stitchy ADD. I know there are some smart stitchers who follow a schedule for their WIPS, working on certain projects on specific days, but I am not that smart. ;) I just stitch whatever tickles my fancy at that moment. I would probably have more finishes if I followed a schedule, but you know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My way works for me--for now, anyway. You never know when I am going to change my mind.

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Figgy Pudding (and a Little Gift)

Have you seen the latest (and last) design in The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's 2012 Dessert of the Month Club series?

 

I have not actually ever had figgy pudding, but this little guy is the sweetest little figgy pudding I've ever seen! 

And here they are, all twelve of the desserts. For those of you that have asked about how I will be finishing them for display, I can't tell you much about that just yet...but something special is being cooked up. :) More on that early next year (at the latest).

Now, speaking of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, have you guys seen their latest series? 

 Kawaii Winter Wonderland is a five-part series that is achingly cute. Oh. My. Goodness. The series began in November, so all five parts are now available. Check out the Flickr group for some fabulous pictures of Kawaii Winter Wonderland samplers in progress. I, personally, am quite behind in the series, but there are a lot of people who are not behind, and their pics are definitely worth checking out! 

Here's my progress. It's pretty sad, as I have only done ONE little motif, and not even entirely! 

Cutest little gift EVER!

Part of the reason I am lagging is because I have run into a little problem. The fabric I selected is way too light. I had a feeling it was before I started stitching, but I thought it would be okay. I was wrong. The white parts don't show up very well on the light fabric.

When you see a close-up shot, the white shows up fine. When the white is surrounded entirely by another color, it shows up fine. In fact, even in the picture above, the white shows up okay. In person, though, that lower right hand corner of the gift is practically invisible. And since there is a fair amount of standalone white in this piece, I have decided that I need to stitch it on a different piece of fabric.

I really don't want to start over, but it's a must if I am going to be happy with this project. I haven't decided what exactly I am going to do, however. I have a gorgeous piece of sparkly linen in a natural color, but I am afraid it might be too sparkly. I also thought about doing it on a light blue fabric, like this one by cathygaubert. I have a piece of fabric that color in my stash, but it's super stiff and a little scratchy, yuck. I could frog what I've done so far and tea dye this fabric...oh, decisions, decisions!

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Pumpkin Pie

Hello and Happy November! Check out this month's dessert from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

I love this SO much! Have you ever seen a cuter piece of pie? 

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October's Dessert of the Month

Happy October! It's hard to believe that September is over. How did that even happen?!? I can't handle how quickly time flies these days. ;) But at least that means I can show you a new dessert! Woo hoo!

Isn't this adorable?! I just love Halloween (especially Halloween stitchery!).

Look at those treats! See the candy corn? So cute!

How 'bout you? Do you love Halloween, too?