Finished Project: Magikarp

I finished another Pokémon on plastic canvas, to keep Oddish company.

I used a Magikarp pattern from Birdie Stitching. Magikarp & Oddish now hang out together on BMO, our laptop:

Advertisement

Finished Project: Oddish on plastic canvas

I’m still plugging away at the Simpsons couch project, but that’s going to be a while (and is waiting on me to go to the store for more floss). In the meantime I stitched up a quick Oddish at the request of my husband.

The pattern is from Birdie Stitching, your one-stop resource for Pokémon cross stitch patterns. I converted the Anchor threads to DMC with this tool, then substituted a bunch of colors because I didn’t have the ones the converter suggested. I stitched Oddish on 14 count plastic canvas with two strands of floss.

Right now he is a desk companion for my husband, but maybe later he will get a magnet and join the other Pokémon on the fridge.

Flower of the Month: February

Today I present the very last of the flowers of the month: the violet! The patterns from the series are from Ellen Maurer-Stroh, who has some great free patterns.

Violets usually flower in the spring. Even though they are usually violet-colored, the flowers can also be blue, white, and yellow colored. Violet flowers are used for scent for perfumes, flavoring for liqueurs and candies, and are sometimes candied with sugar for decorations for desserts.

Like the other squares, I added the month name in the border, using the chart I posted.

The stitching is done in two strands on 18 count antique white aida cloth.

This makes the last installment in the flower of the month series. Here’s how they all look together:

All the months from the past year:

March — jonquil

April — sweet pea

May — lily of the valley

June — wild rose

July — delphinium

August — gladiolus

September — aster

October — calendula

November — chrysanthemum

December — poinsettia

January — carnation

Flower of the Month: January

Happy New Year, everyone. It’s the second to last installment of the flower of the month series, with January’s carnation. The patterns from the series are from Ellen Maurer-Stroh, who has some great free patterns.

Carnations are a species of Dianthus. Here in the United States, it is often associated with Mother’s Day and with weddings, and it is the traditional flower for first anniversaries.

Carnations naturally come in white, pink, and red; but they have also been genetically engineered to be blue and purple. When I was growing up, our grocery store used to sell (and they probably still do) single carnation flowers in all different colors. I loved picking one out and getting to take it home!

Like the other squares, I added the month name in the border (with DMC 3052), using the chart I posted.

The stitching is done in two strands on 18 count antique white aida cloth.

Next month (the last month!): the violet.

Simpsons couch: Christmas Eve Update

Happy Christmas eve, dear readers. I missed WIP Wednesday yesterday, but here is an update on the Simpsons couch project. As you can see there is a lot more
color, and the couch is nearly finished. I ran out of the thread for the couch, though, so I have to work on other parts until I get to the store.

Hope you all are having a good holiday, and even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a great day!

Flower of the Month: December

The tenth installment of the flower of the month series is here, with December’s poinsettia. The patterns from the series are from Ellen Maurer-Stroh, who has some great free patterns.

The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is native to Mexico and Central America. It has been associated with Christmas since the 17th century. Around this time of year in the U.S., there are poinsettias everywhere: doctors’ offices, grocery stores, banks, etc. In fact, today, December 12, is National Poinsettia Day here!

Like the other squares, I added the month name in the border (with DMC 935), using the chart I posted.

The stitching is done in two strands on 18 count antique white aida cloth.

Next month: the carnation.

Flower of the Month: November

The ninth installment of the flower of the month series is here, with November’s chrysanthemum. The patterns from the series are from Ellen Maurer-Stroh, who has some great free patterns.

The chrysanthemum, or mum, is native to Asia and northeastern Europe. Mums were first cultivated in China in the 15th century. As well as being pretty to look at, the flowers are used to brew a sweet chrysanthemum tea, and the flowers can also be processed to make a natural insecticide.

The mum is the symbol of the Japanese Imperial family. In the United States, it is the official flower of the cities of Salinas, California, and Chicago, Illinois.

Like the other squares, I added the month name in the border (with DMC 3362), using the chart I posted.

The stitching is done in two strands on 18 count antique white aida cloth.

Next month: the poinsettia.

Christmas & Hanukkah Dogs

Happy December, everyone! Time to get fully in the swing of the holidays, and I’m doing my part by sharing these cross-stitches that I made almost exactly one year ago.

These are two sides to an ornament I made last year for my parents. One side is for Christmas and the other for Hanukkah. The dog is designed to look like their dog, Claire.

This is Claire

I think I got the colors and the ears pretty close. I colored the Aida cloth with acrylic paints & Martha Stewart fabric medium, which worked fine to color it, but did make the fabric very stiff and harder to work with. Also, it was probably not a great idea to make the Christmas background green and the text red. But my parents have another (additional) dog now, so I will have to make another set of ornaments for 2015!

What are you stitching up for the holidays?

Finished Project: Get Schwifty

I had the idea for this tiny cross stitch project and brought it to fruition in the span of an evening. I just had to have a break from the giant Simpsons couch project. And who couldn’t use more Rick and Morty in their lives?

For some stupid reason, I subjected myself to both metallic floss and black aida for this project — thank goodness it was small and simple. I painted the hoop with metallic gold paint to complement the stitching and finished the back with a grey piece of printed cotton with white dots. It is pretty schwifty!

This piece is for sale in my Etsy shop — get it before it’s gone!

Flower of the Month: October

Happy October everyone, make way for the calendula flower! The patterns from the flower of the month series are from Ellen Maurer-Stroh, who has some great free patterns.

The calendula is also known as the pot marigold, and typically refers to the species Calendula officinalis. The flower has been used medicinally for treating acne and irritated skin, as well as for treating stomach cramps and constipation. It is also used to dye fabrics and to give a golden color to butter and cheese.

Like the other squares, I added the month name in the border (with DMC 987), using the chart I posted.

The stitching is done in two strands on 18 count antique white aida cloth. Here are the eight squares so far, 2/3 of the way through the year:

Next month: the chrysanthemum.