Old Salty Santas ~ Gotta Maritime Theme Goin' On Here

I fell in love with these guys a long time ago. I reverted back to Aida for it, and am glad I did. It's 14 ct. Misty Taupe from Charles Craft, which is what the model was stitched on. It's super stiff, which I don't like, but the colors sure do pop!

Chowder House ~ A Cricket Design for a True Downeaster

This is Cross-Eyed Cricket's Kiss The Cook (#78), but I chose to stitch the adorable

 Clam Chowder shack. The most surprising part of starting this design was that the picture on the cover is not color-accurate. The shingles, for instance, are not brown, but an olive green.  That's OK with me, but a reminder to always pull my colors ahead of  time.

This represents about 10 hours of stitching, and is part of my current rotation, which includes 10 projects, some New and some WIPs.

Prairie Schooler #9 ~ Johnny Appleseed: Next Stop on the Rotation RR

I have an extensive, if not exhaustive, Prairie Schooler collection of cross-stitch patterns. So I thought it only appropriate that I add a real gem to my rotation.  It's an oldey but goody, Johnny Appleseed, published way back in 1985, even before I started stitching (1987). We've sure come a long way since then, because this design has a grand total of 9, count 'em, 9 DMC colors!

I was also inspired by my recent, first trip to Spring Grove Cemetery, in Cincinnati (yes, I LOVE cemeteries), because he is supposedly buried there. I couldn't get a picture of his grave on the day I was there without disturbing a family gathering nearby.

Anyway, after about 10 hours, stitched on 28 ct. Platinum Cashel linen, here's my progress:

I’m Down With Downton Abbey ~ A New Start

This past Christmas, my daughter purchased quite a few perfect gifts from sellers on Etsy.com. When looked under “Cross Stitch” she found this adorable pattern called “I’m Down With Downton Abbey.”  I have added it to my rotation, and here’s the result of my first 10 hours, on 28 ct. Light Grey Lugana.

Birch Point: A Charles Wysocki WIP

The start of this Dimensions Gold Collection kit, entitled Birch Point, predates the beginning of this blog. So, you can imagine how far down in my WIP pile I had to go to discover it. But, I have to say, when I pulled it out, I knew I had to add it to my 10-hour rotation. 

The last 10 hours were some of the longest stitching time I have spent. Mostly, I worked on the the treeline to the left of the house, then completed the lefthand window, and have worked my way up to the roof. This is 18 ct. beige Aida we’re talking here, not my favorite fabric these days.

But I know it will be lovely when it is finished.