EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

  Photo by Cederic Vandenberghe on Unsplash Dear Reader, I’m currently obsessed with Wordle. Yes, I’m a few years late to the party, but now that I’ve started playing, I can’t stop! It’s a pleasant addition to my morning breakfast routine, and even when I’m not playing the game, if I hear a great word, I’ve developed the habit of counting the letters and checking how many vowels it has. My advice is: don’t start the puzzle until you’ve had some coffee first, because some of those puzzles are devilishly hard. Some people have told me that their strategy is to start with the same word every time. Imagine how excited they’ll be when their starter word is eventually the actual answer of the day. Do you  Wordle too? (Yes, I’ve made that into a verb.) Moving on to the WIP update October is still young, and I’m advancing up the backstitch mountain. You can’t really see it, but I’ve done the backstitch on some of the candies in the upper-right-hand corner, the top of the frame, and s...

  Photo by David Trinks on Unsplash Happy September I know I’m a bit late on this, but it’s finally my favorite month! We’re waving goodbye to the sun and heat of Summer and saying hello! to Halloween, Thanksgiving, potpourri, cinnamon-flavored everything, and copious amounts of faux, decorative acorns. Doing things like browsing school supply sales and looking at stacks of stationery and bright pens that you don’t really need, and wondering if you should buy a gigantic pumpkin for the front patio. At least, that’s what Autumn looks like here at the castle. The first of many seasonal additions to the castle are scented soap pumps. One of them has bats, and the other is shaped like an acorn. Next up, I’ve hung a harvest-themed wooden sign by the castle gates. During a conversation with a friend the other day, I discovered that some people don’t decorate until the first day of Autumn, September 22nd. That sounds like an impossible challenge to me! The moment the calendar turns over ...

  Photo by Matt on Unsplash Autumn Cross Stitch List For all of the seasonal stitchers out there, here’s a list of my Autumnal charts to add to your WIP pile.  Mini Autumn Triptych by EmnEllie  This one’s a mini freebie. It’s a quick-stitch and calls for variegated floss, which is always super fun to use.  The link to this chart is here.

  Photo by Ignacio Correia on Unsplash Secret Garden SAL Stop the presses! Put down any project you were thinking of starting! CrossStitcher Magazine has a wonderful new SAL in their latest issue. From the magazine: “Welcome to our new Stitch-A-Long! Designer Amanda Butler has created an amazing Library SAL – each month we will add another book to our Library shelves, which could be a childhood favourite or bestselling classic, and we hope you will find your favourite amongst them.” The first part of the SAL is The Secret Garden. ( Click this link here to see what it looks like ) I love this book! I didn’t read it as a child, but I read it a few years ago after someone recommended it to me. It’s such a great story, and the ending is simply marvellous. This chart is so beautiful. I love how those roses look, and the purple at the bottom complements the green floss so well. It will be very interesting to see what the other books in the SAL are! I’m definitely going to stitch this S...

  Photo by Elaine Howlin on Unsplash Happy Pride and Prejudice Day! In honor of this wonderful day, I will not only be watching Pride and Prejudice later (the 1995 BBC one) I’m also sharing a list of the Jane Austen, and Austen-ish cross stitch patterns that I’ve made. By the end of this post, you’ll have Mr. Bingley wondering at all the accomplishments cross stitchers have these days ;) Regency Silhouettes: There are two charts here, and I like to think that they’re Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I wanted them to look like the silhouettes that you see on the walls in period dramas.  Available as a freebie, here’s the link. This is a great chart for all bookworms, with motifs inspired by Victorian wallpaper and the covers of vintage books. Caroline Bingley would be stitching this for her library, because we know that she can’t survive without good literature.  Available in my Etsy shop, link is here. I like to imagine Jane Austen staying up late, reading a new book, or adding s...

  Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash A Cozy Evening Dear reader, let me walk you through my idea of a cozy evening. It's a chilly night, and it's raining outside. Not a torrential downpour, but soft, steady rain. You're in your favorite stitchy spot, and your cross stitch is ready to go nearby. All the lights in the room are off, except for the light from your crafting lamp and the fairy lights that you have strung up. You have your favorite snack, for when you feel snackish (remember to wash your hands before you touch your stitching!), and a movie that you love playing on the TV. It's a movie you've seen before, like an old friend who's come to visit you. You're re-watching a movie because science says that this is good for you, but also because it's almost impossible to watch something new while stitching. There's a risk of looking like this:  funny cross stitch meme When you want to look like this:  funny cross stitch meme After you take a sip o...

  Everything is Caramel The seasons aren't the only changes here at the Castle. Another thing that's changing is my coffee flavors.   I know it's pumpkin spice season for many (psssttt ... if you need a free pumpkin spice cross stitch chart , click here). But it's not really a flavor that I like. Instead, if I could make everything into caramel that would be wonderful. My go-to homemade coffee lately has been a hot cup of instant coffee from Germany, with powdered creamer, no sugar, and an amazing new-to-me salted caramel cold foam. If you're like I was a few weeks ago, and have no idea what cold foam is, here's a great article by the website Fluent in Coffee that describes what it is. The article includes a few recipes, but my grocery store sells a bunch of different flavors in spray cans, of which you guessed it, salted caramel is my absolute favorite. I like using the cold foam on my hot coffee and my iced coffee . Besides being delicious it...