EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

Attention Stitchers!  As a thank you to all of you, I am having a year end Christmas sale. Wondering what your new year rotation will look like? Getting some last minute shopping done? Want to treat yourself? Come visit the shop!(link to my Etsy shop is on the right hand side of the blog) and browse. Maybe you'll find something you like. Sale starts on December 21 and ends January 6. Merry Christmas! Happy Stitching! Marisol

Hello Again! Unfortunately, Texas weather has decided to turn warm again(sob sob sob). But the good news is that I still feel in the Advent spirit! Lots more people in my neighborhood have put up their Christmas lights. I've been marching my way through Christmas specials of my favorite murder mysteries, and as of yesterday, started chowing down on fruitcake. I've listened to Fiber Talk once or twice before, but this week I listened to the Midweek Chat. It was great! Vonna and Gary are so funny, and it's nice to listen to people discussing Cross Stitch while I cross stitch. Now, I do watch Flosstube, but lately I've been listening to a TON of podcasts. I use an app called Stitcher (link is here ) that my mother recommended. It's nice to listen to podcasts while I stitch, because then I don't have to keep looking up at the TV screen. Want to listen to Fiber Talk? The website is here Leilani Progress Motivated by the beautiful Leilani and the lovely Car

A Brief Word Didn't post the Monday update yesterday. Sorry! I got caught up stitching, and watching the Christmas special of one of favorite murder mysteries. Oops! Since there will probably be other times when I neglect to post on Monday, I'm going to re-name it,"Weekly Cross Stitch Update." Moving on to... Fantasy Triptych Progress I decided to focus on the ground this week. Made a slight mistake, but was able to work around it without the frog paying a visit (thank goodness!) Here's what it looked like at the beginning of the week: Fantasy Triptych- before I'm working on the ground in front of the castle. It's the middle panel, and I love the watercolor look of the grass and the dirt. I believe that a little to the left there is a lake. And here's where I got to: Fantasy Triptych- after Huzzah! All of you Wentzler stitchers out there understand! Very pleased with my progress, glad I didn't have to end up frogging, and I

What's New in the Shop! Here it is; my first shop update. I've been a busy beaver lately. I've made a new shop logo(displayed on the left hand side of the blog), renovated the way the blog looks,designed new charts, made some finishes, and started designing some new charts. New charts, you ask? Of course I'll show you! Letter E  Letter E by EmnEllie Continuing the Alphabet Series, I've finished the Letter E.  This single color chart could be stitched as a decoration for your home, hung in a nursery, used as an accessory for your desk or office space, a present for a friend or family member, or even given as a housewarming gift. Christmas Manger Christmas Manger by EmnEllie Snowflakes fall from the sky, past a Christmas ornament with traditional scenes of the season. The first band of the ornament has crosses, the second band has an angel with his trumpet. Band three has palm trees and a manger, band four has camels, and the following bands spor

This Week's Progress on Paris Market How was everyone's Thanksgiving? I had a nice one. Plenty of Turkey, cranberry sauce, nice quiet time with family. I even got some stitching time in this week! It was kinda chilly, kinda warm weather, but I still drank lots of coffee(I always drink a lot of coffee). When I stitch on Paris Market, I think,"Going to my favorite cafe!" Here's what it looked like at the starting line: Paris Market- before And here's what it looks like at the finish line. I think I must have pulled this sometime in October as well, because this picture does not have any blue, and when I opened up my project bag on Sunday, there was a lot of progress on the dark blue portion. Anyways: Paris Market- after I really love the colors in this kit! The two shades of blue are very pretty. Next in the Rotation is... Drum roll, drum roll, drum roll... Fantasy Triptych! See? That's the good thing about a rotation. One week you

This Week's Progress on J is for Jack O Lantern  I drew this one with so much confidence. "Ok!" I thought,"This week I'm going to make a ton of progress. I'll even start using green floss!" And then I hardly stitched on it at all. Ahhhhh! I don't know what's wrong with me! Here's what it looked like before (I think I picked this one up once or twice in October as well):   Before And here's my progress: After Not as much done on this one as I had hoped for, but every stitch counts. It's starting to look very pumpkin-ish. Next in the Rotation is... Drum roll, drum roll, drum roll... Paris Market! Hurray! It's been awhile since I've been to Paris. The colors in this kit are amazing. There are quite a few blended colors in here as well. We'll see how much I get done; I'll try to go to Paris as often as I can this week! Happy Stitching! Marisol

Last week's Stitching Progress Last Sunday I drew Great Wave off Kanagawa. I feel like I could have made more progress, but it was a busy week, so at least I got this much stitching time in. Here's what it looked like at the beginning of the week: And here's what it looks like now: That's a lot of cream! The next few pages are pretty non-confetti heavy. If I dedicate more stitching time to this one the next time I draw it, I'm pretty sure I can get a page finish. Next in the Rotation is...   Drum roll, drum roll, drum roll... J is for Jack O Lantern! How seasonal. I will definitely make more time for J is for Jack O Lantern this week. Hopefully I can make it to some green floss! Looking forward to seeing you next week. Happy Stitching! Marisol

Hi! I have decided that I want to post more frequently. Lately, I have not been making much progress on my personal stitching. People on Flosstube say that when they are more consistent in their wip updates, they feel more motivated to stitch. Now, I'm not losing my stitching bug, I just feel that if I posted more updates, more progress would be made on my rotation projects. So, my plan is to change the way my rotation works. Instead of drawing a new project everyday, I will draw a project from my lottery once a week on Sunday. Then, on Monday or Tuesday, I will post the progress I made on that wip during the previous week. But because it's November, I will also stitch on Turkey Bay, to get in the Thanksgiving spirit. Once a month, I will also start posting a shop update. That will probably start at the beginning of December. Looking forward to sharing more updates with you all! Happy stitching! Marisol

BOO!     The older cross stitch magazines are just super full of really great patterns. The October 1996 edition of Cross Stitch & Needlework in particular hits it outta' the park. Great issue, tons of great patterns     Recently, I finished one of the patterns from this issue, Harvest Witch by Lorri Birmingham. Then, right there on the opposite page, I see this beautiful moon: Gorgeous!     Who could resist that?!?!?! It is called Trick or Treat Moon, by Jeff Julseth. I love everything about it. The letters are ridiculously beautiful, the candy raining down from the sky screams,"eat me" the border is a really cute checkerboard. And then the fabric really made me want to stitch it. I have never stitched on black before, so I was excited to try it out. Decided to stitch it on 18 count. So here it is so far: Isn't the floss pretty?     Hooray for orange! I love love love orange floss. And I think it really pops against the black aida.     Now

Sneak Peek Number Two     Can you imagine that summer is already wrapping up? I can't.     Even though it is still hot where I live, I have not let that affect my stitching! As promised here is the second part of the yet to be released series that I am working on. Not in my Etsy shop yet, but it will be as soon as I design the other two parts. The Cardinal Virtues- Justice     Voila! Just like that, only two left in the series. I made the branch on this one different from the branch in Prudence. I like the way the letters are tumbling along the border.     Stay tuned, because I may or may not have started a new project! Hint; it's a Halloween start.     Happy Stitching!     Marisol

New Design!  It's been very busy lately. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I want to start another series. So I did!  This new series has four designs, all smalls. I plan on releasing them all at once. In other words, you will buy all four designs in one listing. The theme is the four Cardinal Virtues, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance.  Although they are not available yet, I decided to share a behind the scenes picture with you of the first design ( Prudence ).  Here it is: The Cardinal Virtues- Prudence  I think my cardinal has character. Do you like the play on words? This one is a bit different from the other designs I'm working on right now. Much less use of negative space than the Alphabet series. But there is still negative space for his wing!  When I was watching Liz & Deb on their Country Stitchers Flosstube they mentioned a method they learned from a designer once. Unfortunately, I don't recall that designers name. Anyways, this de

Another New Start  Every time I watch Flosstube I sit there saying," Oh look at that!!" or, " Let's see, how many wip's do I have? Sure, I have room for another start!" or even more often I don't say anything and just run to my stash trying to figure out if I have all the floss for the latest project that has caught my eye. Seriously, sometimes I wonder if I need help.  This time, I was watching the always lovely Lorrie on her Flosstube channel, Mischievous Stitches showing us a book of designs by a designer named Jeannette Crew. So my mother purchased a book of her designs: Lot's of great designs in here!  It was July and how could I resist a patriotic start? I decided to stitch the Contemporary flag, the design on the bottom right of the picture above. Here's the floss: Gorgeous!  So in the picture of the contemporary flag, the design really looks like it has a lot of shading and depth. Great, I thought. But then when I

Introducing the Finished Letter D  Well, it's finished! That's another addition to my Alphabet Series. Here's the Letter D: The Letter D by EmnEllie  And if you like it, you can get it  here  Enjoying the letter series, but I have an idea for a new series now. So I will keep stitching the alphabet, but will also stitch the new series as well. Hint- I'm usind DMC Variegated 115!  Happy Stitching!  Marisol

Wip Update  Welcome back! Here's the progress I made on my rotation since my last blog post.  I worked on: Still Life with Tangerines Leilani Linen and Thread's 2018 Mystery Sampler Turkey Bay Great Wave off Kanagawa J is for Jack O Lantern Fantasy Triptych   Still Life with Tangerines  The gray part at the bottom may just look like shading, which it is. But it's not just shading; it's the outline of the next tangerine! Very excited to work with orange floss again.   Still Life with Tangerines by Luca S  Leilani  This is not only my first Mirabilia, but also my first time using silk floss. Love it! It's so soft and I haven't had any problem with it tangling so far. Right now I'm trying to decide if I should continue with her dress, stitch some more of the flowers, or start stitching her skin. Lots of decisions to make! It feels very appropriate to be stitching her in the summer. Leilani by Mirabilia Linen & Threads Myster

WIP Update!   It took me awhile to find my style of designs, but I think that I have settled on designing negative space cross stitch patterns. What's really fun is watching the motifs appear! The solid floss colors are best for these I think.  So here is what the Letter D looks like now:  It's not really showing up in the picture, but I would say the floss is the color of an eggplant. It's DMC 154.  Very close to connecting the top and bottom portions of the letter itself! Hopefully by the time I post my next update on this one, I'll have finished the letter and started marching my way down the border on the lower left hand side.  Happy Stitching!  Marisol

 Had to have a new start!  I have had the chart for Turkey Bay by Plum Street Samplers on my mind for awhile now. I first saw it on Flosstube, watching Liz and Deb on their lovely channel, Country Stitchers. (Link to their channel is HERE ) HAD to have that chart! It's been difficult, trying to hold back and wait until I had a finish so I wouldn't add another project to my rotation. But then the crazy startaholic side of my brain said,"START TURKEY BAY!" So I did!  Here's what Turkey Bay looks like when it's done: Turkey Bay by Plum Street Samplers  And here's my start: My tremendous start   I like to start from the middle. Not always, but I find it makes it easier to gauge if I have enough fabric for finishing on all sides. I think I'm on the pumpkin in the middle of the boat; which is a gravy boat. How cute and clever is that!  And since I had a new start,I thought, why not try a new to me technique of holding my floss? I saw 

Independence Day  Happy 4th of July! Looking forward to fireworks later on to celebrate America's birthday. Happy Birthday, America!  My Mother stitched this lovely patriotic freebie by Not Forgotten Farm last year. Flag Maker by Not Forgotten Farm    Gorgeous chart! Tempted to stitch it as well.  Here's a link to the chart on Not Forgotten Farm's website: https://farmhousenotforgotten.blogspot.com/2016/05/freedom.html  My Mother finished this as a flat fold, following the tutorial by Vonna, the Twisted Stitcher. Here's a link to Vonna's blog: https://thetwistedstitcher.blogspot.com/  Hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day.  God Bless America!  Marisol

Cross Stitch Update  Welcome back! This time, I'm going to talk about the progress I've made on my wip's.  So here is my progress from June 16th- June 26th  Since the 16th I stitched on: J is for Jack O Lantern Leilani Still Life with Tangerines  Paris Market  J is for Jack O Lantern    I am in the center of the pumpkin right now. The floss colors are so autumnal. Found the perfect needle minder! J is for Jack O Lantern   Leilani  I am always excited to draw Leilani in my lottery! She is my first Mirabilia and I absolutely love her. The first time I saw her was when I was watching a Flosstube video. I gasped she was so beautiful. When my Mother said she was a freebie, I was over the moon. The Caron Waterlillies are a joy to use. I made some substitutions here and there and this is not the called for fabric. Leilani Still Life with Tangerines    Luca S hits it outta the park each time. They chart their designs so well. I re

EmnEllie Cross Stitch Designs   Hello again! It's been really hot outside lately, but I don't mind; just means I stay inside and stitch more!   Been a busy week so far. I've started keeping a little stitchy log book to help me keep track of my progress. It's a tiny version of those black and white composition books and it doesn't take up a lot of room in the Ikea shelf next to my stitchy spot. If I keep it next to my stitchy spot, I might remember to write in it. I have a terrible memory.   This chart is one of my designs. I'm marching my way through the alphabet! A, B and C are done and if you'd like to see them, there is a link to my Etsy shop on the right hand side of my blog.   So here is what it looks like now: The Letter D    So this is my progress after stitching on Tuesday and Wednesday. I stitched the two thin bands around the top and right hand sides, the single band on the left and then the upper right hand corner. I've incorpo

Cross Stitch Update  Today I'd like to introduce you to my rotation.   But first, let me explain how I choose what to stitch on everyday. I use a lottery system, mostly because I have a lot of wip's right now, and partly because I'm terrible at making decisions. I used to spend so much time agonizing over which one to stitch on. It also means that I spend a good amount of time on all of my wip's, not just the ones that are calling to me. I have gotten two  finishes since I started using this system at the beginning of the year.   I have seen some Flosstubers using an app, but my Mother and I thought that this would be much more fun after seeing Sitchin' Mommy use a similar system on her Flosstube channel for her Arbitrary August videos. The only day that I don't use the lottery is on Sunday. I stitch on whatever is calling to me on Sundays.   I used eight glass beads- the kind you buy at the dollar store- and labeled them A through H with a Sharpie. Then I