EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

Out in the garden, some of my plants have started to produce vegetables, while others have decided to just be and enjoy the Spring sunshine. With the exception of the last few days (which have been crisp, cool, dark, and rainy) the weather has been perfect for the plants to do a bit of sunbathing. Speaking of sun and plants, here's my progress on Paris Market: Lots of half stitches, and isn't that a pretty salmon pink? Bits of green and grey have started to appear too! Moving on to the Mystery Band Sampler: Readers, we have a tail! I love this bright red part of the variegated floss :) Sorry about the darkness of the pictures, but like I said, it’s been a dark, rainy kind of day. Inspiration struck me recently, and I made a new chart for the shop. This was such a fun one to design: I modeled it after vintage First Communion Holy cards and illustrations from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The backstitch at the top really gives it an interesting look, and the long-

Cross Stitch this sweet chart of a girl and her dog. Motifs include decorative borders, a floating quilt block, and diamond motifs. Because why wouldn’t there be a giant quilt block floating in the sky? She seems fine with it, and so does the little dog. Details about this chart: The pictured model above was stitched on 18 count Ivory Aida, using DMC floss Stitch count is 70w x 70h Finished size on 18 count Aida is approximately 3-3/4 inches (9.9cm) wide x 3-3/4 inches (9.9cm) high In the pictured model above, I added initials. These initials will not be shown in the chart, that area will be left blank so that you can insert your own initials using the alphabet from the sampler. Leave a comment below with your progress pics and any color changes you make! I like the way the red looks, but it would be interesting to see it substituted for a blue. I designed this chart, and it’s a freebie. Here’s the link to the PDF. If you’d like to see a list of the other free charts I’ve designed here

  It’s Easter! Happy Easter! Wishing all of my cross stitch friends a joyous and blessed Easter season! Long-Armed Cross Stitch The other day, I encountered a new-to-me type of stitch, the long-armed cross stitch. Here's a handy video tutorial: It's a great stitch, and it can cover so much ground in no time. It gives a great textured look too. I came across this stitch when I was helping someone out with a sampler they were stitching. But now that I've encountered this stitch,  I just have to  incorporate it in one of my designs. Have you ever used this stitch before? WIP Update  As you can see, I've been spending my time wisely in a French Café: It's stitching up much faster than I thought it would, but I think that's just because I'm using a lot of half stitches right now.  Moving on to the band sampler, I finished that tree: We're getting quite close to the first dragon! Those plants look pretty nifty. Odds & Ends Did you ever pack your lunch in a

  Pondering my Rotation So there I was, sitting in my sewing room. Across from me on the table was my lap stand. “Why,” I pondered, “Do I only have one wip in my rotation right now, when I have two stands?” Originally, I limited myself to one WIP so I could focus on a finish, among other reasons. But after stitching on  Russian Hunt  using the 25/7 method (which is sort of like the  Pomodoro technique ) I’ve decided that I have more than enough time to add another WIP to my rotation. So which one did I choose? Off the top of my head, I think I have under ten WIPS in total. While that’s not as much as other people, I feel a tad bit overwhelmed with that number. Last year, I did manage to get a few finished. That felt good, so I’m not going to allow myself any new starts until I complete my current set of WIPS. With that being said, I had a bunch of very pretty WIPS to choose from! My living room turned into center stage for a WIP parade (apologies for not taking any pictures!). Leilani 

Happy April everybody! They say that April showers bring May flowers, so let's hope that's true this year. It seems like April mostly brings me a bad case of allergies, but let's be optimists this year and say it will bring lots of lovely rain storms.  Don't you just love the sound of rain? I do. There's nothing quite like being in the middle of a rain storm, hearing the patter of the drops, and smelling that fresh, clean rain water smell. If we don't get calming spring showers, then I'll be forced to take drastic steps- digital rain. Have you seen this type of video before?  Isn't that just the most cozy looking stitching chair? And look, there's a nice lamp too. This video is very pleasant to have on in the background when you're stitching or reading. Over Christmas I read the Lord of the Rings books with this playing. Side note; what the heck did they do to Faramir in the films? The difference between the book Faramir and the film Faramir is s

Do you love period drama, and Regency/ Victorian books? If your answer to that question is yes, then you're going to love these charts! They are a pair, a Regency lady and gentleman (Hmm, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, perhaps?). Ladies first: Isn't her hair great looking? It took me quite a while to get it looking just right. The border is much easier to stitch than it looks.  And now for the gentleman: His nose was really tricky to design, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.  See how they're looking at each other? They're meant to be hanging up on the wall with the gentleman on the left and the lady on the right. Or you could stitch them on the same piece of fabric. Customize to your heart's content! This would be a fun wedding/ anniversary gift. Or you could just stitch it if you (or a friend) is a Jane Austen fan. Lots of possibilities with these! Now lets talk about the details: On the pictured model above I used one color throughout DMC 3021. Fabric u