EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

  Rachael Gorjestani on Unsplash Happy Hot Chocolate Day! There's nothing quite like a hot, steaming mug of chocolate to brighten up a Winter day. And let me tell you, I need a hot drink here at the Castle. The weather has been absolutely freezing and very dark. Now, getting back to Hot Chocolate, here's a nice article I found that goes into the health benefits and history of that cheerful beverage. And if you're interested in really celebrating today, then here's a free Hot Chocolate PDF cross stitch chart that I designed a while back. The download is an ebook, so you'll get some other beverage themed freebie charts as well. Enjoy! Mind you, I haven't just been sipping mugs of Hot Chocolate and huddling over my heater (only some of the time). I've gotten in a good amount of stitching since my last post. Behold a horse ear:  Russian Hunting by Riolis I'm looking forward to stitching the pinks, yellows, and blues of the sky again. In shop update news, ...

Paolo Chiabrando  on Unsplash Happy Tuesday! It's a rainy, windy day here at the Castle. When the wind whistles past the windows, it makes me feel like I'm in Jane Eyre, looking out across a moor. Have you ever read Jane Eyre? It was required reading for me in High School. So, have you ever read a book that's so engrossing that you can't bring yourself to put it down? That's what Jane Eyre was like for me. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it! While we're still on this topic, here's a free Jane Eyre cross stitch chart that I found on one of my adventures in the magical land of Pinterest.  Slow and steady wins the race, as the old saying goes. Here's my progress on Nikolai:  Russian Hunting by Riolis I've reached the other side of the horse's neck and chest! That bit of yellow peeking out on the far left hand side is the background starting to appear again. I believe that black line is one of the horse's reins. Square by squar...

  Happy Wednesday! I've been very busy here at the Castle, feeling particularly energized because of how close I am to finishing another column on Nikolai. It's been really wonderful working on a full coverage WIP again, especially since I'm in a portion of the chart that has a wide variety of colors to work with. This afternoon, just before I started writing this very blog post, I finished that column. Behold:  The bottom left hand side is really starting to look like a horse now! You can see it's mane, reins, and neck appearing. Normally, at this point I would start the next column all the way at the top in the sky. But just to shake things up a bit, I think that I'll start the next column from the bottom. That way I'll be able to see the horse appear more quickly, as well as change my perspective a bit. Lately, I've been spending more time on Pinterest. There's so much to see there! This free chart caught my eye. And this one looks absolutely amazing ...

Happy Tuesday! I'm feeling refreshed and ready to go after the 12 Days of Christmas! The decorations are down (although winter themed decorations are still out) all of the cookies are gone, and the Castle living room is looking much more spacious since the tree was tucked away safe in it's box. My big cross stitch goal for Christmas was to finish a DMC Nutcracker freebie. Without further ado, I would like to introduce you to my friend The Nutcracker: Look at that coat! Those soulful eyes! His boots are polished! Hat's off to DMC for this incredibly fun chart. My plan is to finish him as a Christmas ornament. Nothing fancy, just a standard Christmas ornament finish. I'll post pictures when I start doing that. If you want to see my progress from start to finish, here are the links to my blog posts. I posted pretty often over the 12 Days, so enjoy! Four Calling Birds! Six Geese a Laying! 10 Lords a Leaping! 12 Drummers Drumming ! Now...

Thanks to James Toose @portablepeopleproductions for making this photo available on Unsplash 🎁 The 12 Days of Christmas have gone by so fast! The tree and Christmas decorations will come down on Saturday, so I'll use that day as my deadline for finishing the Nutcracker. Speaking of the Nutcracker, he's looking very Nutcracker-ish (that's a technical term!) Look there's part of his head! I love love love his boots. All that's left is his face, some more french knots, and his hat. Surely I can get that done by Saturday... (famous last words!) Merry 12th Day of Christmas and happy stitching! 

Photo by Jamie Fenn on Unsplash Happy New Year! Did you stay awake to ring in 2023?  In between sips of Martinelli Sparkling Cider and the last few plates of Christmas cookies, I've made a modest amount of progress on the DMC Nutcracker freebie:  DMC Nutcracker Freebie Those French knots were tricky, but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! As you can see, I've started one of his boots. On my next update, I'll have his boots done, and maybe (maybe!) have made a start on his head.  The Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott is my favorite version. And it's available on the free streaming service Tubi right now! I'll be watching this soon, with a hot chocolate, and a vanilla scented candle burning in the background. Here's the link, in case you want to watch it too. Wishing you a very Merry 10th Day of Christmas, and a Happy New Year!