Skip to main content

Christmas Wrap-Up, A Full Coverage Cross Stitch, and Bees




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!





Now that The Nutcracker is finished and out of my rotation, I can once more turn my attention to Russian Hunting by Riolis, AKA Nikolai. Click the link to this post here, to see my last WIP update picture. I'm really excited to get back to stitching this full coverage project, with colors completely different from The Nutcracker. It's not that I mind those colors, it's just that the prospect of a new color pallette is something to look forward to!

This Bee video is mesmerizing.

Happy stitching!

*Honey Photo by Art Rachen on Unsplash

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jane Eyre, a Horse, and an Irish Harp

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...

Hot Chocolate, a Horse Ear, and Bonbons

  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, ...

Meet Nikolai, and Eat Mississippi Pot Roast

Meet Nikolai Or at least, meet Nikolai's head.  See that dark block of stitches in the middle? Yes, that is Nikolai's head. He has one of those warm Russian hats on, so he won't catch cold riding through this winter scene.  I really like stitching in 10x10 squares, it's amazed me how much progress one can make when using this method.  Russian hunting is absolutely stunning, but maybe it's time for a change soon. Here's my tentative plan: keep stitching on Russian Hunting until the end of January, then at the beginning of February put it away and start working on one of my other wips. We'll see. Mississippi Pot Roast If you've had this dish, you know it's heavenly. If you haven't had it, you're missing out. Simple as that!  Beef, ranch dressing mix, pepperoncini peppers, and au jus. It sounds like a weird combo, but trust me- it is amazing. One of my all time favorite meals ever.  The flavors mix together beautifully. There's r...