EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

  Starry Night I love the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh. I’m particularly fond of the swirls and bold colors that he uses. Go and get a pencil or a pen, and draw a swirl. There are few things more relaxing and fun in art. My favorite Van Gogh painting is Starry Night . The night sky is so dazzling, the swirls and colors are almost hypnotizing.  Intrepid people on the internet have created an optical illusion that can make the swirls move (yes, I tried, it works!). Someone gifted me a wonderful laptop lap desk for Christmas that has the S tarry Night printed on top. It’s so handy, I’m using it as I write this post. If you want to stitch this, today is definitely your day, as DMC has it available as a freebie chart right now! The link to the chart is here. I like to keep an eye on the DMC freebie portion of their website; there are really great charts offered there, and they rotate them as well. As an extra bit of trivia for this painting, some art historians think that Hokusa...

  Photo by Jezz Timms on Unsplash The Orient Express Long-time friends of the blog will know that I’m a seasonal stitcher, but did you know that I’m a seasonal reader as well? When Halloween and November roll around, I need to be reading something spooky and Gothic. Last summer, it felt appropriate to be adventuring in forests, so I had a fantasy theme for the summer. At the beginning of this month, I was in a particularly Winter-ish sort of mood and needed to read something frosty, and preferably with a lot of snow. I had never read The Murder on the Orient Express, so I checked it out from the library. Of course, I had seen the adaptation with David Suchet, so I knew the plot, but it’s such a good book that my knowing whodunnit didn’t spoil it in the least! This is one of Agatha Christie's best books, in my opinion. I also really enjoyed the time it was set in, as well as the atmosphere of being on the train (I love trains). It's such a popular and well-known railway, so th...

  WIP Schedule I hope you’ve had a lovely time this holiday season. Here at the Castle, I’ve been busy putting away the Christmas decorations. I like to keep the decorations out for all 12 Days of Christmas. It’s funny, but some of the rooms have grown to twice their size! Instead of thinking they're sad to be put in boxes until next Christmas, I like to imagine that they're happy to be enjoying a well-earned vacation after being so seasonal and festive. Now that it’s a new year, I plan to dedicate 2 months of stitching to each WIP. In a rare moment of organization and planning, I’ve also made a list: January-February: Russian Hunting (Nikolai. Hopefully, I get at least one page finished) March-April: Fantasy Triptych (This is my Wentzler. I’m ashamed to say that I can’t even remember the last time I stitched it) May-June: Leilani the Hula Dancer (A stunning Mirabila-aren’t they all?- with so many gorgeous colors that are perfect for the beginning of summer) July-August: Treasu...