EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

  Happy Monday Do you know what I really need right now? A nice rainstorm. And not just a drizzle, but honest to goodness rain . It’s been so dry here at the Castle since the start of the summer, so it’s not just me that would benefit but the plants and all the animals would benefit too. You can water your plants from a garden hose all you like, but nothing makes plants happier than a good drink of rainwater. Nareign, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons  I would like some of that rain here, please. Some very happy news this week; I am the proud owner of an Instant Pot! (Disclaimer: not a sponsored post!) Look out pot roast here I come. WIP Update Do you know what what makes half-stitches so great? They add lovely texture and depth to a chart, while also enabling you to cover a lot of ground very quickly. E.g. : See? Texture, depth, speedy progress. Those floss colors are gorgeous too. I think the flowers are really starting to come to life. Soon I’ll be back at the entrance to that caf...

Happy Monday! As you may know, the Castle vegetable garden has been growing by leaps and bounds. This year, I'm trying out a new to me plant called an, "Armenian Cucumber." I love cucumbers -especially a cucumber sandwich with a bit of butter!- but here's the thing; Armenian cucumbers aren't cucumbers at all. Seriously!  First cultivated in Armenia in the 15th century,  Armenian cucumbers  (also called yard-long cucumbers)  are actually not cucumbers at all – they are a ribbed variety of musk melon  that tastes similar to a cucumber and looks like a cucumber inside. They are also  high in vitamins A, C, and K, and potassium . - Growing in the Garden They taste so sweet and delicious! Here's a picture of one I harvested this morning from the Castle garden He went all curly at the top. As they get longer they get sweeter and taste like melons, but when they are shorter they can taste a bit more like a cucumber. This one is about 14" long.  I also pl...

 *Trumpets blasting, herald walks down a red carpet* The first okra of the season has arrived! Fresh from the garden, the perfect length, and oh so beautiful! Mind you, it's literally one single okra. The okra has been a bit of a puzzle the past few years. I used to grow okra that would get really tall (the plant itself, not the produce). Sometimes it would almost be 6 feet tall (1.8 meters). But the past few seasons the okra is downright short, maybe just a foot and a half tall (.46 meters). What's that about? Has this happened to anyone else?  Earth100, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Not my okra, just a picture from the internet. Isn't it beautiful? Naturally, when I get enough okra in, I'll be eating fried okra, the indisputable king of all okra dishes. Recipe is here if you've never made it or heard of it before. Some ranch dressing, fried okra, baked chicken, and a glass of sweet tea. What more do you...

You know how it is. When you look at Etsy, browse a bit, find an amazing chart... BAM! Suddenly, your project pile (that you just promised to stop growing) is in sudden need of a new chart. Here's what I saw. Hobbiton looks amazing, but I want Rohan too. Okay, so this one needs to go on my rotation as well... I might need more project bags and Q Snaps.  Exciting developments this week on the Mystery band sampler by Linen & Threads! I'll let the picture speak for itself: The sun has arrived, and the first dragon has too! Now I can start brainstorming a name for it. Leave a comment below if you have any ideas.  You know how when you go on city tours, the tour guide lifts her umbrella and says, "Follow the umbrella! This way please!" Well, follow the umbrella to the next WIP, Paris Market: Isn't the 10 x 10 method remarkable? You can cover a TON of ground in no time flat. This part of the chart is almost exclusively half stitches as well, so that has something to...

 May flowers are in full bloom at my cottage. The red and pink roses are saying, "Hello world!" while the geraniums are sporting their best, bright red blooms. I would enclose a picture here, but as I write, the plump, menacing storm clouds are looming overhead. Hopefully I can add a picture of the flowers to next week's post. In the meantime, here’s a great article with tips on growing geraniums. It's been a very busy week. Things always seem to get much busier in the Spring. There's lots to do in the garden, Easter to prepare for, the cottage to dust, air and re-decorate. But thankfully, I've had time to stitch! Let's see my progress from the past week: I'm pleased as punch with those half-stitches! It was nice working in various shades of cream and grey, but I'm not going to lie; the salmon pink and those splashes of green were a welcome change. Moving on the the Mystery SAL: The dragon is destined to have a bright red tail and dark wings. Love ...

  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 p...

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