EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

Happy Tuesday! I love red floss. My favorite shade is DMC 816. When I design red charts, I try to stick with 816. Everyone has their favorite color, but when you start talking cross stitch floss, things become a bit more technical. For instance; do you like a deeper, more maroon shade of red? Or the rich, Turkey kind of red? Speaking of red cross stitch charts, here’s my progress on Red Alphabet Sampler: Since my last WIP update, I’ve finished the second row, made the second squiggly line between the second and third rows, and started stitching the third row. Very pleased with how that flower motif turned out! While I didn’t have any particular flower in mind when I was designing it, that flower reminds me of a rose. The letter G has a nice sprinkling of motifs, but when I got to the letter H, I decided to balance out the sampler by making H a little less busy. The first motif of the second row is a heart (H for heart!). Here's my progress pictures throughout the week: If you like ...

Happy Tuesday! We need to have a serious discussion about how underrated Ginger Ale is. I think that most people will only reach for the bubbly beverage when they feel ill, but I like the taste all the time. It could be because I like the taste of ginger in general, especially Gin Gins (a delicious ginger candy with amazing illustrations of Ginger People on the bag;  the link is HERE for those of you who are interested ). The flavor isn’t the only appealing thing. Think about it; the bubbles, the crisp, clean flavor that you don’t get after drinking a Coke, and that champagne-like color all combine to make it one of my favorite drinks. Full disclosure- I’m sipping a can of one right now as I write this post. Making some steady progress on Trick-Or-Treat Moon:  Filling in the pale yellow on the face was super quick. I think I was off one somewhere on the word “Treat” at the top, but it won’t make a big difference, so I won’t worry about ripping it out. It’s such a treat (haha, ...

New chart! I really enjoyed designing that key. It has such an antique look to it, don’t you think? Details: The House and Key Sampler #2 cross stitch chart features an alphabet, an antique key, and a house with smoke wafting out of the chimney. This could be stitched for your own house, placed on a desk, or given as a housewarming gift. It could be framed, made into a wall hanging or pillow, and placed by your front door to greet every house guest. On the pictured model above, I used one color throughout, DMC 311. The fabric is 18 count Ivory Aida. Finished Size on 18 count Aida: 11.28 cm x 11.28 cm (4 1/2" x 4 1/2") Stitch Count: 80 wide x 80 high. In the pictured model above, I added initials. These initials will not be shown in the chart that is sent to you, that area will be left blank so that you can insert your own initials using the alphabet from the sampler if you wish. This is a PDF digital download cross stitch chart. Nothing will be physically sent to you.  Link t...

  When movie night comes around, you'll be prepared to decorate with this cross stitch design!  Details about this chart: Stitch Count: 65w x 58h Finished Size: 9.17 cm x 8.18 cm (3-3/4 inches wide by 3-1/4 inches high) on 18 count fabric Cloth: Aida Cloth's Color: Black # of colors: 1 Color, DMC Blanc  Link to the chart is here

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...

  Ahoy! If you love the sea, summer, or anything nautical, you'll want to stitch this cross stitch chart. Chart info: One color of floss is used throughout, DMC 311, fabric is off white 18 count aida. Stitch count is 78 w x 78 h. If stitched on 18 count aida, the finished design will be 4-1/4 inches (11cm) wide x 4-1/4 inches (11cm) high. This is a PDF digital download cross stitch chart. Nothing will be physically sent to you.  Link to the chart is here. Happy stitching! Copyright 2022 EmnEllie. Please do not copy, distribute, or use without permission. 

I am at an impasse. When I talk about what's been going on in my house, I almost always say cottage. A cottage is cozy. Nice for stitching. But do I want to be in a cottage? I'm feeling very medieval-ish (could it be the band sampler I'm stitching on?) and am sort of leaning towards saying "at the castle." Maybe I just want an English country house, like Pemberley.  Slav Yakounin, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Can you see yourself stitching there? Decisions decisions! Leave a comment below if you have any suggestions. ********** Anyways, this week at the cottage/ castle/ Pemberley, I've made really good progress on my WIP's. First stop, Paris: Like I said the last time, I was really close to the very bottom of the chart! I've made a right, and am charging up the next 10 x 10 column. The splashes of red and pink are super pretty and fun to stitch.  Next is the Linen & Threads Mystery Sampl...

 Time for another free chart! Red Band Sampler 1 by EmnEllie Information about this sampler: Stitch Count is 100 x 138 The pictured model was stitched on 18 count Ivory Aida. Finished size on 18 count aida is approximately 5-1/2 inches (14.1cm) wide x 7-3/4 inches (19.5cm) high. In the pictured model above, I added my initials and the year. These initials and the year will not be shown in the chart that is sent to you, I left the space blank so you could add your own initials and year. Link to download the PDF is here.

 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 ...

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 ...

  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...