EmnEllie Cross Stitch Blog

Happy Tuesday! Word around the manor house is that there’s a new version of  Persuasion  coming out.  Persuasion  is one of Jane Austen’s books. I read this book many, many years ago. In fact, I’ve been thinking about re-reading it lately! Here’s a picture of my copy: Isn’t that a pretty edition? I love the ribbon, and the pages are wonderful to touch. The sepia page color is very kind to your eyes as well. ( Link to this edition is here if you want to buy a copy.) I think everyone who watches period pieces has their favorite (or favourite as my English friends would spell it) adaptations that they like best. Click here to read more

Well, it’s only fifteen pages long… so does that make it a pamphlet instead? But before we go down that overly technical rabbit hole, let’s talk about the eBook! So, a while back, I had designed a few beverage themed charts. I retired them after a while, but then I had this idea. After retrieving them from my chart archive, I thought, “Why not re-release these as freebies?” because I really liked the charts I had designed. It seemed a shame to keep them locked away in a vault!... To continue reading, click HERE

  Happy Monday! When you were a kid, did you ever go cloud-watching? By cloud-watching, I mean looking up at the sky, staring at the clouds, and thinking about what shape they look like. Spotting a cloud that looks like a puppy, or an elephant, or a skydiver for example. I used to do that all the time! Riding my bicycle on a summer day, going to the grocery store with my Mother, looking out my bedroom window... Click the link HERE to read more.

Dear blog readers, Substack has added so many awesome features lately. To give the example of a few; Unsplash photos, polls so readers can vote on things, text to speech etc. that Blogger does not have. So from now on I will be posting my weekly posts over there. But I like this blog a lot so I'm keeping it. But whenever I publish a post on Substack, I will write a preview of the post here with a link to the Substack post. (Example below!) To never miss a post, you can subscribe to my Substack (it's free!) and have my posts delivered directly to your email inbox. To do that, click HERE Of course, you can also just keep coming to the blog whenever you feel like it, and click the link to the Substack posts. Whatever works for you! Happy Tuesday! How has your week been? How was your Fourth of July? It was a beautiful, sunny day at the Castle, really the perfect weather for grilling. I put out some tiny American flags (I don’t have a flagpole, or one of those brackets that stick to...

It’s a very busy world out there. Over this past weekend, I decided to slow down a bit by sitting down and reading a few books. It was absolutely wonderful. I sat outside on my patio in the delicious summer air, and I also curled up in my favorite reading nook...  Continue reading this post at the link here.

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...

  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...