The month of November typically encourages people to dive into the deep end of the Fall spirit – pumpkin flavored treats, cozy knit blankets and sweaters, and boots. At my house, we watch our Fall movies: “You’ve Got Mail,” “Dan in Real Life,” and (the recent additions) “About Time,” and “Monsters University.” A perfect complement to these feelings and traditions …
How to Make an Articulating Wall Sconce
We are re-doing our kitchen. It’s been stressful and fun. My sweet mother recently re-did her kitchen, and we snagged her old maple cabinets for our own house. She’s keeps a meticulously clean and neat home, so the cabinets are in tip-top shape. We’re going to paint them and they’re gonna look ah-mazing. It is a super win-win-win situation and saved …
DMC Floss Color Inspiration: 221
October is my favorite month of the year. It’s officially Fall, and it’s perfectly in-between with the weather – not too hot and not too cold. “Sweater weather.” My favorite. A little gloomy but mostly invigorating. The “calm before the storm” of November and December. (Also the month of my birthday – but I like to claim that I’m still …
Crazy About Custom: Terra Dolls
So, I’m in the custom product business. This gives me a great appreciation and admiration for customized products – especially ones that are, like mine, customized and hand-made! Check out Terra Dolls. Are these not the cutest? I’m especially loving them at this time of year – the Halloween dolls are SO cute and the style of these long-legged, color block …
Including Tattoos in Stitch People Portraits
I love the challenge of including tattoos in a Stitch People portrait. People don’t expect it can be done, so it’s always a nice surprise to add this little detail, and it really adds to the personality of the individual character and the overall portrait. If you look at the portrait of “The Macarellas,” below, you’ll notice that the man …
Three Reasons You Should Be Cross-Stitching
I frequently get responses from new folks who sign up for our newsletter, and someone recently sent me an email all about how they’ve loved cross stitching since learning as a young girl and haven’t been able to stop! I love this attitude. It got me thinking about how many people there are out there who love to cross-stitch, yet …
DMC Floss Color Inspiration: 3860
DMC Floss Color #3860 has “bewitched me, body and soul” (Pride and Prejudice). In fact, it is this very color that inspired me to do a series on DMC Floss color inspirations. This color, “Cocoa,” is purple, brown, gray, and copper all mixed into one beautiful, sullen, & yet hopeful color. It makes me feel like a rainy, fall day. …
How to Include Dozens of People in your Stitch People Portrait
Stitch People portraits make great gifts. They especially make great gifts for big, family and life events like weddings, marriages and anniversaries. But what do you do when the anniversary you’re commemorating with your portrait is Grandma and Grandpa’s 50th wedding anniversary, and their four or five children all have four or five children of their own!? Allow me to …
Podcast Recommendation #1: Stuff You Should Know
[share title=””] When I cross-stitch I love to have “my stories” on in the background. Usually it’s a TV show (which is usually a kitschy British crime drama, but more on that later), or a podcast. I keep resolving to get into audiobooks, but that hasn’t happened yet. I’ll let you know when it does. The first podcast I’d like …
Free Cross-Stitch 101 Guide
I remember learning to cross stitch as a young girl. My mother taught me, I think because I wanted to learn it (having seen her do a lot of cross stitching.) My grandmother cross-stitched, too. She made my Christmas stocking and a baby blanket, both of which have cross-stitch work. And her mother cross-stitched – a lovely piece of her’s …