Greenhouse of Oddities SAL by Lola Crow

I've only done a couple of Stich Along projects. It's so much fun working on a mystery SAL especially from designers that I really love. 

This project has been amazing! I loved waiting for each design to be revealed every Friday. I mean look at that skeleton!! I still have two weeks to finish, but I'm already so in love with it. 

I will add the details of it once I'm finished. 

https://lolacrowcrossstitch.com/products/greenhouse-of-oddities-sal

Moon Cat and Repeat Pattern

Wow, it's been a while! I have been busy for sure. There are so many changes and so much recovery. I have been debating if I should mention all the personal struggles I've gone through in the last year and I will need to speak about some things because it has definitely influenced my work. 

Here is a new pattern from a story I am working on called Moon Cat. I had a chance to delve into the imagery around it in my Seminar class this early summer at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design Illustration program. 

It's been cathartic working in embroidery with my own designs. It's something that has been brewing for some time, but I just didn't see where it was leading. It is starting to make sense now in the realm of children's book illustration. Stories tied to imagery no matter what form they choose to reveal themselves in. It feels magical somehow. 

✨💖

 

MobiStitch Sketching

 

Flower Skull on MobiStitch

 

 

Been playing with MobiStitch on the iPad. Still now sure how to make a PDF. I really like it. I think I'm going to stitch this. It's only 21x21 stitches. I also need to learn how to use the stitch descriptions to show specialist stitches. 

FlossBlog - October 21

I don't see myself doing a FlossTube video any time soon because I'm not comfortable on camera in general so I've decided to put my Starts, WIPS, SALS, FFO's, and cross stitch updates here as blog form. Will see how it goes.... so, 

Welcome to my 1st FlossBlog post : ) 

EVENTS - 

This weekend I attended Pacific Northwest Stitch Summit 2021 - via Zoom with my local stitch shop Acorn & Threads in Portland. We had three designers - Ink Circles, Summer House Stitche Workes, and Hands On Design. They demonstrated three projects - a ball, bowl, and a book cover. They called their three projects that go together "Seeds of Friendship". 

I was able to take notes and carefully observe mostly because there was a lot of finishing. I do believed I can do these after watching carefully how they made them all. I'm going to start off with the ball first because oddly enough the embroidery stitches are like the ones I'm learning in my RSN Sampler class (more later).

It was very nice to get to know the designers for the three days. So much to learn and appreciate the time and effort that went into making this event. Jeannine and her staff from Acorn & Threads did an amazing job. I was really excited to hear the announcements for next years plans and designers...eee!

STARTS - 
I started two Halloween charts this past week. 

Silhowitches Quaker by Teresa Kogut - 

I had a hard time finding a nice orange. I was looking for the lighter color but just couldn't find it. I found this 32 count Halloween Linen. It's more of a burnt orange but thought I would give it a try. I'm using 310 DMC for the dark thread and probably will use the called for Guacamole green with glow in the dark DMC thread. Just need to see how it's going to work with the darker orange linen. 

https://www.etsy.com/market/teresa_kogut

Mystic Sampler by The Primitive Needle - 

This is a hard to find out of print chart. I paid a very steep price for it off of ebay...(so shameful). It took me some time to gather the threads. Had to order from 4 different shops but finally got them all. I plan to sell the chart on ebay or etsy once I'm done with it, or maybe get to trade it for another hard to find chart from The Primitive Needle called Witches Hollow. Wish me luck! 

WIPS - 

Cryptids SAL by The Witchy Stitcher 

This is the 4th week of this creepy stitch along. It was released Friday and I'm already done with it by Sunday! I'm really enjoying this one. I was hesitant because of the lack of color but I'm loving it! They are all so cute. Can't wait to see if Chupacabra is going to be in it. 

https://www.thewitchystitcher.com/product-page/cryptid-sal
 

Autumn by Sara Gueramani

I'm so loving this chart despite the soo many colors it calls for. I really like the varied border on this one. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SaraGuermani

Royal School of Needlwork -  Design for Embroidery: Jacobean Crewelwork & Design to Embroidery 

In trying to align my art background to embroidery, I started to take some classes that help bridge those two worlds. I really enjoy the whimsical designs of Jacobean Crewelwork. It's so far off my sense of traditional representational art. I think I'm going to continue with this route first. I was considering taking taking the certificate & diploma program from RSN but decided against it, at least for now. I'm having way too much fun with cross stitch and do not want to weight it down with a heavy program. The reason I'm moving towards stitching is for play. 

https://royal-needlework.org.uk/courses/day-classes/

https://www.cloudjuno.co.uk/

Royal School of Needlwork - Sampler Course

I also signed up to this one year long Sampler course. I'm enjoying it very much. Here's a pic of my practice stitches.

FINISHES - 

I had one finish this past month. 

Sampler Musings by Brenda Keyes in some sort of evenweave that I do not remember the count. I found it in my 20+ year old stitch boxes. I used the called for colors but moved the colors around a bit. The sheep were white but I made them black head sheep. I love the tiny kitty on the ship. It's so adorable and only 5x5". I found the perfect frame for it. Hopefully will have it framed by next month. 

http://www.thesamplercompany.com

HAUL - 

So much haul! I don't think I can get them all here. I tend to curate a shopping cart and once it hits a certain amount, usually to get free shipping, I will place the order and start another cart as I watch my favorite FlossTubers. I have no real plans on how to organize them, but I did come across an app that helps with that. Need to check it out. 

I placed an order with Acorn & Threads for a lot of new charts that came out at The Needle Expo late August and a bunch of threads for the projects I just started. 

Embroidery Frames - I have been looking for a Millenium Frame but can't seem to find it anywhere. 

https://www.needlenthread.com/2011/11/millenium-embroidery-frame.html

They seem to be highly regarded but they are hard to get. After searching for different frames, I decided on something made of wood and that would ship quickly because the sampler class was starting soon. 

I also found these bungie like straps that work with clips to pull the fabric taut on the frame. I saw that there are shops on etsy that sell them as sets but I found these on amazon for so much cheaper for a set of 8, and the little clamps are sold in 100pk for. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my first CalicoPatches FlossBlog post. I think I can do this once a month so I will commit to that. I like having a place to gather my stitchy things in one place. 

 

Starts - Cryptids SAL by WickedStitcher

In watching one of my favorite Flosstubers, Fox & Rabbit, I learned about the Cryptids SAL by TheWitchyStitcher starting Sep 3rd, 2021. 

My husband is an avid Cryptid fan so I thought it would be great to make this for him....but really I just love leaning into my dark side. 

The 1st one released was MothMan!! 

Because I knew I wouldn't be able to finish the border before the 1st release, I went ahead and just graphed it out and started it.  Tomorrow Sep 10th will be the 2nd release. I hope it's the Chupacabra🤞🏽🤞🏽

This is stitched on 46 ct natural linen with called for DMC threads except the eyes were done with Gloriana Rose Flame satin thread which give it that extra glow. The little skulls are done with E940 DMC glow in the dark thread. 

                                        

It's already been an adventure because I've learned to dye my own grunge linen and....

 am set for life (maybe my offspring) with DMC 310 black floss with the CONE OF DOOM!!!  

Current Projects - Summer Cross Stitch Camp 2021

This summer I discovered Flosstube on YouTube. So many great stitchers to follow. One of them I found called #TheColoradoStitcher. She started a stitch along called #crossstitchcamp for the three months of summer. I ended up participating and having lots of fun. Here are the three projects for June, July, and August. 

June - Chart by Little House Needleworks "Be True"

This month's requirement was to start a new project that was inspired by someone else, and that it can be started and finished in a month. It needs to be posted on instagram with the hashtag #crossstitchcamp and @coloradostitcher so she can like it and note that you started, and at the end of the month you post a pic with the same hashtags to show your finish. 

I picked Little House Needlworks because I had been inspired by so many "smalls" posted on Instagram. When I saw this one, the only thing I was focusing on was that it could be done in a month. What took me forever was trying to add the cats. Finding the right size and coloring was a challenge for sure. With that said, I am so pleased with how this turned out. I knew I wanted to add my cats because they are such a huge part of who I am. Having the one month deadline was fun! I thought I would not like it, but it actually gave me and excuse to just stop in the evening and stitch. I loved it!

July - Chart by Plum Street Samplers "Cap Cod Keeps" Whale Right Side

July's project had to be a new to your designer. Plum Street Samplers has been something I've been collecting but had not yet stitched. I did end up shopping for a new one. I've been really like the Sea themed designs because I would like to live by the sea one day. So basically, I'm creating a wall for my future home! ; ) 

August - Chart by Plum Street Samplers "Cap Cod Keeps" Mermaid Left Side

This month the requirement was to work with materials that you've never used before. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I decided to make the mermaid's tail in silk but don't really know much about them. I ordered some online but knew they would take a few days to arrive so I went to my local stitch shop called Acorns & Threads in Portland. I had never been. I'm so glad I did because I got to meet Jeannine, the owner, and the shop...Wow! 

Here are the special threads I ended up using for the tail. I also ended up using a blue blender glitter thread to accent the water and bubbles on both sides. 

I found a perfect frame for it on ebay. Slate distressed wood 5x10" and can't wait to frame it. Will post finished project pic here once I get it. 

I am so grateful for Sheri Truax Berger from The Loopy Ewe for starting this summer camp. It's been so much fun. I was so inspired by this whole project that I decided to make and gift these floss drops and needle minders of my own oil painting artwork for prizes. I had not considered doing this before hand so it ended up being a lot more than just a stitch camp because now Sheri's shop carries my new floss drops and needle minders... I know! 

Here are pics and links to them on my Etsy shop.