Snow Village by Country Cottage Needleworks

Happy Good Friday to all who celebrate Easter.

Today I’m showing you another monthly series I am working on.  It is Snow Village by Country Cottage Needleworks. And like the Prim Stitch Series I shared in my last post, it was a monthly stitch along (SAL) hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop. Each block could be stitched individually (this is what I am doing), or all blocks on one piece of fabric. The free layout is on the Country Cottage Needleworks website here.

The first month we received all of the fabric and floss we would need for the entire series, as well as the first block pattern.  The first chart was for the Snow Village Banner and I decided not to stitch this one first.

 

Like Prim Stitch, I saved the patterns and am working on one each month during 2024.

 

January’s block…

Snowflake Stand

February’s block…

Peppermint Parlor

The current plan is to finish these into flat folds and place them on a tiered shelving unit that Mom gave me for Christmas last year.  It is currently decorated for Easter.

I’ll show you March’s block for both Snow Village and Prim Stitch in my month-end wrap up post next week.

 

I should give you a few of the details on both series.

 

Snow Village is stitched on 16 count Aida, Country French Rain by Wichelt. The floss is a combination of DMC and Classic Colorworks. 

 

Prim Stitch Series is stitched on 25 count Lugana, Prim by Lori Holt. The floss is Aurifloss made by Aurifil.

 

Aurifloss came packaged in this cute box that contained two more cute boxes.

Aurifloss is 100% cotton thread, 6-ply like DMC but it is wound on wooden spools. Each spool holds 18 yards of floss. I’ve found it easier to remove the spools from the box and place them on an extra spool rack.

I mentioned before that I thought I would place the framed Prim Stitch piece on the gossip stand and change out the cross stitch monthly. Linda, asked about this piece of furniture so I thought I would share a few pictures.

My family always called this a gossip stand but I suppose it is really a telephone table. I’m not sure what happened to the one from my grandparent’s house but this one came from my husband’s childhood home.

In both places, a telephone would sit on top of the table and a phone book would be tucked inside the little cubby.

We are expecting a quiet Easter here. My young adults will not make the trek to the mountains so it will just be Mom, hubby and me.  Our meal will consist of smoked ham, deviled eggs, potato salad, green beans and buttermilk biscuits.  I’m not sure about dessert just yet but I’m sure it will be sweet, like the tea.

 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter!

 

Prim Stitch Series by Lori Holt

A few years ago, It’s Sew Emma (Fat Quarter Shop) published a cross stitch pattern by Lori Holt called Prim Stitch Series. There were twelve ‘blocks’ in the chart and they were released monthly during a stitch along (SAL). You could stitch them individually or in one big piece. There is a free layout on the FQS website.

 

I won the charts, fabric and floss from Dot Dot Goose Designs. Denise has a YouTube channel but she is most famous for her project bags she sells on Etsy.

 

I didn’t start Prim Stitch during the SAL but decided to stitch one block each month this year and finish them individually.

 

Michael’s had a “buy one, get one free” sale on their frames recently. I purchased one white frame and one gray frame and will swap out the designs each month. These will likely sit on the ‘gossip’ stand next to the fireplace…not sure.

 

I stitched month 1 during January.

Patriotism & Industry

I stitched month 2 during February.

Joy & Contentment

There is one other monthly series that I am working on and I’ll show you that one in my next post.

I'm also getting ready to roll the scroll rods on Olga's Autumn Stocking.

I've kept up with my goal of 300 stitches per week.

Diann, who blogs at Little Penguin Quilts, asked how I finished my cross stitch on a basket.

I explained in an email how I use magnets and washers, but I want to share three YouTube channels that provide a lot of finishing inspiration. Each of these ladies has a playlist specifically for finishing tutorials.

 

Vonna at The Twisted Stitcher

 

Priscilla at Stitching with the Housewives

 

Helen at Helen D

 

I hope your week is off to a great start. Hard to believe we are already in the last week of March.

 

See you soon!

 

A Weekend of Whimsical Finishes

Saturday was International Quilt Day or Worldwide Quilting Day. I’ve seen it advertised both ways. 

I pulled four quilts that need binding and labeled but I didn’t get any further than that.

 

I did a bit of cross stitch finishing and spring decorating instead.

 

There was no stopping once the glue gun came out Friday night…so, I hope you enjoy the results.

 

My husband and I went to a thrift store on one of our camping trips to Clermont, FL a few years ago. I found a sweet handmade basket for less than a dollar.

I hope Peggy likes what I did with it.

The cross stitch on the front of the basket is a modified version of Spring Tulips by Stitching with the Housewives. There were chickens at the very bottom, which I left off.

This basket sits on top of the Hoosier cabinet, next to my childhood Easter baskets.

The next couple of shelves hold some fun Rae Dunn mugs and more Stitching with the Housewives designs.

The bottom shelf is more Stitching with the Housewives designs attached to finish pieces from Hobby Lobby.

This sideboard sits across the kitchen, opposite the Hoosier cabinet.  The first set up...

Where it is now...

I brought out an antique lamp and placed it in the middle of the sideboard with a spring dough bowl in front.

The cross stitch in the dough bowl is a Hands on Design seasonal piece.

I finished a cross stitch piece from It's Sew Emma (Fat Quarter Shop) and placed it on the sideboard in the dining room.

I also finished this piece which is currently hanging downstairs...

I'm not satisfied with it. The whole top and bow thing isn't working for me right now.

Oh the joys of learning to decorate a new house... 

Hubby and I took a lovely ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday. I was enjoying the views and only took a couple of photos.

Spring hasn't quite sprung in the upper elevations just yet. But it will be spectacular when it does.

I sure hope you had a great weekend doing all the things you love. Let me know how you celebrated Worldwide Quilting Day...or spent the last couple of days.

Ice Fest and Calendar Crates

Well friends, we are just about caught up on holiday events.  Thank you if you’ve hung in with me since my March 6^th post, catching up from last October.

The Downtown Waynesville Commission hosted "Ice Fest" in January.  Stores sponsored ice sculptures which represented the stores theme. Citizens strolled down main street to enjoy these creative pieces of art. I didn’t take photos of ALL the sculptures but I’ll share a few here…

I’ve been decorating the garage entry area with a piece from Hobby Lobby, adorned with a monthly cross stitch series from Stitching with the Housewives.

This is January…

February…

March…

All of these are kits from the Fat Quarter Shop. Chart is called Calendar Crates. Stitched on 14 count Aida in the color blackboard, using the called-for over-dyed floss.

I promise there is quilting in my future…very near future 😊 Hope you will come back to see…

 

More Holiday Fun and the Hoop-N-Tray

Before getting into the last two December 2023 events, I want to show you this new gadget I purchased.

It is the Hoop N Tray from Not Forgotten Farm on Etsy.

I saw this on someone’s Flosstube and ordered the one with the 8” hoop. The hoop is made from beech wood and the tray is constructed using poplar.

The tray has a nice magent to hold your scissors or needle.  The top flips up so you can check the back of your work or finish off your thread.

 

I have tried it on my lap as well as on the table top and it works perfectly.  I’ve wanted something to take to retreats but I’m finding it quite useful at home.

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The last two events from December 2023 that I’ll share with you is our train ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway and our candlelight tour of the Biltmore House.

 

The GSMR train runs by steam engine from Bryson City to Dillsboro.  The car’s host gave a history lesson about the railway and the area during the trip.

At some point during the ride, a storyteller (in costume) joined and gave us a tale about Saint Nicholas.

We had a nice ride, on-board lunch and maybe a bit of Christmas shopping in Dillsboro.

This is a ‘quilted’ fish at the station in Bryson City.

We’ve enjoyed a couple of visits to the Biltmore House during Christmas but this was our first candlelight tour at night.

Mama getting all the info from the guide at the door (she doesn't meet a stranger)

My favorite part of the Biltmore at Christmas is the gingerbread house.

And, of course, the trees on the front lawn.

Back at home in Waynesville, we ate at one of our favorite places and on the way out we met Ruby.

She's a duck...on a leash...wearing slippers and a bowtie scarf.

I hope you all had a nice weekend.  Ours was busy but also enjoyable.

 

I think I have one more "catch up" event to share and then we will be back to regular programming.

I've unpacked a lot of boxes and have thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering my quilting projects.  Oh how the sewing machines are taunting me...