A Partrige, A Pare, and a Turteldove

Stitched and finished by Dora Messana, who says, "Your wonderful antique design was joyfully stitched on 40ct. Lambswool, one over two. It measures 2 3/4 x 4 and is filled with crushed walnut shells. Five matte gold jingle bells embellish the bottom."

Give Thanks

Stitched and finished by Cris Nixon.

Says Cris, "When I made this cross stitch I had just used a coupon to purchase a yo-yo maker, which has become one of my favorite toys, so everything I have made recently from cross-stitch to crochet has a yo-yo".

And now I want a yo-yo maker too!

A Partrige, A Pare, and a Turteldove

Stitched by Barbara Chatterton-Luuring.

She converted the called-for DMC to HDF silks and stitched it on 36 ct Cream HDF linen. She also corrected the spelling because my mis-spelled words bothered her a bit too much... and I don't mind one single bit... I actually like it when stitchers take my designs and tweak them a bit to make them their own.

Joy to the World!

Stitched by Patti Gagliardi.

I can't begin to say just how much I love what she has done... splitting the design in two to make companion fobs!

Give Thanks

Stitched by Patti Gagliardi.

Give Thanks

Stitched by Julie Nichols.

She used a jute-type cording for a hanger, which I think suits the design nicely. Julie stitched on 18th Century Grey linen by R&R and used a combination of Crescent Colours and GAST threads.

Give Thanks

Stitched by Connie Schwarz.

This may very well be my favorite finish by Connie... I love the fabric and trim added to the sides, and the frame is absolutely perfect!

Joy to the World!

Stitched by Connie Schwarz.

Connie stitched all three designs on one piece of 32 count Cream linen that she tea-stained first. She says, "The colors are all close to what you called for except that I used two greens instead of one. On the third and smallest design, I extended the top and bottom borders and moved one of the motifs to the left. I then added two partial side borders using the flowers from Joy to the World. I added a couple of small motifs and some snowflakes (hardly visible) to fill in the space. When framing, I decided there was too much space in the center and I added the brown satin ribbon. It is framed in an 11 x 14 frame."

I love the creativity she used, and seeing all three designs together in one frame is fun.

Heav'n and Nature Sing

Stitched by Patti Gagliardi.

This little design (from my Joy to the World booklet) is tiny, just 2 1/2 by 3 inches, stitched over-one on 22 count hardanger. And so festively surrounded by greenery... makes me feel just a tad bit more ready for the Christmas season to arrive!

Woodpecker Pair (Free Chart)

Stitched by Connie Schwarz.

Yet another darling finish by Connie... thank you so much for sharing your photos with me!

A link to this free chart can be found in the sidebar.

Much Beloved

Stitched by Connie Schwarz.

Connie personalized this design (which can be found in my Birds and the Bees Springtyme Sampler booklet) by eliminating all but the border and bird. I think it makes a very sweet little pinkeep.

Annabelle Bradshaw

Stitched by Tanya Anderson.

Tanya used an overdyed thread for the top alphabet, and placed her sampler in a frame that suits it just perfectly. I think we would all like to have your Grandmother shopping for frames for us too...

Grapevines at the Old Homestead

Stitched by Jeanne Hamilton.

Hannah Stewart

Stitched by Connie Schwarz.

Yet another finish by Connie! Her needles must be absolutely smoking!

Hannah Stewart will be hanging near Ann Taylor in Connie's home, and this silly designer (me!) used the same two critters on both samplers... oops! So Connie substituted a dog and her favorite bird, a cardinal.

As always, a lovely finish- thank you for sharing with me!

Emily Acorn's Pinkeep

Stitched and finished by Connie Schwarz.

I really, really like Connie's version of this pinkeep.

Connie says, "I like to call her 'L'il Em.' I had just completed Maggie's Keepsake Box from Prims of the Midwest when you announced Em and I knew they were meant to be together. I wasn't happy with my acorn so I did one the way Maggie taught us and attached it to L'il Em's back (or front). So she is off to school with her acorn backpack and her needles and pins to do her lessons. Oh I almost forgot, she has a lovely old ribbon (it belonged to her grandmother before the old lady made the mistake of getting on my husband's bird feeder) and an old button nose ring (her mother was NOT impressed)."

"Although most ladies do not talk about this in polite society, I must mention that she is stuffed with sawdust. This is the first thing I've done with sawdust (or shavings) and I just love the feel. It is not nearly as pouf-y as fiberfil, lumpy as with rags, or heavy as with bird litter. The acorn is filled with wool roving to keep it light also (the lanolin is good for your needles)."

I say, You go L'il Em! Be proud of your sawdusty interior, and flash that lovely nose ring in public as often as you can!

With One Accord

Stitched by Lorraine Badorek.

Three cheers for Lorraine! She is doing her very best to keep up with me, and has once again done a beautiful job stitching her sampler.

American Eagle

Stitched by Bonnie Olson.

Bonnie stitched her piece over-one on 32 count linen- it came out a tiny 3 1/8 inch by 3 5/8 inch- Oh My!

Lyon Rugg

Punched by Pam Timewell.

Pam wanted to make this in miniature as a gift for a friend. She had to leave out much of the detail, but the finished size is just 2 by 2 3/4 inches! I love that she chose to use a thicker wooley thread to make the lion's head and tail fuzzy.

Much Beloved

Stitched by Patti Gagliardi.

This is one of the charts included in my "The Birds and the Bees (4 Little Springtyme Samplers)" booklet.

1763 Band Sampler

Stitched by Lorraine Badorek.

Lorraine changed the color of the dog because she wanted it to show up better on the linen (I forgot to ask what floss color she used), and I like her choice very much. She further customized it with initials and a date that are significant to her. She now waits on her personal carpenter/husband to make a frame for it.

Ann Taylor

Stitched by Lorraine Badorek.
Frame by her talented husband!

Olde Bouquet

Stitched by Nicole Martin.

Ann Taylor

Stitched by Connie Schwarz.

Connie stitched her sampler on Lakeside Linen, and changed the colors up a bit; I just love how it turned out.

She says, "I used GAST Antique Rose and Chamomile for the top and bottom alphabets; GAST Cherry Bark and Dried Thyme for the larger alphabet. There is also a GAST Limited Edition for one of the grass spots on the bottom. I replaced DMC 300 with 221 and 356 with 223. I switched the straight line borders inside with 3012 and the outside border is 3051 (I think that is what you called for). Other colors were the DMC you called for. All DMC colors were given what I call a "primitive wash" with a very light mix of tan dye."

The frame she had made locally, and says, "The frame is a dark burgundy with "splats" of a gold-y mustard-y color that picks up the color of the linen."

It is lovely, Connie!

Come Buy My Sweet Flowers

Stitched by Jan Robison.
Finished by Vonna.

Welcome Spring!

Stitched by Patti Gagliardi.

She says, "I have to admit that their are several mistakes in this piece... The sunshine rays are the wrong color, the clouds are off, I put in my standard bunny by heart forgetting that I wanted to use yours... but I have a philosophy of never ripping out unless absolutely necessary... :) I really hate ripping out! I did take the liberty of changing the bird to a robin as they are my favorite. I hope you don't mind."

Nope, I don't mind at all. And I completely agree with Patti... I avoid ripping out at all cost, and a funny little bit of trivia about me... I often go back to my computer and change the chart to reflect "mistakes" I make while stitching models. (shhhhh... don't tell!)

American Eagle

Stitched by Connie Schwarz.