Stitching on scrap 40 count linen for the second time. This pattern is from World of Cross Stitch. It was the free gift kit. I used the pattern from the magazine and gave away the kit for someone else to enjoy. I was able to source all the materials from either my or my mom’s stash.
I spent several months not knowing how to finish this project. I kept telling myself to go to the local cross stitch shop and ask, but I held off until picking up fabric for another large project.
The recommendation I accepted was to create an ornament of sorts, something to hang off a lamp or tree if someone wants it for once a year. This took another several months to actually be made.
What spurred me into action was the Moco Loco St. Jude art auction fundraiser. To enter the auction, pieces must be finished and photos submitted before mid-June. I slowly collected what I needed and took a day off to complete the project. I’ve never made an ornament before, so YouTube was my friend and helped me out with how to do the finishing. The local shop said to look it up on YT.
The finished project reminds me of an ice cream sandwich. It is fairly thick and weighs in at 40g! I used very sturdy hardboard for each half, so it’s a solid piece.
I’m excited to see what it ends up going for. I have to pay for shipping to wherever the winner wants it sent. I should get going on finding a box…
I took a day off work and managed to make a few cards. I’m easily distracted so it did take the majority of the day. I also recorded myself making them, so be sure to check out my Instagram for that. The base paper I used is from a wallpaper piece featuring sunflowers. The initial card was a commission for a 70th Scrabble card.
To work through my stash more efficiently I am trying to use a sheet to its fullest before moving on. I have the rest of this sheet plus a couple others I’m trying to finish up to use up as much of the pages as possible. It is a challenge, but I am hoping to get through some scraps and be able to start fresh soon.
The big 5 update
If you would like to read the origin stories, you can find that here. Follow my Instagram to see official progress photos when they are released.
I landed on an unowned property and the WIP number corresponded to Dolphin Family. That means only one pattern isn’t started yet. It got off to a bumpy start. This pattern has several nuances to it with floss amounts. Hopefully as I work on it, I’ll get more comfortable with it.
+558
How did April go?
I only longer-term track my stitch counts on the ‘Big 5‘. I added more math to my tracker to attempt at an estimated completion date based on my current rate of work. McGonagall came in at being finished sometime in 2100…
Here’s how I did in April for chipping away at these: 2,831 stitches across the five.
The Big 5 have a combined stitch count of 1,295,620. I’m 4.24% complete with all five, which isn’t bad considering I have limited time to work on them.
Need to make it an FFO
There is one project, Red Panda, that has been sitting fully stitched since October. I entered it as an auction item in the St. Jude fundraiser MocoMade hosts. It’s an application process, and I don’t have this finished yet to show them what it will be. But the board is cut so I can get started now.
One of my cousins had a milestone birthday in March, so one card was made! I was really struggling that day. The card was supposed to be horizontal, but ended up vertical because I stamped happy upside down. Whoops. Cursive font threw me off. Here it is:
I do like the purple paper as a cutout versus a background as I have been using it. I set out the last (I hope) of the purple paper for another card, but working multiple jobs has left me with little time for card making or stitching.
The big 5 update
If you would like to read the origin stories, you can find that here. So far the progress on these has not resulted in an official update photo, but there should be progress photos coming in April. Follow my Instagram to see them when they are released.
So far only Safari has come up for Monopoly and was a new start. McGonagall is also coming up and getting more stitches completed on that one as well.
Turtle Tower from DailyCrossStitch.com, Dolphin Family, and Nativity remain unchanged.
How did March go?
I only longer-term track my stitch counts on the ‘Big 5‘. All five are now in progress. I put in a total of 3,533 stitches on those in the month of March. Which is more than February with a total of 1,515.
The Big 5 have a combined stitch count of 1,295,620. I’m 4.03% complete with all five, which isn’t bad considering I have limited time to work on them.
Need to make it an FFO
There is one project, Red Panda, that has been sitting fully stitched since October. I’ve decided to turn it into an ornament, but that’s as far as it’s gotten. Once that gets finished up, there will be a blog post for it. (Yay bonus post!) < This is the same update from February, no progress has been made.
I barely squeaked out my card of the month for February. On the last day I managed to make two cards. I was determined not to fall short in the second month of the year, so here you go, two cards made from leftover pieces of other cards.
The blue paper seems to last forever. So far the paper has made it onto 10 cards with more to come. Someday I’ll run it out and that will be it. That’s the goal. Go through the stash and start using it. Use up the materials I have on hand before looking into new stuff.
I do accept donations when people have stuff they want to offload, keeping it out of the trashcan a little while longer. I know not all of my cards will be kept forever, but at least the materials were used to their fullest before being discarded.
Something I am adding to my monthly updates are my cross-stitch projects. I have 5 large, 3 medium, and 1 rotating small cross-stitch projects. I started the first of the 5 back in April 2023, it’s clearly going to be a while before there’s a blog post on that one. Which is why I’ll add smaller updates here. This month will be an intro of what else I have going on.
The big 5
It all started with my first full coverage piece Cats Library from Heaven and Earth Designs. It was the second pattern I downloaded, but first to start. I didn’t know cross-stitch like this existed until I started using my Instagram more. The second pattern I started was Disintegration, again, Heaven and Earth Designs.
In 2025 I discovered Twitch. This is when the additional projects started. Many of the streamers I follow have 50+ WIPs going on, and for some it’s all cross-stitch. This is how I came across the Witchy Stitcher’s Universal Monsters SAL from 2019. I saw the tarot project, found her website and ended up with Universal Monsters. Starting this was inspired by the Secret Snowflake activity I participated in 2024.
Note: I chose to work the black and white version of the pattern.
This one was started September 2, 2025.
After that, I was watching a streamer Blueeyedkat81, and saw Trelawney’s Library. This introduced me to the Cross Stitch Studio. There are five Harry Potter characters that have library cross-stitch patterns. Now these are HUGE. No joke, stitching on 32 count fabric 1:1, the finished stitched size will be 25 inches x 25 inches.
My niece really loves Harry Potter so I sent her all the names and asked which character she liked best, it was between McGonagall and Dumbledore. I sent her the images of the libraries and she went with McGonagall.
In the end that was a good choice as about 42% of the overall piece is 310 and 3371. I felt that made it manageable. Not sure just yet as I recently crossed .5% complete (yes, a half percent) and am not quite done with the first page.
The last pattern I had on my mind for a while. Not sure when that started or when I first saw it, but in late 2025 I decided to stop thinking about it and actually purchase it. That pattern is Super Mario World Map. I have all the parts and pieces to get started and as luck would have it, my Twitch chat chose it March 1 before this blog post was published. The pattern is from an Etsy store called Box Cat Shop.
These five projects are what I track for the game Wanderlust which I start last September or October as part of the beta. If you catch me on Twitch, my country stamps show up on the right side of the screen. As of this writing I am in Uruguay. I decided to play the game by going through the countries as if I’m actually traveling.
Then came Monopoly
Monopoly is a game that is popular among many Twitch makers & crafting streamers. I joined the Discord and was an observer for a long time. After trying out Wanderlust, I had confidence that I could start another game. This game is more complex as it involves other players and isn’t completely “at your own pace.”
Thankfully my first roll didn’t land on one of my three new projects. I spent many hours charting all three of them into WinStitch so they could be imported into Pattern Keeper. I didn’t chart out the backstitching or the complexities of the dolphin pattern, but at least I will have digital stitch counting.
You may be counting and notice one pattern is missing. That is Turtle Tower from DailyCrossStitch.com. This is a site I subscribe to, however the individual patterns are inexpensive if you have under $5 USD to spare per pattern. There’s no picture of it anywhere and I’m using all stash floss for it, meaning the colors on the pattern are inspiration for what mine looks like. This one may or may not be finished with Monopoly as I have the next small pattern picked out, I just need to digitize it.
As of right now, these projects are exclusive to the Monopoly game and will only be worked when I land on the correlating WIP number. The exception being Turtle Tower since that is mostly done and I have a recipient for it.
How did February go?
I only longer-term track my stitch counts on the ‘Big 5’. Of those only four have actually been started (as of the end of February). I put in a total of 1,515 stitches on those in the month of February. Which is more than January with a total of 1,410. The big 5 have a combined stitch count of 1,295,620. I’m 3.75% complete with all 5, which isn’t bad considering only four are started.
Need to make it an FFO
There is one project, Red Panda, that has been sitting fully stitched since October. I’ve decided to turn it into an ornament, but that’s as far as it’s gotten. Once that gets finished up, there will be a blog post for it. (Yay bonus post!)
My annual card gallery is here! Check out every card created in 2025 by month of creation. The end of 2024 brought on just shy of two dozen new cards. Each year I strive to improve, learn and try new techniques and create some beautiful cards. 2025 saw twice as many with 49 new cards created. I started up my Ko-Fi shop at the end of 2024 where you may find some of the cards below listed for sale.
I set out the year to grow in the card making space. This meant posting about it and at the very least making at least one card per month.
For 2026 I plan to release a post each month with the cards made the previous month. There may be a little more info about how they were made, but I still strive to keep my musings short. I feel that you shouldn’t have to wait all year before seeing all the cards created.
Use these as inspiration for your own cards!
Most of my supplies are second-hand, so I’m not always able to point to where you can buy more.
I went to a local cross stitch store to get fabric for my next project (which turned into two) and came away with a sample of Jobelan and linen scraps to try out.
I think it was expected that I just make little x’s of nothingness, but I have so many patterns, I found a cute little turtle in a World of Cross Stitch magazine to blow up large enough to stitch. And mark off progress.
I decided to try the 40 count linen first as it came highly recommended (once you get used to it). Day one I put in 43 stitches and I’m not a fan.
Day two or three taking the project outside and using sunlight helped immensely. I could finally see the holes! Stitching went easier. Since I stitched using 1 thread, I finished up some backstitching when working on the eyes.
Finishing, it paid off to stitch over 2. Which I decided to do because of the backstitching. It meant built in holes for all the backstitching landing in the middle of a square.
Part two of the sample pieces from the local cross stitch store. The cat is from the same issue of World of Cross Stitch magazine. Again, recharted in WinStitch. This time not only to make it bigger, but because the key is two pages away.
It paid off again to stitch over 2. There is backstitching in the middle of the square. This one I timed and it took 2.5 hours all in. I didn’t take a progress pic of the cat, it went from stitched to backstitched the same day to finish.
Stitching – Turtle
Started: August 8, 2025
Finished: August 12, 2025
Stitching time: didn’t track it
Stitching – Cat
Started: August 17, 2025
Finished: August 19, 2025
Stitching time: 2.5 hours
See finished projects and updates on Instagram @craftyk.3 Updates on Snapchat
The first pattern of three. After stitching this and working through the backstitching, I recommend finding 28 count fabric if you can and working it over 2 holes, effectively still stitching 14 count. I used what the kit came with, which included a lot of making new holes for quarter stitches and backstitching details.
Stitching
Started: June 10, 2025
Finished: June 15, 2025
Stitching time: 3.25 hours
Christmas tree
The second pattern of three. At this point I’m determined to get these done and get back to my full coverage pieces. This one wasn’t the most fun to finish, and the backstitching was a pain. But it’s done now and ready to be placed on the card.
Stitching
Started: June 15, 2025
Finished: June 16, 2025
Stitching time: 5 hours
Holly
The third pattern of three. This one was easier overall. Except I missed a lot of half stitches and had to go back and fill those in. The backstitching went much smoother with most stitches starting and ending in a hold that already existed.
Stitching
Started: June 16, 2025
Finished: June 21, 2025
Stitching time: 4.25 hours
These patterns did come as a kit with square cards and envelopes. Originally I was going to assemble these as intended, but since I intend to list them on my shop, the branding on the back wouldn’t work so well. I changed course, found a stamp with the same sentiment, got out all the Christmas paper I have and set to work making three new Christmas cards. I think they turned out well!
See finished projects on Instagram @craftyk.3 Updates on Snapchat
When my in-laws moved to a new house, I wanted to make a little card commemorating the move. I came across a pattern I liked in Helen Phillipps’ book with samplers and card designs. I changed the colors used to match the house and used a favorite color to personalize the design more.
If you read this blog, you probably know my new found addiction to Pattern Keeper. I charted out the pattern in WinStitch and exported for Pattern Keeper. Sadly, it still can’t read backstitching, so I did print out a large copy for when I get to that stage.
Somehow I managed to not actually finish the stitching, marked it done in Pattern Keeper, and took a photo before I started backstitching. I made it a couple stitches up the right side of the house before I realized the roof was missing. Instead of taking a different photo, I kept what I had, got my slightly lighter grey out and stitched the roof. Then I continued on with the backstitching.
I did something very different this time when it came to assembly. I live streamed the process on my day-old Twitch account. Yup, that’s a thing now I guess. While setting up my Ko-fi shop again, I decided to look into Discord and Twitch since they seem to be big integrations. Turns out, I think those platforms are better for what I make, so I’m trying it out.
I couldn’t believe my luck with the bottom strip. It’s a piece of wallpaper that matched the aqua and purple in the cross stitch so well!
Stitching
Started: December 31, 2024
Finished: January 19, 2025
Stitching time: 8.25 hours
See finished projects on Instagram @craftyk.3 Updates on Snapchat
If you don’t want to read the nuances about the cards I created in 2024, this is where you can see them all by month of creation. After the surge of cards made in December 2023, I hope these cards don’t disappoint. I’m also hoping you see an increase in quality and creativity.
Use these as inspiration for your own cards!
February
May
June
September
October
November
December
Follow current projects on Instagram @craftyk.3 Also on Snapchat
A family member who loves Nightmare Before Christmas unexpectedly came to town for Christmas. I was told two days in advance. The day before Christmas I decided to make her a keychain. I had patterns from a little Disney kit for Nightmare and a couple of them are small enough, if stitched on 25 count. My full coverage projects are coming in handy. Without those, I wouldn’t have 25 count fabric on hand.
Sound familiar? I did the same stitch count for my Secret Snowflake Pokémon keychain. It’s actually not that bad stitching so small. I do like the one strand of thread instead of two as well.
In addition to the two cross stitches I also made one of my first Christmas cards now that I have more stamps. Normally I don’t keep Christmas themed stamps when I get them, but I did save a few and they came in handy this year.
I used Winstitch to plot out the patterns from the itty bitty book. There was no way I could keep count from the original patterns. By doing that I was also able to put the stitching part into Pattern Keeper and I printed a huge copy for the backstitching. I think they turned out really nice.
I found a way to use my ho ho ho paper. It didn’t work so well with the cross stitch mouse, but for this card it worked out well. I’m pretty sure the Santa stamp is part of a retired Stampin’ Up collection. It was part of a large set of stamps donated to me in CD cases. I used my dotted embossing folder for the red paper on the right. I also added some glitter to Santa’s beard after I took the photo. This card is also larger than my usual at 5×7.
Stitching
Started: December 24, 2024
Finished: December 25, 2024
Stitching time: 2 hours Jack and Sally, 1 hour Zero
