Tag brown

Turtle in clear keychain.

Turtle & cat on linen

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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.

Turtle on brown linen minimal backstitching

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

Turtle in clear keychain.

Stitching – Cat

Started: August 17, 2025

Finished: August 19, 2025

Stitching time: 2.5 hours

Light and dark grey spotted cat in clear keychain

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Joy Bears

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I pulled out my last vintage Christmas card kit. This one features two teddy bears setting up an outdoor Christmas tree. They are stringing on the lights and the plug is out in the snow on the ground.

This cute scene reminded me of the Cherished Teddies my sister and I used to buy my mom for just about every holiday from Hallmark. There was usually some new figurine that my mom wanted and my sister would take me to the store nearby to pick it up. Several years ago I made her a large teddy bear cross stitch kit that also looked like the bears from the figurines.

This little cross stitch had its challenges with the white on white stitching. I managed with minimal mistakes. I’m also not used to paper patterns anymore. With Pattern Keeper for my full coverage projects, I’ve been pretty spoiled.

I managed to take a before backstitching photo of this one. The backstitching was needed to really bring out the character of the scene. This didn’t take too long to stitch and was finished with plenty of time before I delivered it to my mom for Christmas.

Stitching

Started: November 23, 2024

Finished: December 5, 2024

Stitching time: 11.75 hours

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bottom up angle view of tools card

Tools of the Trade

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What do you get when you cross a welder and a wood crafter? This card! Also you get the final card of the #cardproject2019. This has been an intense year of cross stitching for sure, but now it has come to a close. The final birthday today, December 31st.

I pulled a few tools out of a larger pattern called Grandpa’s Workshop from the May/June 1993 Cross Stitch & Country Crafts magazine. This way they would fit on a card and be relevant to his interest of wood crafting.

tools before backstitching

The saw blades were the hardest to stitch and outline. A bunch of quarter stitches all in a row is hard to do and keep consistent. I seem to have a hard time parting the fabric right in the middle to get a nice clean look. This might be something that is only noticeable to other stitchers too.

In my paper I didn’t find anything I liked much so went for my wallpaper stash. I found the paper I used first, then saw a foam wood paper that I considered for the frame. While wood seems to make more sense the tools seemed to get lost more with it, so I went with my initial thought of the silver.

Then it was deciding if I wanted to put the dark area in the middle or just the bottom. Putting it at the bottom won since it’s hard for me to line up the Cricut to cut exactly where I wanted. Getting a dark stripe right in the center would be too hard so I went with below and I think it works well.

front angle view of tools finished

The paper sample was smaller than most to begin with and my first try I didn’t measure the hole correctly. Luckily the pattern is banded so I flipped it around and tried again with more breathing room around the cross stitch. I used double sided tape to hold everything together.

Stitching

Started: November 16th
Finished: November 27th

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full front of tools card

cactus card laying down

Cacti, Cactus?

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In my quest for the perfect pattern for 50+ people I have acquired several magazines and books over the last year. Originally this card was going to be a cactus pattern from dailycrossstitch.com, I was never overly excited about it, but it would have to do.

Eventually through all of my pattern acquisitions I came across some Southwest style table runner that had these three potted cacti on it. I transferred just that part of the pattern using WinStitch so I could print it out and mark off where I am without disturbing the original pattern. I believe in the cross stitch industry this is called a “working pattern”.

3 cactus plants no backstitching

These cactus in pots are way cuter and much more card sized than my original pattern. I even took a picture of it before I added the backstitching. That’s what ups the cute factor.

cactus cross stitch complete

Since the cross stitching is on the smaller side I decided to add a Happy Birthday stamp. The modern handwritten font is what I went with. While I don’t have green ink I used a blue-green type one for it on yellow paper. The frame itself is wallpaper.

Happy Birthday stamp

As with just about all stamping that I do, I added embossing powder to it. The picture kind of shows it, but the camera doesn’t do well with focusing on something so solid like that. I chose a clear embossing powder over glitter. I didn’t want to detract from the stitching.

I also learned, don’t cut down the fabric until after the hole is cut in the frame. The top is laying just inside the frame, which is probably for the best since it is so close to the edge. Overall I am happy with how this one turned out.

Stitching

Started: October 27th
Finished: October 31st

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cactus full front of card

birghter card text

You Are Sunshine

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Some of the cards I have made this year went through a few changes. Originally this cross stitch pattern was going to be made for my uncle, instead I made it for his wife. I was having a hard time coming up with what to make her.

My uncle is my godfather so in our family that meant I would exchange gifts with him every year at Christmas. He is also the godfather to one of my cousins. We would both receive a cross stitch ornament of some religious Bible theme (Christmas based) as the bow of our wrapped gifts. Every year my aunt would pick out a different pattern and stitch it for us, put it into a tiny frame so we could hang it on the tree.

sunset stitching bottom of card

My aunt is involved with several volunteering activities along with watching most of her grandkids on a daily basis. If you need her somewhere, she finds a way to make it happen. I’m not sure if she cross stitches much anymore, but a cross stitch card is very fitting for her.

The saying on this card is Some people make the world brighter just being in it. I feel like that is something very fitting for her. She gives of her time and talents as often as she can.

brighter card laying down

I chose the simple brown paper for the frame to really let the colors of the stitching stand out. I also used a lighter tan paper as the base instead of the standard white.

Besides the Cricut ripping up my first 3 attempts at cutting this frame, assembly went well. Double sided tape and interfacing fabric can be your best friends when making cross stitch cards.

Stitching

Started: October 26th
Finished: October 27th

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full front of brighter cross stitch

cake cat laying down angled

A Cat Made Cake

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This card finishes out one of my cousin’s families. This particular card is for his wife. While I tried to make it the same size as the other cards, the stitching ended up being too large and had to be placed on a 5×7 card.

If you would like to see the rest of the family cards you can find my cousin, his oldest, and youngest. I can’t remember which one is allergic to cats, but they used to have a couple. I wanted to give them all cats they can keep. And probably includes some authentic cat fur in the mix, because, well, my cats like to leave their hair on everything!

before backstitching on cake cat

I got the pattern for this card a long time ago off of the cross-stitching website. It is no longer available and I have been unable to find another copy. I believe it is in an old copy of The World of Cross Stitch magazine, but I have no idea how to get a hold of one since I am not in the UK.

This is the most adorable pattern and one of my favorite cards I have made this year. This one took a little longer than I expected. There is a lot of detail in it. So many colors to create all the shading. Then the backstitching took quite a while, but I finished that on a plane ride. Backstitching really does make a difference.

front angle of cake cat

I used the Cricut to cut out the frame, the paper is from a book of scrapbook paper I bought at one point. It turned out a lot nicer than I expected when I picked the paper.

Stitching

Started: September 13th
Finished: September 26th

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front of cake cat card

laying down ferret card

Dapper Ferret

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We’re getting a little closer to the end of the #cardproject2019! This ferret was a pretty quick stitch. I got the pattern from dailycrossstitch.com. I chose to only do the Mr. Ferret part of the pattern. Partly for time, but mostly because of the space on the card.

This card is headed to my brother in law who once had a ferret toy. I was pretty young when my sister was dating him (and married him). I remember he bought this ferret toy that didn’t work right. I begged to go to the store with them while he got a new one.

This toy was a ferret attached to a ball, the ball was battery powered and when you turned it on it jumped around and looked like it was playing with the ball. I’m sure by today’s toy standards it’s pretty boring, but at the time it was the coolest thing ever.

side front view of ferret

Now you know the story behind this card. And I have no clue if he actually likes ferrets or not. When picking out cards I tried to find something that I know the person likes, or something that was from a memory I had with them to make the card personal. I chose the background paper for it’s pattern since my brother in law is a mechanical engineer. I was going to emboss dots on plain paper, then ran across this and changed my mind.

Stitching

Started: September 4th
Finished: September 7th

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full front of ferret card

another fisherman laying down photo

Gone Fishing

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The second birthday today. And this time it is for twins. This card is for the twin of the uncle who received the golfer card (sorry it’s not linked because the post isn’t live yet).

My husband and I took a quick trip to Texas while I was stitching this one. I didn’t have much time to work on it while we were away, and with a cancelled flight, well it put things a bit behind.

fisherman before backstitching

I did manage to take a picture of this one before I started any backstitching. Most of the way through I really debated whether I should backstitch as I went. Obviously you now know the answer to that one.

just the fisherman stitching

This pattern does have quite a bit of detail to it. The hardest was making the plaid shirt. I had to go back and add some lines that I had previously missed, but I think I got it all in the end.

laying down fisherman

I used the Cricut to create the frame for this card. I have a thicker blue paper with texture to it that I really liked. I felt that the browns and greens were a bit overpowering so I wanted to show more “water” and added the blue paper frame to create that effect.

Stitching

Started: August 28th
Finished: September 2nd

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full front of fisherman card

golfer card laying down

Tee Time

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Oh my goodness the cards are coming fast now! This one took the span of two days because of how late it was started the first day. I am now running the cross stitching part one after the other. Prepping 3 at a time to work on consecutively to get them all done. This one marks 16 to the end of the #cardproject2019.

golfer stitched

This one may look simple, but the color changes and 3/4 stitching throughout made it a little more challenging. My uncle has always loved golf as far as I know and has really enjoyed it since retiring.

I used to stay with my cousin for a week in the summer and my uncle tried to teach me how to golf. I was no good and still am not, I don’t blame his teaching, it’s just not something I find enjoyable. I’m pretty sure he’s actually good at it.

I used my new friend interfacing fabric to make this one a cut out. I felt as a golfer in motion it should stand off the card. I also had this green paper that is white on the other side so it made a great ready to go card.

have a wonderful birthday stamp

The bottom I used scrapbooking paper and a birthday stamp I have. I used brown ink and clear embossing powder to give more dimension and shine to it. The embossing worked really well on this. I even came up with the novel idea to use scissor to hold the paper down while using the heat gun so I wouldn’t burn my fingers. I used the Cricut to cut out the small piece of paper.

Stitching

Started: August 26th
Finished: August 27th

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front of golfer card

the sloth

Hangin’ in there sloth style

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Are you familiar with the Hang in There cat picture? This is a take on that, just with a sloth. My husband’s cousin loves sloths. When this came across as a free pattern one day on dailycrossstitch.com I just had to grab it.

Overall this pattern is simple. Just some long rows of brown. For the leaves I decided to use variegated thread to give a little dimension. As you can see I very quickly hit a super light part of the thread.

 

the bottom again

Since I was running out of time to get the card made (I let the finished stitching sit for a while) this card is pretty simple. I found a dark yet bright orange as the background and used interfacing fabric to hold the Aida cloth together to be a cut out.

This card is larger than most of them that I make. It ended up being a 5×7 card since I stitched on 14 count. It was easier to see that’s for sure.

With the year over half over and my card project still floundering I think I should take this message to heart of Hang in there! I’ll get this project done. And then maybe take a stitching break.

top of card

 

Stitching

Started: July 28th
Finished: August 9th

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front of hanging in there sloth