Christmas Eve morning

Good Christmas Eve morning, everyone. It is very peaceful and quiet today.

I just wanted to show you some stitching I've done recently, the Cranberry Tea by Plum Street Samplers.

I did not finish it yet, wouldn't it be nice as a pillow or a framed wall hanging? I will have to think about it.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Lets be safe, cozy and with the people you love.

Fall stitching Acorns

Isn't it strange, how is your taste change over the years and how your surroundings influence it? Over the years of selling on Etsy my taste is constantly changing. I am originally a city girl who likes skyscrapers and clean lines of modern architecture and now I became a fan of simple nature forms and shapes. My Fall favorites are acorns, pumpkins, leaves and owls.

I stitched this neeldlework holder case last year and I am only now showing it. 

 

The scissors got lost unfortunately so I guess it was their last photo session :) I am sad about it since I brought them from Ukraine long time ago and they  reminded me of that trip.

What do you like about Fall? What are your favorites? Please share!

Free cross stitch pattern Spring heart with flower and butterfly

With our warm weather I am in a spring mood right now. We are not just getting gorgeous blossoms in our garden but also a lot of birds are appearing. Love their morning songs right outside our window!

I was looking for a quick to stitch spring cross stitch project and I found this Spring Heart pattern from Maria Chaplygina (LaMariacha shop on Etsy). This was a free pattern that she was so kind to share it with me. So with her permission I am sharing it on my blog.

I just got it and I have not stitched it yet but I am going to. If you stitch it I would love to see your finished project, so please share!

 

Happy spring, everyone. It's almost here!

Free cross stitch ornament PEACE

I just made this little holiday cross stitch ornament and wanted to share it with you. I finished it as a door knob hanger but I am sure you might find more ideas of how to use it.

It will take you just one winter evening to make it, so get comfortable and enjoy your stitching!

Here is the free chart:

A gift from a friend

December is a very busy Month but it is also the sweetest time of all. Time for gifts, pleasant unexpected surprises and cozy nights by the fire place.

 Pleasant surprise of this week - a gift from Lana BelleCoccinelle. 

It came in a mail last Wednesday and I immediately got into the Christmas spirit :) Inside was a box of chocolates, a card and two cutest linen coasters with dragonflies on them. How sweet! 

 

I love good needlecraft work and these coasters are perfect. Lana specializes in embroidery and sells coasters like these in her shop so I would say her customers are buying a quality product.

 They are so pretty and feminine. I am already using it to protect my office desk from my hot coffee cup.

Thank you, Lana, you made my day!

Snowflake cross stitch mini wall decor

Winter holidays are all about home, family, friends and a great time spent together. The house is becoming brighter with Christmas lights and warmer with the cheerful spirit.

The shops are full of Christmas decorations but your handmade creations are always so special. I don't have too much time in December so I am always trying to make something quick and easy, just in time for the Holidays. 

I stitched this little snowflake ornament this year and thought you might like to make it, too.

You will need:

a round ornament frame, 2 1/2" in diameter (I purchased mine at Jo-Ann)

Aida fabric, 28 count, Sand

DMC threads, #3842 and # 3841

14" long silk ribbon, blue or preferred color of your choice

First of all, make your stitching (a free pattern below) and trim to fit the frame.

If you are happy with the color of your frame, leave it like it is. If you would like to make it a bit different then paint your frame to your liking. I made mine copper and add some patina as a special touch.

 Frame your stitching, add the ribbon and you are done! 

 Free cross stitch chart:

Enjoy your Holidays!

Snowflake to cross stitch, free design

The holidays are in the air and it's time to think of decorating our homes. I stitched this very simple snowflake design for my tree and thought I would share it with you.

I finished it as an ornament but you can put it on a post card or use it for the elegant accent winter linen pillow. As the ornament it will looks lovely on a door knob or a Christmas tree.

I used evenveawe fabric in my design, some DMC colored cotton threads and golden metallic thread, Swarovski Crystals, a tassel and some ribbon. Feel free to decorate your work as your wish!

If you are needing some of the materials I will sell some of mine - please let me know!

Happy Holidays!

Good gifts for your Mom

Have you thought of gift for your Mother yet? Mother’s day is almost here!

We are grateful to our moms for love, care and the sweetness which they give us during our whole lives. So there is no doubt they deserve the most elegant and thoughtful gifts and actually not just for a holiday but every day!

While I was looking for a gift for my mother on Etsy I came across with this lovely little shop BelleCoccinelle. There is so many little treasures here!

Each item in the shop is carefully embroidered by Lana, the shop owner or done on her Singer, her old time sewing machine.

I love her framed embroideries and I thought it might be especially nice as a Mother's Day gift.

You can hang them on a wall or right next to your needlework box. It looks great anywhere and it will remind her of you!

Please take a look at her work, I am sure you will find something here for your Mom, too!

Holiday surprises

There is something magical about receiving mail at this time of year. Besides bills it is full of surprises! Greeting cards from friends and relatives, special treats from merchants and the best part, unexpected little packages from your online friends.

This package was a total surprise! I am not very patient person when it is about cute brown packages... so I ripped the envelope off right there, by the mail box.

So here it is, my wonderful new holidays ornament from Lana at FineEmbroidery!It is totally great. Lana is making great personalized items and she made this pillow just for me - look, it says: www.socksandmittens.etsy.com !Perfect colors, festive mood, it seems that 2011 might be a fun year when you have an ornament like this!Thank you so much, Lana, it was a very, very nice surprise!

Free cross stitch chart - Joy

From time to time I am just grabbing a thread and some linen and stitching whatever I feel like on it at the moment.Since it is Christmas time and I am trying to make a nice presentation of my gifts I was thinking of something quick, festive and simple - that's how this little design was born. I would use it to stitch an ornament or a gift bag.

Please feel free to print it and use it for your own pleasure but please do not resell the chart. If you'd like to use it on your blog please let me know and please link this chart to my blog.

Thank you and enjoy!

Interview With A Star - Lana from FineEmbroidery!

You never know where you will find a friend. It can be a coworker, a salesperson at your favorite store, an Internet friend or a neighbor next door. Sometimes you know someone for years and sometimes you just need a couple of conversations to feel like you known them for a life time.

So, I am happy to introduce my fellow etsian and friend – Lana from FineEmbroidery!
She creates wonderful embroidered pictures, cards and also makes beautiful purses. You can see her work at both of her shops, FineEmbroidery and FunEmbroidery. Since it is the beginning of fall wedding and the holiday seasons, I’ve asked Lana to tell us about her passion to make embroidered cards.

Q: Please tell us about your journey to art of card making
A: I started to make embroidered cards about 10 years ago. I always wanted the gifts I gave to my friends and family would be very special and unique. So I made my first card for my friend. Later I found out that Stitches magazine was holding an international Great Greeting Card Contest for the best embroidered card in several categories. I decided to give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised to see my card was one of the winners! My modest card got first prize in General Category!

Since then I got this passion for card making. I entered the very special world with unlimited possibilities but with some minor rules and limitations. The card should be a certain size to fit an envelope. It does not have to be loaded with details like an oil painting, for example. It must be pretty, festive and it should be desirable to most people. The best part in card making is I am not limited in my creativity!Since then I started to make lots of cards for kids and friends, for the holidays. Also for those who just fell in love and those who are planning their wedding ceremony I have romantic cards.
It is like a game to me. I have to be different all the time while making these! I sent 2 or 3 different style cards to contests and I was winning in 2 or 3 categories! Since all participants remained anonymous until the last moment, the judges were so surprised to see that the winning cards were made by the same person!

Q: What would you say makes your cards unique and why will people love them?
A: To make a great card you need to think of the person who will receive it. You have to think of what he or she would like to see on their new card.
For a child I would choose something magic, like a gingerbread house for Christmas:The walls of this gingerbread house looks like they are made out of cookie dough and the snow covered roof seems to be made out of frosting. The colorful dots look like they are made of little sweet candies and chimney looks like it is a candy cane. This gingerbread house was stitched on transparent organza so you can even look through its windows! This card will look wonderful as a Christmas Tree ornament too.

The next card I offer is a charming romantic card for the bride-to-be:Everything here reminds me of a lovely gentle brides image: the soft lavender background, the elegant white lilies and the lace border embellished with little tiny pearls:
The next card I am presenting was made with the thought of my friends who I love dearly. I named this card a “Present From The Depth Of My Heart”. It features a lovely bouquet of pink flowers on top of a wrapped gift:I won two prizes at the same time for this card, a Grand Prize and also First Place in the Birthday category.


In conclusion I would like to compare myself with a bee. When a bee is not making honey it is dying. I can not live without embroidery, it’s my life!

Thank you, Lana, for being with us today!

You can find Lana's beautiful cards at her stores:
FineEmbroidery
FunEmbroidery

Two Blue Houses

My stitching is done, finally:

I had a lot of pleasure doing it. This wonderful design Two Blue Houses by Little House Needleworks is so pretty and will suit my Holidays decor perfectly this year!

Linen and DMC threads were used to create it and I am sure happy with how it turned out!

All I have to do now is find the perfect frame ...