Cedar Wax Wing

I just checked Tereena Clarke's Artecy Cross Stitch and she has a beautiful free download up for grabs. I am partial to birds so naturally I really like this one, but I think you will too! It makes me want to get back to stitching! See it HERE.
She also has a cute Santa so you have a whole year to do that one. Have fun.

Lay's Potato Chip

Sometimes it is difficult to take a good snapshot of something in a photo frame.  I snapped this view of a project that I completed way back when I was learning to cross stitch.  It is not the first, because as I said earlier on the blog that the barns were my first stitched projects.  This may be my second one, I don't remember for sure but it is somewhere in there as one of my first.

Free Charts

I found this chart while browsing through the magazine Classic Stitches web site. There are several pretty free charts there to download. They will be within the stitching zone drop down button across the top of the page. I found this one listed in the flowers-fruit category and thought it was pretty enough to share.
The design is worked throughout in cross stitch and back stitch.

Free Printable Thanksgiving Cross Stitch

These are so pretty and you can download them free at Artesy Cross Stitch.

Breast Cancer Awarness Cross Stitch Ribbon

With the help of Tereena Clarke, owner of the Artesy Cross Stitch, I found a pink ribbon that is just right for breast cancer awarness month. You can find it here at her website.
It is one of her free downloads. Check out her many other cross stitch kits while you are there. Have fun stitching!!

Free Cross Stitch Charts

The Sampler Girl

Click Here to go to The Sampler Girl for some very nice sampler charts, some for sale and some free ones including charts for the 2008 Presidential election! Stitch a sampler for McCain/Palin or Obama/Biden.

Winter Quartet

This project came from the Better Homes and Gardens Cross Stitch Christmas magazine in the 1999 edition.
It is one of my favorites.

Mill Pond

This piece of stitch work took some time to do. It is called Mill Pond and was published in the February 2004 edition of The Cross Stitcher magazine. The design is by Julia Lucas. This is the first project that I did using the Kreinik thread. Kreinik is a fine metallic filament thread that you use for blending with your regular thread to give your work a little sparkle. This is what I used with the snow stitches to give it a little shimmer. I'm not sure I used it correctly but it turned out pretty anyway. Click photo for an enlargement.

Learn to Cross Stitch

Do you want to learn counted cross stitch but do not know where to begin.  I found an easy tutorial  to download.  It tells you all you need to know to make a stitched chart!! You will find it here at The Yarn Tree. It has an easy pdf pattern If you want to learn, I challenge you to try!

Edit: I found another web page that is full of cross stitch information.  Check the x stitch tutorial page out here.

Everlasting Light

This beautiful Christmas piece was made from a kit by Bucilla. The finished size is 5x7 inches.

Snowman

The little snowman is from one of those little inexpensive kits that I picked up for about one or two dollars. It is the perfect size for making an ornament, decorating a gift jar lid and more. It is very quick and easy to stitch.

Angels

The two finished cross stitch pieces below are from a set of three. I really do not know why I didn't finish the set. These two are the Harp Angel and Violin Angel. The 'missing" one is the Joy Angel.
The charts and instructions for these can be found in the 1999 Better Homes and Gardens Cross Stitch Christmas magazine. The date on the magazine says "display until November 23rd." This Christmas edition has more than 50 easy projects to cross stitch.

Click on photos to enlarge

I've been tagged

I've finally been hit by that thing called "I've been tagged!" It's not that bad if I can only think of 7 things people don't know about me that I don't care if the whole world knows.
Hawgwyld at http://naturalhawg.blogspot.com/ has tagged me. I have to tell 7 things about me that others do not know. So here goes. I'm making this chore as quick and easy as possible.

1. I love potatoes. They are my favorite food. Fried, scalloped, mashed, chopped, anyway they can be served. I've never met a potato I didn't like.

2. I drive a mini-van...a 2005 Freestar. Did Ford stop producing these basically repair free vehicles because there in no money coming in from repairs?

3. I went back to school when I was 40. I took a 1 yr. medical transcription class, finished it in 8 months with an A grade average.

4. I am 2 inches shorter now than I was a few years ago. Getting old does that to you. I dropped from 5'9" to 5'7".

5. If I had a choice of a 2 week free vacation anywhere in the world. I would pick right here in the USA. Somewhere in the mountains, away from people, which brings me to # 6.

6. I like peace and quietness. I do not like big crowds, traffic jams, noisy places, and a lot of strange faces. I feel secure in my own little world.

7. I can't draw a round circle, but If I could, I would be an artist. I admire those who have this God given talent. I believe an artist is blessed with this talent when they are born, and I was not blessed with that.

8. To add an extra one here, I am a 9 year survivor of cancer. As far as I know, I am cancer free.

That's it! Now to pick seven other bloggers to tag. I've thought about it and I really can't pick 7 so I'm picking "you". If you're reading this and would like to be tagged, then I tag you! Drop me a comment or email and I will add a link here to your blog. Go ahead and do this on your blog and choose others if you want to. Was that the easy way out, or what?

Update: Sharon from Creative Origins has been a good blogger and good sport and tagged herself! Click on the link and go visit her blog. She really has a very good crafty blog and makes some very nice things. I just discovered her blog today and now I'll go back and look at more of her things. I've already seen some new things I want to try.

Purse Size Tissue Holder

These are fun little purse size tissue holders that I made partly from cotton cloth and partly from aida cloth with my cross stitch design on it.
Front design


Another Front Design


Back Design of the above


There is a great tutorial on how to make a cloth tissue holder here at another crafty blogger's site.
http://stardustshoes.blogspot.com/2006/03/tissue-holder-tutorial.html

I Gopher For A Good Book

I cross stitched this book mark and sewed it to a cloth backing. I wanted the cute little eye glasses to stand out, so I added a gold thread in with my floss thread. This gave the eye glass frame a gold wire effect, which I like. Below is a close up of that, although the camera does not pick up the gold very well. You can click on any of the photos to get an enlarged view.

Give Thanks

This is a big design. I haven't decided how I will display it. Maybe a small quilted wall hanging?

Friendship Kit

This is one of those little kits you find at the dollar stores. It is easy, and quick to stitch up! I recommend this type of project for the beginner.

Fishing

Trout Fishing
This stitch kit is called Casting a Fly by Dimensions
The finished size is 5x7 inches

Gone Fishin'





Rainbow Trout

Baby Announcement

I completed this kit for a little family member.

Luv My Cat

This chart was from Cross Stitcher magazine February 2004

I Wish You

This is another project that I stitched and gave as a gift.

(to view the poem, click on the image to enlarge it)

GrandMother Saying

I stitched this little saying for my Daughter when she became a GrandMother.

Hummingbird

This was a project that I downloaded free from the internet. This pattern and design is called Anna's Hummingbird and is © by Crossed Wing Collection.

John Deere

This is a project I stitched of an old tractor, but when I look at the image, it puts my memory in rewind...



Edit: You may find a free download of this pattern here: http://www.thecrossstitchermagazine.com/Projects/Free/johndeere.pdf

This takes me back to the days when I was very young, with gardens, fields of corn, and pastures. I can smell the fresh air. There were no nearby highways, so you could actually hear the birds singing.
I remember the corn "shocks" as we called them. After all the corn was gathered, cooked and canned, there would be some ears of corn left on the stalk but they were left behind because the kernels were starting to dry out and not good for eating, for humans, that is.
They were left as winter food for the cows and horses or mules when we had them. Sometimes we only had one cow which was our milk source. I remember a mule which was sometimes used for plowing the garden.
After the corn was cut, we stood it up in shocks. It was gathered up in bunches, and stacked straight up, spread out at the bottom and tied at the top with bailing twine. It was in the shape of a tee-pee. This was a drying process and sometimes left in the field like this until the animals needed it.
We "kids" would make sure one or two of them were tied high enough that we could go into the bottom of the shock and open it up like a tee-pee and play inside. I guess we didn't think about snakes and spiders.
I wonder how many others did this as a child. I'm thinking there were probably many children who did this if they grew up in the country as I did.

Stitched Chocolate

Cross Stitch Sayings

A stitch in time, saves nine
Stitch your stress away
Born to cross stitch
Happiness is cross stitching
Hooked on Stitching
Cross stitchers count
Stitchers bear their crosses
You can "count" on cross stitching
Hands for work, hearts for God
Home is where I hang my cross stitch
Crossing Stitches
I'm stitching, do not disturb
I'd rather be stitching than be in the kitchen
I will cross that stitch when I come to it
Cross stitching is good X-ercise
Itching to stitch
Stitched with love
Cross stitch fever

Patriotic Cross Stitch Squares

I stitched these twenty four squares for a future project. I have not yet decided but it will probably be a small quilt or maybe some cute pillows.