My "Book Seller" Mill Hill #MH14-2305 Winter Cross-Stitch Kit

Of all the cross-stitch pictures I have done I don't have a lot of winter seasonal pictures.  I wanted to change that for my winter season decorations on my fireplace mantels.  So, when I saw the Book Seller Mill Hill #MH14-2305 cross-stitch I knew I would buy it.  Not only does it suit my winter home decorating needs but it's about books and a bookstore, which I also love.

The Book Seller Mill Hill #MH14-2305 pattern uses full cross-stitch and straight stitch highlighting as well as beads of various sizes for emphasis and depth. The Mill Hill patterns usually call for certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the background or border. In this case they were leaving sections of the brown perforated paper border untouched.

In embroidering the cross-stitch I decided to once again utilize the rectangular wood frame jig that my darling husband built for me that I could tape the edges of my perforated paper to. The wood frame jig is a rectangular embroidery hoop of sorts, but without bending the perforated  paper. He had made it out of 1/2" x 1" pine wood strips with an adjustable center strip that I used for this 5.25 x 5.25 square design.

I had learned from previous mistakes that I needed to draw diagonal lines to locate the exact center of the perforated paper as in previous perforated paper cross-stitch picture I have done the picture was slightly off center by a few holes which caused a problem with inserting the needles in the holes along one of the edges of my frame. So, I lightly drew a diagonal line across each corner with a pencil to get the center point of the perforated paper.

A lot of the cross-stitch 5.25" by 5.25" pictures I have made were finished in small 6 1/2" by 6 1/2" shadowbox frames with 5" by 5" openings that I had gotten at Michaels when they went on sale one year.  I used up all the shadowbox frames I had gotten previously and have been looking for them ever since and hadn't been able to find that size again.

I did, however, find some 7" x 7" by 1 1/2" shadow  box frames with a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" opening at Michaels last year and bought a few white ones and black ones when they were on sale.  I was hoping to use one of the white ones with this project.

The directions did not include any instruction for finishing the back.  I decided to finish mine with thin adhesive press-board paper.  I used an 8" by 10" Pres-On sheet that I cut 6" by 6"with kitchen scissors to fit my picture.  The shadow box came with a padded velvet sheet glued to the rigid back of the shadow box frame which was about 1/4" thick.  My cross-stitch picture glued to the thin adhesive press-board paper was about 1/8" thick so I knew this would be a good fit once I removed the black velvet padding fabric that had been glued to the rigid back of the shadowbox.

After adhering my cross-stitch picture to the 6" by 6" thin adhesive press-board paper I inserted it into the back of the frame and then inserted the 6" by 6" rigid back that came with the frame over it. The shadow box frame came with 8 metal clips to hold the rigid back inside the frame which I secured.  The press-board fit perfectly and was the right depth for the shadow box frame.

The pattern called for a green colored wooden frame and for the border of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the picture shown below:

I don't like seeing the perforated sections of the paper within the picture and for the border as I think it makes the cross-stitch picture look unfinished and opted instead to finish the inside of the picture and border with ecru colored DMC embroidery floss sewn as a half cross-stitch using 2 strands of the floss.

I also decided to add a border line around the picture for emphasis using 2 strands of the green floss sewn in a back stitch.

The pattern called for some outlining.  Given I was putting this in a shadowbox I thought certain sections of the picture would benefit from some additional outlining so I decided to add more definition as follows:

1)  The pattern did not call for certain sides of some of the windows to be outlined.  I opted to outline all sides of all the windows (inside and outside) instead using two strands of the green floss.
2)  The pattern did not call for any outlining around the house or Victorian dormer.   I opted to back-stitch outline around all sides of the house and Victorian dormer using two strands of the dark green floss.
3)  The pattern did not call for any outlining on the book seller sign.  I opted to use two strands of the green floss and back-stitch outline along all of the inside and outside of the sign.
4)  The pattern did not call for any outlining on book seller sign.  I opted to use two strands of the brown floss and back-stitch outlined along all sides of the tree and branches.
5)  The pattern did not call for any of the roof's to be outlined.  I opted to outline all the roof's instead using two strands of the green floss.
6)  The pattern did not call for any outlining definition around the bark trees and branches.  I thought they needed more emphasis so I opted to use two strands of the brown floss and back-stitch outlined the sides of all the bark trees and branches.
7)  The pattern did not call for any outlining definition around the evergreen tree.  I thought the evergreen tree needed more emphasis so I opted to use two strands of the green floss and back-stitch outlined several sections of the evergreen tree branches.
8)  The pattern did not call for any outlining definition around decorative tree containers.  I opted to use two strands of the blue floss and back-stitch outlined around the containers.

While the end results of this design were wonderful some things in the kit and in the instructions could be improved upon so I'd like to offer the following constructive suggestions:

The cross-stitch chart was in black and white as was the floss color code and symbol key. Both were easy to read and very clear. While I had no problem with the chart and keys I did have a problem with the way the DMC floss was presented. All of the floss was tied together in one big knot so you had to separate the floss pieces yourself, sort them, and try to interpret which color belonged to which floss # and symbol key on the color chart.

If you only have a few colors to deal with this isn't a problem. However, if you have several different colors to choose from that are close in color then interpreting the chart can be tricky. You may assign the wrong color to the wrong symbol if the colors are too closely aligned. The key code chart should have contained the number of strands that were included in the kit so I would know how many strands I had for the different floss colors.

As I have done with other cross-stitch kits I've completed I had to design my own thread color sorter and symbol key. I took a piece of thin cardboard and cut a 1" x 9" long rectangular piece out to use as a thread sorter. I then punched holes in my cardboard strip in which to tie each of the different colors. Just above the hole I wrote the DMC floss # and just below the hole I added the respective cross-stitch symbol. I then inserted the floss threads that went with that # and symbol through the hole and tied them in a loose knot. This kit could be much improved if a thread sorter with respective #'s and symbols was provided.

The beads were contained within three small Ziploc bags which was fine. The chart had footnote symbols to help distinguish which beads were within which bag.

My results with the totally finished background, border and frame is shown below:

Despite the relatively small issues I had encountered with the kit I was happy with the way my "Book Seller" cross-stitch picture turned out.

As always, my comments are meant to be constructive to enable future purchasers to benefit from my experience and to enhance their ability to create a wonderful little cross-stitch design.

My Snow Days - Mill Hill Cross-stitch Kit

Given that I hate snow you might be wondering why I'm cross-stitching a snow picture.  Well, the simple answer is I needed to for my winter decorations that I display on my fireplace mantels over the various seasons.  I have a ton of  Christmas and now Spring & Summer cross-stitch  pictures, but not a lot of winter ones.  So, when I saw the little "doggie" button that was included in this kit I knew I would buy it and make it.

The Snow Day #MH14-9302 pattern uses full cross-stitch and straight stitch highlighting as well as beads of various sizes for emphasis and depth. The Mill Hill patterns usually call for certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the background or border. In this case they were leaving sections of the brown perforated paper border untouched.

In embroidering the cross-stitch I decided to once again utilize the rectangular wood frame jig that my darling husband built for me that I could tape the edges of my perforated paper to. The wood frame jig is a rectangular embroidery hoop of sorts, but without bending the perforated  paper. He had made it out of 1/2" x 1" pine wood strips with an adjustable center strip that I used for this 5.25 x 5.25 square design.

I had learned from previous mistakes that I needed to draw diagonal lines to locate the exact center of the perforated paper as in previous perforated paper cross-stitch picture I have done the picture was slightly off center by a few holes which caused a problem with inserting the needles in the holes along one of the edges of my frame. So, I lightly drew a diagonal line across each corner with a pencil to get the center point of the perforated paper.

A lot of the cross-stitch 5.25" by 5.25" pictures I have made were finished in small 6 1/2" by 6 1/2" shadowbox frames with 5" by 5" openings that I had gotten at Michaels when they went on sale one year.  I used up all the shadowbox frames I had gotten that year and have been looking for them ever since and haven't found them again.

So, I decided to buy some 8" by 8" hand painted wood frames that Mill Hill created for their cross-stitch pictures.  This frame is bare bones.  There's no glass or plastic cover and there's nothing on the back to hold the picture into the frame.  They do, however, provide a thin 6" by 6" cardboard back and wood dowel for inserting in the holes in the back to allow for the frame to stand on it's own.  Of course, if you're going to hang this on the wall you'd just add a picture hanger to the back.

The directions did not include any instruction for finishing the back.  I decided to finish mine with 1/4" thick self sticking art needle-craft mounting foam.  I used an 8" by 10" by Pres-On sheet that I cut 6" by 6"with an X-acto knife to fit my picture.  Since the depth of the back of the frame for inserting the picture is 1/4" deep the 1/4" foam was a perfect fit for inserting it as well as the cardboard backing that came with the frame.

The pattern called for a teal green colored wooden frame. I  opted to use a blue winter theme painted wooden Mill Hill frame as I though it complimented the snow picture much better than the teal green colored frame.

After adhering my cross-stitch picture to the 6" by 6" adhesive foam board that I bought I inserted it into the back of the frame and then inserted the 6" by 6" cardboard that came with the frame over it.  I taped the back of the cardboard with masking tape to hold it.

The wood frame is 8" by 8" so to totally finish the back I cut a piece of thick decorative paper 8" by 8" to entirely cover the back.  I rubbed purple color disappearing glue stick all over the back and then pasted my 8" by 8" decorative paper sheet on the back.  I signed by name and dated it and was done with finishing the back.  I used a pencil to stab the decorative paper I had glued to the back so I could insert the dowel into it so the picture would stand on it's own.

The pattern also called for the border of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the picture shown above. However, I don't like seeing the perforated sections of the paper for the border as I think it makes the cross-stitch picture look unfinished and opted instead to finish the border with dark green colored  DMC #895 embroidery floss sewn as a half cross-stitch using four strands of the floss.

I also didn't like all the unfinished areas of the perforated paper within the design itself, as shown in the picture above, and opted instead to fill all those areas in with a complementary floss that matched the design sewn as a cross-stitch using 3 strands of the respective floss.

I filled the sky in with a light blue colored floss, the tree areas with the applicable green colored floss, and the snow areas with either the white or ecru colored floss.

The pattern only called for outlining the fringe on the scarf of the little girl on the right.  I thought several areas of the picture could use some outline highlighting to really make it stand.  So I added the following:

1)  Two strands of dark gray floss sewn as a back-stitch along along the sides of the house, roof, chimneys, porch, and windows.
2) Two strands of dark gray floss sewn as a back-stitch along along the sides and inside of the garage.
3) Two strands of dark green floss sewn as a back-stitch within each of the trees to add depth and dimension to them.
4) Two strands of light gray floss sewn as a back-stitch along along the sides of the snowman's body and head.
5) Two strands of dark brown floss sewn as a back-stitch along along the sides of the faces of the three children.
6) Two strands of dark brown floss sewn as a back-stitch along along the sides of the long driveway.
7) Two strands of dark brown floss sewn as a back-stitch along along the sides of the red and white scarf and the fringe.

While the end results of this design were wonderful some things in the kit and in the instructions could be improved upon so I'd like to offer the following constructive suggestions:

The cross-stitch chart was in black and white as was the floss color code and symbol key. Both were easy to read and very clear. While I had no problem with the chart and keys I did have a problem with the way the DMC floss was presented. All of the floss was tied together in one big knot so you had to separate the floss pieces yourself, sort them, and try to interpret which color belonged to which floss # and symbol key on the color chart.

If you only have a few colors to deal with this isn't a problem. However, if you have several different colors to choose from that are close in color then interpreting the chart can be tricky. You may assign the wrong color to the wrong symbol if the colors are too closely aligned. The key code chart should have contained the number of strands that were included in the kit so you would know how many strands you had for the different floss colors.

As I have done with other cross-stitch kits I've completed I had to design my own thread color sorter and symbol key. I took a piece of thin cardboard and cut a 1" x 12" long rectangular piece out to use as a thread sorter. I then punched holes in my cardboard strip in which to tie each of the different colors. Just above the hole I wrote the DMC floss # and just below the hole I added the respective cross-stitch symbol. I then inserted the floss threads that went with that # and symbol through the hole and tied them in a loose knot. This kit could be much improved if a thread sorter with respective #'s and symbols was provided.

The beads are so very easy to lose so I'm always happy to see that more than enough beads have been included within the kits that I've bought.  I usually pour the beads into a small cardboard box that I can easily use to obtain them.  However, the box is lightweight and, inevitably, I end up spilling the beads all over the place.  Luckily, that didn't happen this time, which is fortunate, as there wasn't enough of the green beads or black beads contained within my kit.  I ran out of them and had to punt.  Luckily I had similar beads within my stash.

The beads were contained within three small Ziploc bags which was fine. The chart had footnote symbols to help distinguish which beads were within which bag.

My results with the totally finished background, border and frame is shown below:

Despite the relatively small issues I had encountered with the kit I was happy with the way my "Snow Day" turned out.  It's going to look great on my mantle this winter.

Is Fall Your Creative Season, Too!

When it comes to the Fall Season I definitely get a feeling.  It's a feeling that comes upon me like clockwork. Like some internal drive. Some innate driving force. For sure, it's something!

By now I'm sure you must be wondering what I'm talking about.

Well, I'm talking about my "creativity drive" and the Fall season. There's just something about this season that drives my creativity?  And, it drives me not just a little, but a whole lot.

Every year around the end of August I can start to feel it. This urge to create that starts to show itself.

It starts slowly and builds gradually until it reaches a full-blown crescendo in November. But, I can feel it starting and I know that I won't have any control over it, once again.  You can't fight it, so why not enjoy it.

Every year it just takes over my body. And, then I just have to either sew, create floral arrangements or craft something.  Due to all the different types of crafts I've learned over the years the media could be anything: from mixed media, to paper-clay sculpting, painting, sewing, paper crafts, stamping, etc. You just never know.

Or, I have to design patterns and sew some more dolls. Like I need any more dolls! But, that's a subject for another article!

The point is, I just have to create - SOMETHING! ANYTHING! The more the merrier! At least as far as I'm concerned.  Hubby - well, that's another matter.

Of course, my husband would say; "Why don't you create doing the housework!" Nah! That's no fun.

This inner force, whatever it is has got a creative mind all its own. And, it definitely has a hold on me. Look out, anyone or anything that gets in its way.

Forget the housework - what's a little dirt and dust! Forget the shopping - who needs to eat! Forget the bills - YIKES!!! Forget the family! Oh, boy! That's a no-no! Forget eating - that's okay - it's called creativity dieting!

Even forget to take the dog out to do his business! Come on now that's something you have to do! Well, maybe not. He can hold it.

So, what is it during this season that takes over? I'm not sure but I know that I'm not alone with this. Many crafters that I've talked to tell me that they also experience this. It might be at different times of the year, but they know when it's starting. Maybe it's a crafting thing? When you're in the "crafting", "creating" mode you are "IN THE MODE."

Creative ideas invade your thoughts. I've even had them invade my dreams. You can't sleep - you have to get up and write down your thoughts.  Better keep a pad of paper and pencil next to the bed!

And, when I'm in the mode, I'll craft or sew a lot of things. I might put together multiple numbers of floral arrangements, or anything else that I seem to want to create.

I don't know about you, but I'm a little obsessive when it comes to my sewing. I have to cut everything out first, then sew everything, then put everything together. That means if I have 20 items to cut out I cut all twenty before I start to sew anything.

The same hold true for crafting.

In any event, I never said my way was the way to go about it. It's just my way of feeding my "hungry" inner creativity drive. Maybe I should call it my "hungry" inner obsessive creativity drive?

Sometimes I don't know what's worse. My inner creativity drive or living with over 1,000 handmade dolls. Hmmmm.....? Definitely, living with over 1,000 handmade dolls is worse. They talk back to me.

So, what is this creative drive and where does it come from? Why in late August? Why the Fall season?

Maybe it relates back to the fact that as a child I loved to sew all my Christmas presents and Fall is a perfect time to start? I come from a large family so there were quite a few presents to make.

Maybe it's the act of making presents to give to my loved ones? Generosity drives it? Hmmm..... Probably not.

Or, maybe there's just something about the bright, cheery, vibrant colors of the Fall season? Maybe it's feeling the cool, brisk, New England climate while raking leaves and then going inside to a cinnamon candle burning and a cup of tea or cocoa? Hmmm...... Probably not.

Maybe it's because for every holiday as a child I would scour the woods for materials to make a centerpiece? Or, every holiday season the family would gather together to make a new Christmas decoration? Hmmm.... Probably not.

Maybe it's just because I come from a family of crafters and sewers? It's just plain in my genes - in my DNA. Hmmm.......

Is that possible? Can a person have "creative" DNA? Hmmmm.... I wonder. Creative DNA!

I don't know. I just know that I'm not alone with this. Other crafters have told me they, too, have an inner driving force. I know my sister does.  It always invades her sleep. Maybe the both of us have "creative" DNA?

I don't know if I'll ever find out why I have this drive or what it is about this season that enhances my creativity?

Maybe, however, I should I should stop worrying about it and just enjoy the "creative" moments? Tis the season - the "creative" season that is!

My "Christmas Wishes" Dimensions Gold Collection Cross-Stitch Picture

Like a lot of cross-stitch kits I see I fell in love with the "Christmas Wishes" Dimensions cross-stitch picture the minute I saw it.  It was just too cute to resist.  I keep telling myself that.  In reality I don't think I've ever found a cross-stitch kit that I haven't loved.....haha  "Christmas Wishes"  was just delightful so I knew I'd buy it and add it to my other winter season cross-stitch decorations on my fireplace mantle.

Like the other Dimensions Gold Collection Petites kits I had bought the kit included the pattern, pre-sorted cotton thread, 18 count white cotton Aida, needle and instructions.

The "Christmas Wishes" pattern uses full counted cross-stitch, half cross-stitch, french knots and outline stitching for emphasis and depth and this detailing really makes the picture stand out. It also varies the number of threads used with the various stitches to add to the depth emphasis. The design of this cross-stitch gives the finished picture a 3 dimensional aspect with the half cross stitch, french knots and outlining being used for artistic effect.

The pattern came with starting and working order instructions as well as samples of the various stitches required, color coded keys (with code #'s, lengths, color names, and cross-stitch symbols) and a chart with color coded symbols. The colors and symbols on the keys and chart were easy to read and follow. The pattern did not include instructions for finishing the piece.

While I was very pleased with the end results of this design there are some things in the kit and in the instructions that can be improved upon.

Unlike the problem I had with the size and readability of some of the other cross-stitch charts in the kits I had bought this color chart was large enough and easy to follow.

As was the case with previous Dimensions kits the thread sorter was poorly designed. The embroidery threads were glued to two foam backed 6" by 1 1/4" strips of cardboard that had a picture of the color of the thread and it's number. In order to get to the threads you had to separate the foam back from the cardboard strip. Very quickly the threads separated from their section and then you no longer knew what the thread number was to tie to your symbols & legends.

As I have done with other cross-stitch kits I've completed I had to design my own thread color sorter and symbol key. I took a piece of thin cardboard and cut a long rectangular piece out to use as a thread sorter. I then punched holes in my cardboard strip in which to tie each of the different colors. Just below the hole I wrote the DMC floss # and just above the hole I added the respective color coded cross-stitch symbol. I then inserted the floss threads that went with that # and symbol through the hole and tied them in a loose knot. This kit could be much improved if different thread sorter with respective #'s and color coded symbols was provided.

Short of changing the thread sorter all together to make things even easier for the user the color symbol should at the very least have been shown on the thread sorter strip of cardboard as well. That way you would only need to use the thread sorter strip of cardboard to follow your chart.

I decided to use an 8" by 8" Q-Snap embroidery frame to stitch this embroidery.  The white Aida wasn't big enough to fit into the frame so I sewed 4 muslin strips to the four sides of the Aida to keep the Aida tight and stretched so I could easily cross-stitch this design.

The key split the strands of two of the colors into 1 strand sewn in a half cross-stitch.  I opted for using two strands of the color for the half-cross stitch.

The key also called for 1 strand of various colored floss to be used for back-stitch highlighting of various sections of the picture.  I prefer to use 2 strands of the colored floss to highlight my pictures as I think they look better this way and really emphasis the 3-dimensional aspect of the design.

The pattern did not include instructions for finishing the piece which should have been included for a beginner cross-stitch user. This was not a problem for me as I knew what type of picture frame I was going to use, the  mat I was going to use and the way in which I wanted to finish the picture.

I tend to favor 1/4" foam backed adhesive mounting boards for the cross-stitch pictures I'm inserting into a finished picture frame. I originally was going to use a 1/4" foam backed 8" by 10" adhesive mounting board but discovered that this would be too thick for the picture frame backing I was using and wouldn't allow the backing piece to be inserted into the slot on the back of the frame and allow for securing it to the frame. So, instead, I opted to mount my picture on a 5" by 7" slim foam backed adhesive mounting board which would provide enough room to insert the picture backing into the slots and allow for securing it to the frame.

I had chosen a white frame with blue matting to finish it which I think really brought out the beautiful colors of the little girl and snow globe scene.

I centered my cross-stitch picture on the 5" by 7" adhesive foam board and trimmed the excess white Aida cloth by 1/4" to 1/2" around.  The trimming allowed for me to tape the sides of the Aida cloth with masking tape to the back of the mat board I was using while providing enough room for the double folded corners to fit within the depth of the frame.

You can also finish the back of the cross-stitch by taping the center of each side with masking tape to the cardboard and then sewing four mitered corners into the Aida cloth so the picture is taunt to the cardboard.

Last year I had bought some decorative Washi tapes and hadn't had a chance to use them as of yet.  When looking at the white shadowbox frame and the cheery "Christmas Wishes" picture I thought one of the tapes I had bought would be perfect to decorate the four sides of this frame and really add to the cheeriness of this picture.  So I cut four strips of the tape and adhered them to the frame.

I had also bought some mixed media mistletoe ornaments last year and decided to utilize them at the four corners of the tape.  They came with adhesive backing so they were easy to adhere to the corners.

Despite the problems I encountered I was very happy with the way my Dimensions "Christmas Wishes" picture turned out. I hope you like it too.