In this episode I show my recent cross stitch finishes: The Birdmen Cometh Sampler by Little Robin Designs, Halloween Tails by Lindy Stitches, Winter Bits and Bobs by Homespun Elegance, and a cute snowman design by Raspberry Patch Designs. I show my fabric haul from Grace Notes Fabrics, Forbidden Fiber Co, and assorted linens ordered from 123 Stitch. ​

At the end of the episode I do a personal life update. I discuss my new home and garden YouTube channel focusing on product reviews and my DIY projects. You can now follow along as I update and decorate my home at my new YouTube channel and on Instagram. You can find all of my review videos and Amazon picks at my Influencer Page. I am just as dedicated as ever to my cross stitch, but I also wanted you all to know what else I am up to when I am not designing and stitching. 

Much Love,

​Amanda Mae

In this episode of Flosstube I show my recent holiday themed cross stitch finishes and a little tour of my snowman display in my home. I show how I fully finished and framed Gera's 2022 SAL Christmas Stitch Along, "Peace on Earth." I show my November 2022 needlework haul from a few thrift shops in Pennsylvania. 

Items Showcased on this episode:
1. Discovery Sport Land Rover Car for Kids* is the super cute toy car featured in this episode. I assembled it for my son and he loves it! I decided to make bumper stickers to decorate the rear of the car.   
2. Cross Stitch Bumper Stickers  
3. Whaley Love Winter Chart 
4. Destination North Pole Earth 
5. Autumn Floral Urn 

My Thrift Haul and Cross Stitch Rescues #savethestitches 
1. Merry Christmas letter wall hanging by House of Hatten Made in the Philippines on red 14 count Aida cloth
2. Yellowstone National Park Lupine Sage Brush on 14 count Aida and framed 
3. Mother in Law themed cross stitch, needs to be cleaned
4. Set of green handmade crochet dish cloths
5. Vintage handkerchiefs with machine embroidery with assorted themes and edges
6. Teddy Bear, 14 count cream white Aida. Signed and dated 1995
7. Embroidered Story Cloth, unknown. No maker or date. Tourist piece? This textile needs to be researched further.  Here are a few resources I found:
Story Cloth Resources: 
www.storyclothdatabase.org/database
www.hmongembroidery.org/index.html
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/hmong

Charts and books featured in the episode
1. Kitty Litter Book 5 unknown publisher and designer
2. De Grazia in Cross Stitch, Sundance Designs. My favorite design I want to stitch is the cactus Christmas Stocking. You can search for available charts here*
3. Yule Stitch
4. Bernat Afghans Book 132
5. Lewis and Clark Vol. 2 Quilts inspired by Bird Woman *
6. Sue Hillis Designs: Needlework Trees Something Old Something New #2*
7. Sue Hillis Designs: Happy Quilting
8. Major Presentations Saint-to-Claus Miniatures*
9. Rebecca Waldrop Winter Tapestries by Serendipity Designs*
10. 50 Sports Designs for Cross Stitch
11. Charted for your Baby
12. Wildlife Classics Country Cross Stitch, waste canvas panda bear and groundhog
13. ABC for Baby 
14. Magical Medallions quilt book
15. Pat Rogers Hearts and Flowers Sampler *
16. Creating PA NDAU Appliqué: A New Approach to an Ancient Art Form by Carla J. Hassel*

Finishes and WIPS
1. Winter mushroom, 3 Part SAL by Gera https://gera-m.jimdofree.com/ 
Gera! Japanese designer. @kyokomaruoka 

2. Snowman by Stitchy Princess on Etsy  https://www.etsy.com/shop/stitchyprincess/

3. Let it Snow Envelope by Olena Khirkh-Yalan of Living on the Rainbow published in JCS 2022 Ornament Issue, https://www.etsy.com/shop/livingontherainbow/?etsrc=sdt

4. Rabbits in Winter by Kateryna Voskoboinykova of StitchyPrincess published in JCS 2022 Winter Issue

5. Fabric and Flosstube by Helen Dailey, Helen D  @helend

6. Together  (is a Wonderful Place to Be) by Cecilia Turner of Heart in Hand Needle Art

7. Christmas Sloth, Tiny Modernist, Cross Stitch Favorites Magazine 

8. Autumn by Abby Johns of TopKnot Stitcher Shop #stitchtherainbow design
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9. Christmas Woodpecker by Evdokia Nikolaev of Punochka  published in JCS 2022 Ornament Issue

I stopped into a big box store this week to buy fun adulting stuff like salt for the icy front walkway and cardboard banker boxes for Nashville Needlework Market prep. Thankfully my cart guided me over to the toy aisle. There in the Disney doll section was the most amazing box set of dolls— the Encanto four doll set made by Jakks Pacific.

Within the four pack was the most amazing Disney doll, Luisa. The doll body is a huge departure from the pre-2015 princess dolls produced by Mattel and post 2015 the Hasbro princess dolls. I must say I’m super impressed by Jakks Pacific and their doll design of Luisa. She is strong and muscular. Her frame is large. She looks like the animated character! I immediately searched for the individual doll to purchase, but she only came in the four doll box set. No worries. I had to bring her and her three doll box companions home with me.

My daughter is thrilled with the set. I too am thrilled with all of the dolls. I explained the significance and importance of the varied doll bodies, skin tones, and hair textures within one box set. Remember all bodies are good bodies and representation matters. 

As an Amazon Associate and a Sulky of America Affiliate, if you click on a link I may earn from qualifying purchases. The affiliate links will be indicated with a (*) star symbol within this post. 

It is no secret that one of my favorite counted cross stitch creators is Barbara Ana Designs. I have stitched several of her anthropomorphic animals and a cute mermaid. My latest cross stitch finish is the freebie pattern offered on the Barbara Ana Designs Instagram page. She released it as a complimentary chart with the #bewellandstitch movement. I have stitched both of her Be Well complimentary designs in 2020. I decided to do a thread conversion and use Sulky 12 wt cotton Petites.*  

When I am not cross stitching, I really enjoy making all the things. I have been quilting and crafting. My favorite crafty club is the current Farmhouse Style Kit Club.* I made their first kit, which was the gorgeous felt wreath. My second kit just arrived! It is a soap making kit. I've always wanted to learn how to make soap. Seriously! In case you are interested in the club, Annie's is offering  75% off any Annie's Kit Club with the promo code SHARE75 .

Thanks so much my friends and happy stitching!
​Amanda Mae

This blog post contains affiliate links. All of the opinions are my own. Thank you for your support.

This episode features two new cross stitch pattern releases. So exciting! I also show my WIPS (works in progress) on my Totem pattern by Ursula Michaels, "Light" by Barbara Ana Designs, and a sneak peak of my upcoming design featuring Sulky Poly Star and 12 weight cotton thread. I also show my quilting and crafts with my kids.
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It is so exciting to announce that I have two pattern releases this week! The first is Pear Assortment. This is a 16th century needlework block print that I adapted for counted cross stitch. It was originally stitched in conjunction with my filming and development of the Sulky of America's "Intro to Cross Stitch" video series. You can watch that video series here. 

The second pattern release is "Whaley Love Winter" featured in the 2020 Just CrossStitch Ornament Issue. The model is stitched withSulky 12 weight cotton thread and Hiloshimmer thread. It is stitched on 32 count Indigo linen by Luminous Fiber Arts and mini creamsicle orange pom pom trim by Lady Dot Creates. 

The pumpkin block pattern came from The Cloth Parcel. I decided to make each block into a decorative pumpkin pillow. I added metallic thread to the top stitching. I think I found my new favorite shiny thing and that is Sulky's Poly Star Thread! You can watch the episode here. 

I absolutely love the cross stitch company Prairie Schooler and the designs by Pam Burke. I find the designs super fun and timeless. I stitched two of the Fairie patterns originally released in 1995 and 1996. I combined them both on a scrap piece of light blue even weave fabric that I found at a thrift shop. I decided to use one strand of Sulky 12 weight cotton to stitch both fairies. It got theCrossroads palette set* and made a color conversion. I used this palette for both fairies, but my color conversion only mentions one fairy. 

Once both pieces were stitched together, I went in search of a fun frame. The thrift store gods blessed me with a gorgeous black frame. I used some of charts' motifs to stitch more flowers in order fill out the fabric so it would fit nicely into the frame. I love the results! 

This piece is asked about the most on my Flosstube channel, and I hope my frugal finishing, sustainable stitching (thrifted even weave fabric and frame), and classic cross stitch charts inspires you to create your own fairy piece. Oh and I almost forgot, there are two other fairies! I am currently on the lookout for the Fairy on the snail. So cute!

Thank you and happy stitching!

​Amanda Mae

Behold my new fabric samples from SpoonFlower! My new Halloween fabric designs can be found in my "These Spirits Love Needlework" collection on the Spoonflower website.  The fabric sample swatch of Spoonflower's new Belgian Linen was the main focus of my Flosstube episode. In the episode I open my fabric package and I count the linen threads in real time. I count the threads in to find out if the fabricit is even or un-evenweave linen.

 I decided to film a spur-of-the-moment unboxing of the fabric. You can watch the unedited video on my Flosstube channel right here.  Do you like my new fabric? You can find it in my Spoonflower shop.

Within the embroidery hoop print in the fabric, you could always use Sulky Stick N'Stitch to cross stitch your own design within each small hoop. 

Thank you again for your support and Happy Stitching, 

​Amanda Mae

This post contains affiliate links. As an affiliate, I do receive a small commission if you purchase an item through the link that I have provided in this post. 

This was a week of fully finishing cross stitch projects. I did, however, stop to smell the roses (and sunflowers and peaches...).  You can watch my new Flosstube episode here. 

I am thrilled with "Autumn Dream" and how it turned out in the 11 inch square frame. I removed the glass from the frame and cut a piece of foam core board approximately 10.9 inches square using a utility box cutter knife. The frame I purchased can be found here. It came in several colors, but I chose the "carbonized" wood color. I stitched my piece on a 32 count toasted almond linen and I feel like it turned out great in this frame. 

“Patriotic ABCs” by Barbara Ana Designs can be found in the summer 2020 issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher magazine. I used all of the called for DMC threads. It is stitched on 32 count natural linen. After finishing the stitching, I ironed the piece. Next I used pins, a ruler, and patience to carefully cut the linen to give the piece a three inch margin on all sides. I decided that a thrift store frame I originally got for framing Blackbird Designs “Blessings be Thine” sampler would be perfect to hold this prim eagle sampler.

I feel very overwhelmed and grateful to receive this beautifully stitched bookmark from a stitching friend. Look at that variegated thread in the blackwork! I love that she stitched my motto, "I matter. My Stitching Matters." Thank you so much Vonda for such a beautiful piece. I will treasure it! To my fellow readers of this blog, remember that YOU MATTER and that YOUR STITCHING MATTERS. 

“Remember Me” by Birds of a Feather is complete. I am very excited to have this project completed and framed! I Rit dyed the 14 count Aida fabric. The pattern is stitched using a combination of Sulky 12 weight cotton petites thread and the new Sulky 12 weight Filaine acrylic thread. The witch is stitched in cotton. The houses and the cat are stitched in Filaine. I love the coverage of the acrylic! I am excited to acquire more colors and to work on reproducing a 19th century wool work sampler with acrylic thread.

The frame is one that I found at a thrift store. I removed the glass and used the existing mat board. I laced the piece to the mat board. I used a chenille needle and a single strand of Filaine to lace the project. I know several needlework finishers use upholstery thread for lacing their projects. I have had a lot of success with using 12 weight cotton thread and now I am happy to report that the 12 weight acrylic thread works too.

Thanks to my Flosstube friends last year for helping me to identify one of my Save the Stitches pieces. I found this autumn farm landscape scene at a used bookstore. I took it out of the frame, cleaned it, and then set it aside for more than a year trying to figure out how to fully finish it. Finally I decided to display it. It was already clean but pretty wrinkled. I pressed it with a hot dry iron, and then attached it with two sided stitchery tape to an acid-free mat board. I used my rare earth magnets and E600 glue to attach it to a thrifted easel. The pattern is the autumn scene from the 1990 book “Sloane's Four Seasons” designs by John Sloane from the Something Special/Candamar company. It was stitched on 18 count cream white Aida. I am so happy I found this finished stitch. It looks like you can find a used copy of the chart on ebay. 

While reading this fun book to my kiddos, I remembered there are a few penguins I'd like to stitch from the back issues of Mary Hickmott's New Stitches magazine. Again, I have found some of the back issues available on eBay here. It is fun to read about Antartica while thinking of whales, penguins, and snow to stitch. 

I am happy to report that I was able to venture out to a local farm for “pick your own” season. My family and I picked a ½ bushel of yellow peaches and one peck of tomatoes. It was quite an adventure. I had picked peaches back in California, but this was the first time for my children and husband to pick peaches. Fun fact, the clear plastic bag is a “1 U.S. Peck” size and measures 13.5 inches by 16.5 inches. Now I want to make a project bag and have “I love you a bushel and a peck” cross stitched on the front of it!