We’re back with the final installment of Stitching with Susan! We hope that you’ll join us in a HUGE round of applause:). Thank you so much, Susan, for sharing your stitchy knowledge with us. We certainly feel armed and ready for some cross stitch greatness!!
It’s Susan Ache, yardgrl60 on Instagram, back again to talk Christmas.
I’ve been here before talking about cross stitch, my favorite kinds of stitching, floss choices, and being a rebel with your own stitching. Well, today I’m here to show you my newest box of designer colors for Christmas. I even designed a small Quaker Sampler Christmas chart for you to play with.
Let’s talk my choices of colors, how to go about deciding the fabric for your stitching, and how to calculate how much you need.
These colors were truly an easy choice for me, they combine my favorite reds and greens with a gold and a dash of pink to make my Christmas stitching happy. The stitching project was a joy to design because I was able to combine some wonderful motifs, a bit of of alphabet, and some definite Christmas spirit to this.
Let’s talk size of design. This design is 100 stitches wide by 80 stitches high. Why is that important? Well, you need to know how much fabric to buy. I have said before that 36ct linen is my favorite stitching fabric so let’s do the math. I stitch over 2 threads which means I need to divide my stitches into the entire design size. So, half of 36 (remember over 2) is 18 into 100 is about 5.5 inches, that’s my finished design width. The height is 18 into 80 which is about 4.4 inches high. To make sure I have enough for framing or any other sort of project, I will give myself at least 3 inches all the way around this finished piece. So, I need to cut my linen about 11.5 inches by 10.5 inches.
I do know that not all people love to stitch on the size linen I do, so that is why your stitch count is important to know when selecting your own stitching fabric. How about we do another math with this same project size? Let’s pretend you want to stitch this project on a 28ct linen, well, I am sure you are going to be stitching over 2, so take that 28 in half is 14. Divide 14 into the 100 for the width and then divide into the 80 for the height. I came up with approximately 7.1 x 5.7 inches, for my final design area, did you? So, if it was me, I would cut my 28ct linen about 13 x 12.
If you are not stitching over 2 linen threads, then all you do is divide your linen count into the stitch count and you have your measurements. Make sure in all of your stitching that you do give yourself enough space all the way around to insure framing or any other project you want to include this in.
I hope that you love my Christmas colors as much as I do and will enjoy stitching the chart. Even if cross stitch isn’t your prefered hand work I certainly hope that they bring happiness to any project that you have in your lap for stitching.
Until next time, happy stitching…
Susan
GIVEAWAY
To enter-to-win the Little Quaker Christmas Collection, including the free Little Quaker Christmas Sampler (shown below), click here to head to the Rafflecopter entry page. You do not have to complete all the options to be entered but the more options you choose, the more entries you have! The Giveaway will run from now until 11:59pm on Saturday, August 4 and we’ll select one random winner per week for a total of 4 winners! Good luck!
ABOUT SUSAN
Instagram — Susan’s Book
A love of color, makes it is easy for Susan to grab inspiration from her native Florida surroundings. With no idea other than knowing she wanted embroidery and nine patches in her first quilt, a new world opened up to this mom of now five grown children. Self taught and many hours of reading about the makings of a quilt and quilt blocks has made this an a lifelong passion. Susan is always searching for new and fun ways to show off as many colors as she can in a quilt. Most of her quilts are a creative impulse from trips to the garden center, a photograph, or browsing through paint chip selections. “I really never see just the quilt, I seem to see the quilt in the room that it belongs in”. Working in a quilt store for years helped to pursue that passion of color and the fabric inspired life she enjoys while she constantly striving to make her next favorite quilt.
THREAD COLLECTION DETAILS
Little Quaker Christmas
100% Aurifil Cotton, 10 Large Spools, Aurifloss (18yds/spool)
Colors included:
1231 – 2886 – 1147 – 5016 – 2140
2420 – 5002 – 2255 – 2270 – 2250
What a lovely collection of colours in your thread box. Absolutely Christmas!
I love Aurifil threads and the Christmas sampler using those soft colors is adorable.
What a beautiful design done with beautiful threads. Love the colors.
This just gets better with every post! beautiful work!
That’s sweet to say! I write like I talk….one big run on sentence!! 😘
I love the Christmas colors, and the sampler is beautiful.
Such a pretty pattern! I love hand stitching because it both provides relaxation and energizes me.
I love this sampler, it is beautiful work done with quality threads. It really captures the gentleness of Christmas.
Where can I purchase the Quaker Christmas
My favorite online shop is pumpkinvine corner. Email Jean so she can make sure she gets you one!!
I’m not on Facebook, Instagram and most if the time, not online. The Little Quaker Christmas project. How can I order a kit, or at least the pattern. Is is so nice!
Thank you.
Cross stitch has always been my go to hand work. Love the colors and design. Nice to see a piece in not so traditional colors.
Absolutely gorgeous. Handwork for me is very relaxing.
What a sweet collection to communicate the warmth and joy of Christmas expressed in Susan’s Merry little sampler.
Lovely; I would like to stitch this pattern
I like hand stitching because I can do it anywhere! I like to stitch while watching a TV show and to take my stitching with me on a road trip.
I love to cross stitch, and really like this design. Where can we purchase this chart??
I love the relaxation of stitching, looking at patterns and all the thread colors!
What a Beautiful design!! Your thread colors are yummy as well! ;-D I love hand stitching for a few reasons. I love to create with my hands and it relaxes me and soothes my soul. Creating something for a gift or for my home let’s me share myself with my love ones.
Super giveaway! My fingers are crossed!
usairdoll (at) gmail (dot) com
Beautiful thread colors!!!❤🍏⭐ I would love to be able to stitch this sampler. Christmas in july.
Love everything about this – I’ve not cross stitched in years in lieu of embroidery but this will get be back at it. I love the zen aspect of handwork.
Love her colors and the design where csn i buy the threads in Australia
I’ve done very little hand stitching other than mending, but I’d love to try with these beautiful threads
Thank you so much for sharing your own tips and experience, Susan!
I bought the floss pack but where do I find the chart? It says it is on the Aurifil page and that I can get it with the code on the thread pack but I can’t find it???
Never mind…found it with the scan code 🙂