I can't let Christmas go this year

For whatever reason we are still celebrating the winter holidays here at home. A friend recently introduced me to this book and let me tell you I am smitten! And I have re-connected with the inner cross stitcher in me! Check here for a previous post about cross stitch.

This little Santa number is almost finished, but there are three reindeer in front of him and his sleigh. I haven't decided what I will do with the finished piece (frame vs. pillow-type decoration), but I am really liking the red/white contrast. And stitching on nice linen, while potentially expensive, makes a big difference in the look and feel of the final project.

The Rainbow of Stitches is an amazing book - tons of delicately modern and timeless motifs to work from. Many are charted cross-stitch patterns, but there are also a lot of basic embroidery designs that would be manageable even for the beginner. The project photos and ideas are elegant and inspiring. I decided to add this book to my personal library. Since its not a knitting book, that should give you an idea of how good I think this book is (smile).

Keep your eye out for a few more small projects from this book over the next year for the girls. I've had requests for an ice cream cone, a dog and a train. Maybe I will even tackle a sampler. The inner cross stitch maven has awaken indeed!

ps. I did a tremendous amount a cross-stitch as a child. Mostly on that really large-count cotton cross stitch cloth. My mom introduced me to the craft and I have made many a project over the years. I would be tempted to tell you that I swore off it in high school (how could cross-stitch possibly have made me cool?) but I recently uncovered this as-of-yet-unfinished beauty dated 1995. That was my senior year. Hah. With this lying around I find it difficult to deny that I knew (dated?) DMC as a teenager.