Cross stitching for my daughter!

I had to follow up my last post with another about the cross stitch gifts I'm making for my daughter!  She took French in high school and has always wanted to work in Paris, so most of the things for her are in French.  She has been to Europe four times and loves to travel!

I'm stitching the free Positive Thinking SAL from Jardin Privé in French, La Pensée Positive, for her.  This is on 18 ct baby pink Aida.  I finished part 2 using Cosmo Seasons variegated floss for the words.

La Pensée Positive update #3

I'm also using VMSS floss for the rest of the design.  I just found out that Nancy of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is giving 10 lucky winners 5 skeins each of her hand-dyed floss in spring colors.  Her floss comes in 20-yard skeins so this is 100 yards for each winner!  Enter HERE and tell Nancy that I sent you!  Drawing on March 10.

The Hungarian Peacock Sampler will also be a gift for my daughter.  I'm using Cosmo Seasons variegated floss for this one, too.  I added another pretty peacock.

Hungarian Peacock Sampler update #1

This will be a hanging sign that says Merci on one side and Thank You on the other. It is a freebie from gazette94 that you can find HERE.  I used DMC 48, variegated baby pink floss on pale green mint parfait Aida.

Merci - FINISHED!

"Merci"
Designed by Claire Findlay
gazette94
14 ct mint parfait Aida
Started 2/28/2012, Finished 2/23/2014

Another one I'm stitching for her is Leo, a freebie from Stitch Alley, since that is her zodiac sign.  Her birthday is in August.  They have all the zodiac signs and lots of free charts.  I stitched his back and tail.

Leo update #3

The first cross stitch gift I made for my daughter was A Paris Kiss by Vervaco.  I only stitched it when she was at work, so it was a complete surprise when I gave it to her for her birthday!  This was my first time stitching on linen.

A Paris Kiss

She picked out this Day of the Dead sugar skull from the Twisted Stitches book, so I stitched this one for her, too!

Day of the Dead

I also made her this bookmark.  "J'aime lire" means "I love to read."  This was a freebie from Les petits bonheurs de Miss T blog.

J'aime lire bookmark

I've also stitched these French Christmas ornaments for her future Christmas tree, but haven't finished them into actual ornaments yet.  We really should have a crafty weekend some day and finish them up!

Bon Noel

Boule Bordeaux

Boules Baroques

C'est Noel

These are all freebie designs from gazette94, Le Blog de Vava, and The Sampler Girl.

Crazy January start #14

Day #14 of the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge is Spring Sampler from Dinky-Dyes Designs.  This chart pack came with all the Dinky-Dyes variegated floss and I'm using 28 ct white linen.  The finished size will be 4" x 5".  This floss is so pretty!

Spring Sampler

The companion piece from my WIPocalypse list is La Pensée Positive (Positive Thinking) from Jardin Privé.  This was a free SAL that started in September with one part per month but I only finished the first part.  Today I started the lettering in part 2. I'm stitching on 18 ct baby pink Aida with Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss and Cosmo Seasons variegated floss for the letters.

La Pensée Positive update #2

There is a new SAL (stitch-a-long) group on Facebook called Positive Thoughts SAL for stitchers just starting this design.  You can download all 5 parts of this free pattern on Les Marottes de Nathalie blog.  It comes in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German versions!

Jardin Privé SAL and Igloo!

I finished Part 1 of the free Jardin Privé SAL called La Pensée Positive (Positive Thinking).  Now I have to wait until October for Part 2.  You can find it on this blog, Les Marottes de Nathalie.  There is also a Facebook group for this SAL HERE.

La Pensée Positive update #1

This is how it will look when it's finished:

There is a mistake in the English version (sunhine) but I'm sure it will be fixed before we get to that part.

I'm not as close to being finished on the Cut Thru' Igloo as I thought I was!  I just discovered that my working copy didn't include the last three lines of the chart. Oops! Now I'm finally down to the bottom and nothing but water and fish to stitch until it's finished!

Cut Thru' Igloo update #23

If you scroll down to the bottom of the Bothy Threads Cut Thru' Monday SAL page, you can see that Alexis has started stitching the Igloo, too!

New start, TUSAL, and more stash!

I just found out about this new free SAL from Jardin Privé!  It is called La Pensée Positive (Positive Thinking).  It comes in five parts, one each month, and just started in September.  You can find it on the blog, Les Marottes de Nathalie.

La Pensée Positive

It will have this quote from the book, "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale:  "The way to happiness:  Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry.  Live simply, expect little, give much.  Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others." 

The chart comes in English and French versions.  I'm going to stitch the French version for my daughter.  I'm stitching it on baby pink 18 ct Aida using DMC and Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss.  The flowers are supposed to be pink, but I'm using a pink/purple over-dyed floss instead.

Here is a picture of my ORT jar for the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long.  Check in on Daffycat's blog with your September blog post, too!

TUSAL 2013 #9

I'm happy that I bought this Disney cross stitch kit from someone on Facebook.  It is called Family Dinner and features lots of Disney characters having Thanksgiving dinner together.  Maybe I'll start it next year.

I was so lucky to get the traveling pattern, Life's a Stitch by Lizzie*Kate from Annette, California Stitcher.  This chart has been all over the world, from Canada to South Africa to France, back to Canada and then to California.  I'll have a giveaway when I'm finished and pass on this chart.  Annette was so generous that she also sent me a Joan Elliott alphabet book and a pretty zippered pouch full of Cosmo floss and handspun silk thread from Dragonflylotus, and a beautiful handmade card!  Thank you so very much, Annette!

A friendly stitcher on Facebook also sent me the chart, Woodland Splendor by The Sweetheart Tree.  It is a heart with acorns and oak leaves.  I already have the name of the next stitcher who gets this traveling pattern after I finish.

Cross Stitchers are such wonderful people!