A to Z Challenge: Z is for Zoo

Today is the last and final day of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  It's been a fun experience, but I am definitely read to think about more things to blog about than alphabet letters (haha).

Z is for Zoo

Although my normal Free Pattern Friday post isn't until tomorrow, I thought it might be fun to wrap up this challenge with some free patterns, and they even fit into my Z letter post too.

This is a zoo themed alphabet by Lucie Heaton.  She does a lot of alphabets for the British cross stitch magazines, but if you're not familiar with those, you may have not seen her work before.  She's definitely a cute and whimsical designer for most of her projects (although she does artistic well too). 

These cute little letters would be great for monogramming projects, or you could string them together to make a room sign or personalized tote bag.  They are free to download in three different formats from the Cyberstitchers site.  You do have to download them in sections though, so that's a bit of a bother, but not too much trouble.  Here's the links for A-F, G-L, M-R, S-V, and finally W-Z.

I hope you have enjoyed this trip through the alphabet with me this April.  It's been a lot of work, but a lot of fun too.  I do plan on doing it again next year, although I'm not sure exactly what format it will take.  Guess I have a year left to decide those specifics.

Here's a link to all my past A to Z posts in case you missed any you would like to visit. 

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery 
W is for Wreath 
X is for X's and Oh's 
Y is for Year

A to Z Challenge: Y is for Year

Today is Day 25 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, the penultimate challenge posting day.  If you are just now coming to the blog for the first time and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

Y is for Year of Chalk

Have you noticed how popular chalkboards are getting lately?  I remember when our elementary school got whiteboards installed.  It was a big deal because they were the next best thing, and no longer would teachers have to deal with dirty, dusty, squeaky chalkboards.  But the humble chalkboard is certainly making a comeback, and that has filtered into cross stitch too.

Hands On Design has come out with a monthly pattern series they're calling A Year in Chalk.  There's new small pattern released for each month (they're up to June at the moment).  The idea is to stitch the light colored motifs on black or dark gray fabric, and then end up looking like little stitched chalkboards.

With my love of all things involving monthly patterns, I wasn't sure about these at first.  Frankly, I found them a little boring.  But I've been watching one of the blogs I read work her way through the designs and I've started liking them a lot more.  I like how some months add subtle touches of color, giving the design new life, but still making it look like it was created with pastel colored chalk. It will be interesting to see the rest of the series revealed as the series goes on.

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery 
W is for Wreath 
X is for X's and Oh's


And see you tomorrow for the final day!

A to Z Challenge: X is for X's and Oh's

Today is Day 24 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Only 3 days left.  Are you sad?  If you are just now coming to the blog for the first time and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

X is for X's and Oh's

So actually it wasn't hard to find something to cover for X.  Surprising, huh?

X's and Oh's is a designer that is fairly new to me, and I haven't had the pleasure of stitching any of their designs yet. I first discovered them through the Dragon Dreams Facebook Fan Group, where Dragon Dreams Designer Jennifer shared this Hoppy Dragon design.  Although she isn't actively putting out designs anymore, she had teamed up with X's and Oh's to create a series of holiday patterns featuring dragons.  I think this Easter one is my favorite, but I also like the Halloween one called "Boo".  So far there's 5 in this series total: Hoppy, Boo, Noel, Love, and Party.

So after discovering them I of course had to explore their website a little bit (of course).  They have a wide range of other designs, but one that caught my eye is this series of flower teacups they're releasing for each month.  Kind of reminds me of the Vermillion Stitchery teacups I posted about on Saturday.  Although I feel like there's more continuity between each month in this series, since the teacups are almost all the same (I think, the whole series isn't out quite yet). You know I had to share the daffodil one since it's for March, didn't you?  I love the extra detailing on the stripe on the teacup and on the head of the spoon, and I really love the font they used at the bottom too. 

X's and Oh's also has quite a few patterns along the humorous side.  Being the fanatical cross stitcher I have been lately, this particular one really tickled my funny bone.   My family probably wishes I did something other than cross stitch in the evenings lately, haha.

So that wraps up this (somewhat shorter) post on a new-to-me designer. One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery 
W is for Wreath

A to Z Challenge: W is for Wreath

Welcome to the last week of the A to Z Challenge.  As I mentioned last week, I'm starting to get a little burned out, so I'm glad to see this challenge wrapping up, but proud of myself for sticking to it too.

Today is Day 23 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

W is for Wreath For All Seasons

Today's post will be a short one, as I'm only featuring one pattern today. This is called Wreath For All Seasons, and is a Dimensions Gold kit.  I bought this when I was feeling particularly ambitious as I got my stitching mojo back last year.  Well, I opened the kit, took a look at it, and promptly lost my nerve.  Number one reason why?  Blended stitches.  Yup, small thing, I know.  Anyway, it's still in my stash and I still plan on starting it someday soon, although for now it's been pushed aside by less intimidating projects.

I'm sure this one will look so spectacular when it's done though.  I think I've mentioned before how much I like seasonal pieces, and I was really drawn to the fact that this one represents all four seasons in one picture.  My mom collected wreaths when I was little, so apparently I just collect cross stitch pictures of them. 

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery

A to Z Challenge: V is for Vermillion Stitchery

Today is Day 22 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. This also means it is the last Saturday post for the challenge, and also tomorrow will be the last break in posting for Sundays during the challenge. If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

V is for Vermillion Stitchery

Now, V is a letter I thought I was going to struggle with.  And I actually had originally had a different topic in mind for today's letter.  But at the last minute I had a brainstorm, which has brought us to this topic.

I first came into contact with Vermillion Stitchery when I saw a blog post about a Violet Tea Cup pattern the blogger (can't remember who it was, sorry!) was stitching for her grandmother (I think).  After a quick search, I found that the pattern was actually a series of Teacup Posies freebie charts, one for each month.  This led me to explore the other designs Vermillion had.

I immediately fell in love with this series called International Bears.  Although I've never been a huge teddy bear pattern fan (they're okay, I just don't love them or anything) I do love "world costume" type patterns.  And these were just screaming at me.  Apparently they were offered as a series of patterns many years ago, but now are still being sold on the website.  It just figures that the US bears are a pair of cowboys.  Is that the only unique fashion style the US has contributed to the world?

There's another companion set called International Bears II, which I also adore, especially the Elizabethan style bears (appropriately named Henry and Elizabeth) that are down for England.  I also had a friend in high school who did Irish Dancing, so I love that the Irish bears are dancers as well.  The only thing I don't really like about the Vermillion patterns is that they do have a LOT of quarter/three quarter stitches.  I will definitely be waiting to stitch these until I get more comfortable working on linen and evenweave.

Sadly, the site doesn't appear to have been updated since February 2014, so although the above patterns were available for purchase as a digital download, it made me a little nervous.  Luckily, I was able to get a print copy from someone on Facebook.  In addition to the International Bears, she also had the set of Fantasy Bears, so I added that pattern to my stash as well.  Some of these bears I really like, and some are just weird (the centaur for one) so I don't think I'll be stitching all 12 of these someday.

If you'd like to get the Teacup Posies freebie charts I mentioned above, they're still available to download from the website.  But I would hurry and grab them if you haven't already since there's no telling when they will disappear. 

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael

A to Z Challenge: U is for Ursula Michael

Today is Day 21 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

U is for Ursula Michael

I know I've talked about Ursula Michael and her designs during the challenge before, so I'm going to try to keep this one shorter today.

Ursula is a designer with a huge array of designs.  She does everything from seasonal and inspirational to quilt patterns, to the excellent typography designs.  I have a few of these ones, a Christmas tree, and a spring one.  If you'd like to see some excellent progress on the seasonal ones, I suggest checking out Jeremiah's Mom's blog, since she's been working on them (and finished one so far).  I have several of these shaped word designs on my wish list, but I'm most excited about someday stitching this one that's shaped like an ice cream sundae called Let's Eat Dessert.  Yum.

And speaking of yum, this design called Dessert Makes Me Happy was what brought me to Ursula's designs in the first place.  I saw someone stitching this on one of the cross stitch forums I read and it was just so cute I had to find out more about the pattern.  That lead me to Imaginating, which is a company that distributes many of Ursula's designs (although not exclusively).  If you're a digital pattern person, you should visit Ursula's pages on Crosstitch.com, since many of her designs there are only available as download.  And she's fast!  She has been adding new designs every few weeks or so, it's crazy!

In additional the word designs, I love the shaped words she's done for several of the holidays.  Right now there's a Trick or Treat, Give Thanks, Happy Holidays, and this is the newest one, Happy Easter.  I've always loved art that has normal items shaped into letters (I blame this Disney logo from my childhood), and that combined with my love of holiday and seasonal patterns, makes these perfect.

And speaking of my love of seasonal patterns, Ursula also has a beautiful series of stained glass window patterns, one for each season.  I don't have room to show all 4 in this one post, but this is the spring one, which is one of my favorites.  Daffodils again.  

And now this post is starting to get longer, so I will wrap it up rather than risk waxing long. 

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
 

A to Z Challenge: T is for Travel

Today is Day 20 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, which means we're down to the last seven posts. If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

T is for Travel

T is also for "trying to keep up" apparently.  I hope you all are enjoying these posts, as I'm getting a little burned out to tell the truth.  But with only 7 posts left to go, I am totally determined to finish.  I think next year I might try stitching things instead, a la the Crazy January Challenge, just for a bit of change!

Anyway, back to Travel.  I totally love Satsuma Street's Pretty Little Cities patterns, as I mentioned in my Garden Cat post (back on day G).  Unfortunately, they're a little out of my budget right now.  But I did manage to pick up some similar designs from Dailycrossstitch.com that I thought I'd share with you today.

First up, New York city.  Out of all the ones, this is the one I've actually visited.  I went there my senior year of college with our school for an internship expedition.  Luckily, my major (English) didn't require an internship to graduate, although they encouraged us to do one anyway (I didn't).  But it was fun visiting all the different businesses anyway.  We got to go to Random House's headquarters which was by far my favorite.  It was a book lover's paradise, and I would love to work there (though not live in Manhattan so much).  I would love to go back to NYC someday since we didn't have a lot of time to do the touristy things, even though I did get to do some. The one thing I don't want to repeat is falling down a whole flight of subway stairs.  My knee (and pride) wasn't the same for a week. 

Next up on travel around the world is London.  Most people are always surprised when I say this is the foreign city I want to see most.  Most think of Paris I guess.  But I would love to visit England, and Ireland, and Scotland all for probably like a month.  I have a slight obsession with all things British; I blame my BBC TV show addiction (I'm looking at you, PBS). Sadly, I'm not on the right side of the currency conversion for a trip to London anytime soon. 

Of course, Paris is on my travel list.  But not for the reasons you would think.  While seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and all that would be interesting, I really, really, really want to visit Paris so I can go to Disneyland Paris.  They have some of the most unique Disney rides not found anywhere else in the world: Phantom Manor, Crush's Coaster, a Pirates of the Caribbean featuring real fencing animatronics, a beautiful Sleeping Beauty's castle with a dragon in the basement... I could gush for awhile.  As a total Disney nut, going to Disneyland Paris would be a dream come true.

Which kind of blends into the next city, Tokyo.  I would like to see Tokyo of it's own accord, mostly because I was obsessed with anime in middle school (Sailor Moon for the win!).  But really, I mostly want to visit Tokyo Disneyland.  And even more importantly, Tokyo DisneySea.  If you think Paris has unique rides, Tokyo DisneySea is in it's own league entirely.  I salivate over the thought of visiting.  *sigh*  Maybe someday...  I will have to make sure to bring someone who speaks Japanese though (or at least a few words) because I only know like 5 words of Japanese (yes, what, good afternoon, cat, and meow).

And my last travel pattern I just picked up is this one, Amsterdam.  Which I don't really have a desire to visit at all, although visiting the Van Gogh museum might be nice.  But this pattern was just so cute and colorful, I had to add it to my stash anyway.

So that's the end of what I expected to be a short post, but has now turned out to be huge!  And if any of these patterns interest you, you can find them on Dailycrossstitch.com. 

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis

A to Z Challenge: S is for Sue Hillis

Today is Day 19 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

S is for Sue Hillis

Now I know many of you have probably heard of this designer.  I love the wide arrange of patterns that Sue has, from the funny and/or sarcastic to beautiful arrangements.  But on the off chance that you haven't heard of her yet, I'd like to share a few things with you.

I have a few Sue Hillis pieces in my stash, most of them are Christmas.  I seem to gravitate towards all things Gingerbread House themed, so I was really lucky to get a copy of her Gingerbread street chart last year right before Christmas.  I think it will go really well with my Shannon Wasileff Gingerbread SAL when I finish that (maybe Christmas this year?).

I also picked up this chart at the same time, Calories Don't Count at Christmas.  Since I'm a big sucker for sweets during Christmastime, this fit right into my life.  I mean, candy you got in your stocking really shouldn't count against the diet, right?  I also  really like all the little candy and sweet motifs and things on this one as well.  This is a good chart to show an example of the more funny side of Sue's designs.

I also got this set of charts, More Bah Humbug.  Now, I'm not a bah humbug kind of person, but for some reason these ornaments just tickle my funny bone.  In case it is too small to see properly, each ornament sized design features a Christmas motif where something has gone wrong.  The lights/ornament are broken, the gingerbread man is over-baked, etc.  One of the blogs I follow (sorry, can't remember which one now, if it was yours leave a comment so I can give you a link!) stitched up all these and the ones from the Bah Humbug chart last year around Christmas and they turned out so cute as little ornaments.  I especially like the broken lights and broken candy canes designs in this set of patterns for some reason.  The yellow snow one is a little too weird for me, so I don't think I will ever end up stitching that particular motif though. 

On the wish list side of things, Sue Hillis also has several pirate designs, which are all quite tounge in cheek and funny.  She has two Christmas-y ones that are my favorite though.  Yo Ho Ho Ho has a pirate-y Santa with a candy cane peg leg and Shiver Me Timbers has a pirate themed snowman.  I have a friend who love pirates (Johnny Depp was her not-so-secret celebrity crush for years, although he's been replaced by Chris Hemsworth in her affections now), and I think either of these designs would make great Christmas gifts for her.

Moving away from Christmas, Sue has a few "closet" designs that are neat.  I like this one, Witch Hazel's closet.  Again, another Halloween pattern, isn't that funny.  But I love how her little witch socks are sticking out of the drawers.  And the cute little purple witchy bloomers.  If I was a witch I bet you this is what my closet would look like.

Another holiday pattern, this one from a series of apron designs.  This looks like the only "current" apron design right now based on what I can find (not that I looked that hard, I'm in a hurry to get this posted today), but I've seen others on eBay before so I'm thinking maybe they're just out of print?  But this Easter Bunny's apron is really cute.  I love the baby bunnies sitting waiting in the pockets and all the Easter egg decorating things in all the pockets.  Adorable.

But Sue doesn't just have holiday designs, and in particular I like this one.  This is the Seven Menopausal Dwarfs.  And although I haven't reached this lovely stage of my life yet (thank goodness, since I'm still in my 20s) I think these could also be re-titled the Seven PMS Dwarfs.  My brother and dad so do not appreciate when these show up during that time of month.  Am I right, ladies?

Anyway, that's it for another long designer post. Come back tomorrow for T.  We're nearing the end now!

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules

A to Z Challenge: R is for Rules

Today is Day 18 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

R is for Rules

Today is a pure wish list post, and as such is rather long.  You've been warned.  

R is for rules, and specifically the Christmas Rules design by Lizzie Kate.  There are actually a series of (six?) charts from her "double flips" series, which means you actually get two charts for the price of one.  I really love all the individual Christmas rules in this series, and I think they look absolutely adorable all stitched together like this.  I think I especially like the "listen for reindeer" rule; there's something so whimsical about it.

And while we're on the subject of Lizzie Kate...

There's also a matching set to this one called Halloween Rules, which I like, but I like this series called Boo Club more.  These are just 1 word Halloween phrases with a cute little picture by them.  Actually, there's a Christmas version of Boo Club too (can't think of the name right now) that I do have in my stash, but the Christmas Rules pattern is still on my wish list.

There's also a series of one word patterns called Living With Charm that I also love.  These patterns were actually my introduction to Lizzie Kate.  One of the cross stitch forums I visit had a member who was stitching them, and stitching them together into one piece, and I just fell in love with the effect as a whole.

Now, I can appreciate single Lizzie Kate patterns too.  I love this one called Cat Lessons for People.  Those of you who are cat lovers will totally understand it.  She's also got one called Kitty String that's nice and simple, but I think if I had to choose one cat themed LK pattern, this would be it.

As I mentioned on "A" day in this challenge, I have a weakness for alphabets, and LK has a lot of them.  And although I admire a lot of them, I've really admired seeing this Christmas ABC chart being stitched up by several members during the Crazy Challenge back in January, and it's just kind of grown on me.

Of course, not to be outdone, my love of alphabets is also mirrored by my love of monthly patterns.  So I absolutely adore the Lizzie Kate Year of Blocks Flip Its patterns.  I have about 3 of these now, but someday hope to be able to collect all 12.  I also want to be able to stitch them in the recommend Weeks Dye floss someday, which is normally out of my budget, but I think in the backgrounds on these blocks it really makes such a difference.

So now that I've finished gushing about all things Lizzie Kate, and boring you with another long post, I wish you happy stitching for the rest of the day!

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker

A to Z Challenge: Q is for Quaker

Today is Day 17 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

Q is for Quaker

I'm not really sure how to describe Quaker patterns if you don't already know what I'm talking about.  The best I can do is these samplers tend to be made of up many different small to medium geometric motifs.  The tend to come in either monochrome or simple color schemes.  I would describe them as tending to be more on the country or primitive style.  Of course, that's by no means a complete or hard and fast definition, so don't take my word for it.  :)

I tend to dislike Quaker patterns for the most part, perhaps because I don't really like most country/primitive patterns in general, but I do have one Quaker pattern in my stash (shock and horror).  In fact, Halloween Quaker is one of my Turtle Trot pieces for this year.

So knowing this post was coming up, I pulled the piece out and gave it a bit of an update.  Here it is now:

This is a slightly modified San-Man Originals pattern that you can download for free from Cyberstitchers. You may notice mine already looks a little different than the model picture.  There were a couple motifs I didn't like, so I moved things around a bit and changed the charted colors slightly.  I don't know if this pattern appealed to me because it was a Quaker designed by one of my favorite designers or what exactly drew me to it.  It definitely could have been the cat.  I have a weakness for all things cat, especially a SMO cat.  Although the designer must have at least something to do with it, because if I ever do another Quaker, it will probably be this Valentine's Day one (also by San-Man Originals, and also free for download from Cyberstitchers).

For this one, the draw definitely is the birds.  Or the chocolate.  Or both. 

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins

A to Z Challenge: P is for Pumpkins

Today is Day 16 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.  Since Sundays are exempt from the challenge, this will be my last post for the week until Monday comes around.

P is for Pumpkins

Today's post is another pure wish list post.  Which might be a good thing, since I seem to have been long-winded with my entries this past week.

So P is for Pumpkins, specifically the Pretty Pumpkins pattern (say that three times fast) by Glendon Place.  Again, for someone who doesn't like Halloween all that much, I really seem to gravitate towards Halloween patterns.  Hmmm...

This pattern initially went totally over my radar, but I saw someone in a online cross stitch group I visit stitching it up last year and I just fell in love with it.  Something about those patterns on the pumpkins make all the difference.  I really love how they custom matted the model too, although if I do ever get the chance to stitch this, I will definitely not be able to afford to do it that way!

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls