A Winter Finish: First Snow

 

Ever find a design that seems like it was made for you? When I ran across this beautiful little winter scene in this Etsy shop, I actually gasped. These are my three favorite birds all together in one snowy design: Tufted Titmouse, Black Capped Chickadee, Dark Eyed Junco. Aren't they sweet?

I stitched this on 28 ct. Twilight Mist Jobelan (which I don't think is available anymore) with just a few changes to the recommended DMC. I used 3866 for the birds' tummies and Blanc for the snowflakes, for a bit more contrast between the two. I also toned down the greens a little, using 319 and 320. And I slightly altered the eyes to give them a more round appearance and added a tiny fleck of white for brightness. 

This is one of twelve designs in the Nature Walk series. There are a couple more I'd like to stitch at some point. Check them out if you're a nature lover looking for something different to stitch.

Hope y'all have enjoyed my impromptu mini week of winter. It's been a lovely weather week that has made me so happy and I wanted to share some of that spirit. I can't believe we still have some snow in shady spots, three days after the storm. What a rare and wonderful experience!

Happy Stitching!

Winter in the Sewing Room

I went all out with my winter display this year. I figured I could at least pretend it was cold and snowy... and then! Real cold and real snow! I spent Tuesday, the day the storm hit, stitching on a lovely little design called First Snow (which I started last week!) and watching it snow. Pure bliss. I'll have a finish to share tomorrow, if you'd like to come back and see it!

Babies' First Snow!

 

Y'all. IT SNOWED. This is one of the most bonkers things I have ever seen in my life and I am over the moon! Really, I can't tell you how excited and happy we have been! For those who don't know what all the fuss is about, we're stationed on the Gulf Coast and we just experienced an historic winter storm that dumped snow along the coast from Texas to Florida. It's just unbelievable, in the most delightful way. Here's a look at what it's been like here over the past 24 hours.

It begins...

A gorgeous winter evening 

A glorious winter morning 

What a gift! I have missed this so much, and to experience it here, in the unlikeliest of places, is just sublime. I'm inspired to do a few winter posts this week, so come on back tomorrow and see my winter sewing room decorations. 

Happy Stitching!

Counting Pin Storage

 

When I was a very young stitcher almost 40 years ago, I loved to buy lots and lots of charts. Over the years, my tastes have become more selective and for a long time now I've been buying far fewer charts but more fabric and goodies. One of my favorite goodies is counting pins. As you can see, I have a little collection, some purchased, some homemade. Some were on the cards they came on when I bought them, some were in a small tin. I decided to make a counting pin book.

I already had everything I needed in my sewing room, including the floss bags and binder cover. I get those from Hobby Lobby (I'm sure they're available elsewhere) and keep them on hand because that's what I use to store my hand dyed threads. It just hadn't occurred to me to use them for my counting pins. The only other things I used were cardstock and felt.

I just cut small pieces of cardstock and stapled strips of felt to them. 

Slip them in the floss baggies and put the baggies in the binder and done! All together and organized. 

January Things: Homemade Cocoa & Aliens

 

For a lot of stitchers, maybe most, January is the month with a flurry of new projects. It has become a tradition to begin a new piece on New Year's Day. There are many SALs and monthly series that kick off in January. I don't know if it's still going, but one had stitchers starting a new project every day in January (that one gives me anxiety so we won't dwell on it, but to each their own). I'm not much of a SAL stitcher, but I do almost always have a New Year's Day start, and I do love a good monthly series, but I'm picky about those and like to see all the months before starting one. The point is, it seems a lot of stitchers like to hit the ground running in January. 

Me? Not so much. My approach to January is pretty leisurely, stitching-wise and otherwise. While everyone else is signing up for the gym and eating lettuce and starting 30 new projects, I'm over here burrowing deep down into my winter hibernation, even here in this warm climate. It has always seemed unnatural to me to plunge into furious activity in the middle of winter. I do that in the spring. But in January, I hibernate. 

So I've been playing in my stash and stitching aliens and making cocoa.

Wait. What?

Yes, we're off to a delightfully weird start this year. This is my first finish of 2025, Get In Loser, by Jen Medrano of Under the Sea Fabrics. I spotted the stitched model when I was in the shop in December and bought the chart immediately. I mostly followed the suggested colors, but didn't have the glow-in-the-dark beads so I just substituted the lightest green. I stitched it on 28 ct Monster Mash Lugana from PTP, which (bizarrely) has become my go-to fabric for a wild night sky.

Mooo.

You know how when you take down the Christmas decorations the house looks a little bereft? A lot of my Christmas decorations are actually winter decorations, so I put away the Christmassy stuff and leave the rest out and it really helps keep the house looking cozy.

During the holidays, my favorite French Vanilla cocoa disappeared from the stores and I couldn't find it anywhere. I went on the hunt and found a recipe for a homemade mix that is a perfectly good substitute. I also made a little cocoa tray for my kitchen. Very cozy.

French Vanilla Cocoa Mix

1 1/3 c. powdered milk

1/2 c. confectioners sugar

2 oz. French Vanilla powdered coffee creamer

1/2 c. chocolate Nestlé Quick

1/3 c. plain powdered coffee creamer

pinch of salt

Mix well and store in an airtight container. Use 3 generous tablespoons of mix per mug of boiling water. Add LOTS of whipped cream and drizzle with chocolate. 

Where else can y'all get cozy tips, cocoa recipes, and alien stitching, all in one post?

Hope you're all safe and well. I'm keeping Southern California in my prayers. Back soon with sewing room stuff.