First Finish, 2005

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My first finish for 2005: the Prairie Schooler Santa pattern from 2001. I began this in the first week of January, and stitched it on a nice Charles Craft hand towel (14-count Aida, off-white). These Prairie Schooler Santas are an annual series, and I picked up this chart the week after Christmas at the Thistle in Glastonbury. I like a few of the other patterns as well (there are a ton of them!), especially 2000 and 1999.

Other finishes from late 2004:


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1. White rooster, on 14-count white Aida. This is the first of two roosters in a set. They'll be made into trivets when they're both finished. The second one is all done except for part of the border, and the backstitching. I plan to keep these.

2. Another black cat from the Rico book, on 14-count white Aida with three strands of Anchor floss. This is the third of these cats I've stitched, and my favorite so far. I added the border myself, in the same four floss colors used in the pattern. This is also planned for a trivet. These little cats are so quick and fun to stitch!

3. My first evenweave piece! It's on 28-count ivory evenweave, and I think it's Monaco fabric. I'm not certain though because it was part of a kit. Two strands of DMC floss over two threads on the fabric. The design is from a painting by Marjolein Bastin. This evenweave is fun and easy to stitch on, and I really liked how springy it was. I enjoyed this so much that I bought another small Bastin kit (a different design). I've thought of using this piece on the top of a wooden box, or in the bottom of a small tray. I love those little birds!