Sea Side crossing

I have a new finish to share.  Since we now live closer to the ocean, I was inspired to work on an ocean themed project.  I decided on SeaSide Tiny Town by Heart in Hand.

I got off to a slow start because I couldn't pick an Aida cloth that would show off the many white areas like the clouds and the lighthouse.  After 3 tries, I eventually tried tea dying my own Aida cloth to get enough contrast.

Here is how it turned out:

 Then I finished it by making  a pillow:

I also finished this whimsical little garden scene called "Saltbox Fairy Village" by Petal Pusher:

Crazy Quilt Cross Stitch

I have been doing more cross stitching than quilting lately.  I do have a few finishes, but I'll post them later when I get better photos.  For now, I'm starting on a new monthly project that caught my attention                                 

It's a pattern by Carolyn Manning called "A Little Crazy".  It was a monthly stitch-along back in 2018.  I'm planning on trying to do one block a month as my own monthly challenge.   

I have accumulated a nice little stash of DMC floss over the past year, and I thought for sure I would have most of the colors already on hand.

But...when I sat down and looked at the pattern, I realized that I only had 7 of the 32 floss colors that the pattern calls for.  What a wonderful excuse to head to my local craft store and pick out new colors!  I can't be the only one who loves to stand in front of the DMC display and imagine all the possibilities!

And, I had a "20% off all regular price" coupon to boot!  

I hope to get the first block done before January ends, but we'll see.  I'm currently working on "Flea Market Flowers" by Lori Holt.  I'm about halfway done, but sometimes it's fun to switch gears for a little bit.