My Christmas Cross Stitch Makes

It's been a while since I last shared photos of my cross stitch makes- mostly as I haven't done a lot this year thanks to worsening arthritis in my hands. I am currently working on a colourful Christmas cross stitch from Satsuma Street (this one, but on white aida), but as I have a long way to go until that one's finished, I thought I'd show you some of the pieces I stitched during the previous two Christmases. I don't think I ever got around to sharing photos of them online.

Last Christmas, I made three modern little cross stitch ornaments from a British brand called The Make Arcade- a Christmas tree, a gingerbread house, and a reindeer. I bought these little kits to stitch while I was relaxing in front of the TV with my family over Christmas, and they were perfect for keeping me busy while we watched Christmas movies from Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day. They were really fun to make, and as they're only little three inch hoops, they didn't take too long to complete- I think they took about five or six hours worth of stitching, each, completed over a couple of evenings. Once each one was done, I then used a hot glue gun to attach felt circles to the backs, and pom pom trims around the hoops. All the materials you need to make them are included in the kits- aida, embroidery hoop, DMC threads, ribbon, pom pom trim, felt, and I think even a needle. You just need a pair of scissors, a hot glue gun and glue so you can attach the pom poms.

They're great little kits for getting your craft on over the festive season, and would make ideal stocking fillers or Secret Santa gifts for any cross stitcher this Christmas. I particularly love the gingerbread house design, but the Christmas tree is a close second. I've picked up the gingerbread man kit to make this year, and am tempted to go back for the penguin and the snowflake. I'd love to make the entire collection so I can hang them all up on my Christmas trees for future Christmases. With several cross stitchers in the family, we've always had cross stitch ornaments on the tree- albeit, more traditional ones- so it's satisfying to add some of my own work to the ornament collection, and in a different, more modern style.

Two years ago, during Christmas 2017, I made two cross stitch Christmas cards from two different card kits from a Cornish brand called Riverdrift House. The Fa La La card is from the Jolly Holly Card Kit and the Silent Night card was part of the Christmas Carols Kit, which doesn't appear to be available anymore- although, there is a similar Christmas Carol Card Kit with colourful threads. I still haven't got around to making any of the others from either kit, but these two were fun to make and only took about half a day of work each.  Each kit has everything you need to make six cards, including the cards and envelopes, but when I eventually get around to making the rest, I'm planning to either turn them in to tree ornaments or frame the sets together because I'd rather keep them.

Back in 2017, I also stitched a Scandi-style red and grey Christmas sampler from Riverdrift House with a Glad Tidings We Bring design. This was another easy project with lots of simple little motifs to stitch like snowflakes, snowmen, robins, and Christmas trees, plus a cute little house, some hearts, and borders using just two shades of red and two shades of grey threads. It took me about two months to sew, putting in just an hour or two a night, and I'm really pleased with the end result... even if I still haven't got it framed! This is another kit that doesn't appear to be available anymore, but they do still stock a similar Happy Christmas design.

I also stitched this Riverdrift House Christmas Alphabet sampler in 2017, y'know, just in case I need to remember my ABC's at Christmas time or something. It could happen! Especially with my brain fog! Haha! This sampler is much bigger than it looks- I think the fabric is at least A3 size- so it involved a lot of cross stitching and took several months to complete. Even though it was big and time-consuming, it was pretty simple to sew, with no complicated patterns or stitches; just simple shapes and cross stitches in Riverdrift's signature Scandi style and seven shades of threads. Despite the simplicity, I think it came out pretty well. I think this may be another discontinued cross stitch kit as I can't find it online anymore, but if you like the style and can't track it down on eBay, Riverdrift House has lots of other Christmas cross stitch kits which you can find here.

So, those are some of my Christmas cross stitch makes from the last two years. If you'd like to see more of my cross stitching, you can find all of my cross stitch posts here.

Have you cross stitched anything this Christmas?

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