The TIME OF FLOWERS Cross Stitch Sampler Kit is now available for pre-order. Please CLICK HERE to order.
Finished Size of Design Area: 6" wide x 8.5" high (15cm x 22cm); 101 stitches wide x 136 high on 32-count fabric
The kit contains:
One 14" x 16" (36cm x 41cm) piece of 32-count evenweave embroidery linen in Sea Lily by Handpicked by Nora from Wichelt
(53) 24" (61cm) lengths of various colors of DMC 6-ply cotton embroidery floss
Stitching instructions
Illustrated stitch tutorial for special stitch
Full-color cross-stitch chart with symbols over color blocks
One piece of chipboard for creating a floss organizer
You will need your own:
#24 tapestry needle(s) for cross stitch
Embroidery scissors
4" (10cm) embroidery hoop
Frame and framing supplies
Here in the shady hollows of northwest Oregon, spring comes early. It makes a quiet entrance as it slowly turns what was muddy and brown into something luminous and green. The green woods become an enchanted place. I wanted to capture some of that magic here. Time of Flowers is the second in a series of seasonal pieces I'm designing. The first, for winter, is called First Snow (a kit is available here; the pattern is here). Designs for summer and autumn will be forthcoming later this year.
If you are new to counted cross stitch, or need a refresher on the basics, please see my "how to do counted cross stitch" tutorial here.
This kit is designed to fit in a ready-made 8" x 10" frame. All you need to do is make sure the frame is deep enough to fit a piece of foam core (and glass, if you want to use glass. I never use glass. I don't like it. I have my embroidered pieces hanging all over the house, and I don't feel that they suffer appreciably for being exposed). What you will do is wrap you embroidery around a piece of foam core, and stretch it with the help of about a million sequin (about 1/2" long) straight pins. You can read my tutorial about how I've done that in the past (though I finished the rest of the framing with custom frames at a frame shop). But with an 8" x 10" piece you can even buy the pre-cut foam-core at the craft store (JoAnn's or Michael's, or easily online) for just a couple of dollars. A frame store can also cut foam core for you for just a few dollars if you ask nicely.
This kit will be shipping sometime toward the end of March. The fabric is on order but some of the floss is on backorder and won't get here until mid-March. We will pull floss and assemble patterns and ship as soon as we have everything we need. Please note that the fabric I've used for this kit has unfortunately been discontinued, so once our inventory is gone, unless there is substantial interest that makes it worth going back to the manufacturer to have them actually dye more just for me, this kit will likely be gone, too.
The pattern-only option will also be available separately as a downloadable PDF, but not until sometime in the next couple of weeks. I'll post here when that is ready, too.
This kit is done with two plies of DMC cotton embroidery floss on 32-count linen. That means it has sixteen stitches per inch. If you are interested in seeing a tutorial on counted cross stitch, please read the one I did here.
I am working on doing a substantive cross-stitch-discussion post for you but I'm not done with it yet, and, if you are interested in ordering the PDF because you're worried the 32-count linen is too small, I think you'll want to read it. It will help you determine what supplies you need to purchase, particularly fabric. This is something I've been needing to write for many months, and I really am sorry it has taken me so long.
As you probably know, I also carry my favorite supplies in my web shop, should you need lovely, high quality tools. These are the exact ones that I use every day For this project, we have:
Gorgeous little embroidery scissors.
Hardwicke Manor 4" hoops.
And size #24 tapestry needles for cross stitch on linen.
All supplies, and anything else you order at the same time, will be shipped along with your Time of Flowers kit. If you need other items before the end of March, when Time of Flowers ships, please place a separate order that will ship right away.
We do ship overseas! To place your order, you will be required to read this information, which contains details about international shipping and customs fees you may incur when ordering outside the U.S. (If you are overseas, the shipping cost charged by Posie does not include any further charges you may incur when importing goods.) To see the shipping-only costs for your order and location, just place the items in your cart and choose your location (or enter your zip code, if you are in the U.S.) and it will tell you how much the shipping is. As usual, I have a sincere request: Please check on and update your shipping address correctly in your Paypal preferences so that there is no confusion when we go to ship. If you do need to add things to your order or change your address after you've placed the order, just email me and we'll figure it out, no worries! I just like to remind people of this ahead of time, because it's a bit easier. Also, please know that USPS overseas shipping charges are going up like wildfire lately. I'm having to adjust my own charges to reflect the USPS changes.
Thank you so, so much for your interest in this kit and my work in general. I'm always so touched by your enthusiasm for embroidery and I truly hope you enjoy stitching this as much as I loved designing and making it. I'm grateful beyond words to be able to do this work, and your support of it means more to be than I'll ever be able to express. Thank you.
With much love and hope for beauty this spring,
Alicia
