December TUSAL and my Stitching Library

     

It's TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL jar with two of my current projects:

On the right is my Stoney Creek 12 Days of Christmas.  I am stitching Day 11 and 12 together.

stitched on 32 count Lime Green evenweave

This is where I will pick up and restart the Bothy Threads Day 3:

stitched on 32 count blue-grey linen

What's on my Shelf?

This is a new feature I'm going to include on my TUSAL post until I run out of books! I started a Page on my Happy Dance blog for my Stitching Library and realised what a huge task it was so decided to break it down to one book per month. For the next four years...

What else could I have for this month but a Christmas book!

Title: Christmas Cross Stitch Collection
Author: Sue Cook
Publisher: David & Charles 
ISBN: 9780715325766

I am not sure if Sue Cook is still designing but this book is still available if you like her style.  She uses bright colours and a lot of backstitch.  In some of the designs every element is backstitched although not always in black, she favours DMC 838 as a nice alternative.

The book has a larger design for each chapter which is shown stitched and then numerous smaller motifs you could use for cards, ornaments or make a larger sampler yourself.  They tend to the cute side of the the festival and the modern secular side although there is a section with some religious designs.

Angel with a material skirt

Nativity design, this section includes various religious charts and other characters from the Bible story

The bottom of the Advent Calendar makes a nice design on it's own.

At the back there is a selection of alphabets including a rather fun one with fairy lights wound around the letters.  A lot of the designs don't have stitched models so I can't show them.

This little house is on the front cover and there are several more inside which I would like to stitch as a street scene.

Most of the designs are full stitches only so along with the blocks of colour would be ideal for a beginner stitcher.  A child would find the colour charts easy to follow too.

Finally, the Advent Calendar Blog Hop is off to a fine start, it's so much fun learning about everyone's Tree Traditions and I'm busy compiling a collage of mine from over the years.