Have you ever seen a finished needlework piece and just fallen in love with it, even though it isn’t your normal “thing”? Of course you have! For me, it was Northern Pine Designs’ Chocolate Humbug Bag way back in 2007 or 2008. I started right away but got sidetracked by so many things… a baby, the great financial crisis, life in general, etc. and before I knew it ummm… nearly 20 years had passed. Crazy!

I spent several months this year dragging this around to different stitching days and didn’t work on it a single time! But, in November I sat myself down in my craftroom and powered through it. There were a few errors in the chart, and I made a mistake with thread colours way back when, but it is done! Yay! I’m still thinking about how to sew it together to hide the seams, but I do have the lining fabric and a zipper ready to go.

And guess what? I’ve already got another canvaswork piece on the go and it is almost done! I’ll share pictures of it shortly.

Lastly, just in case something happens to me, it was totally my local backyard squirrels. I mean, look at them!

The weather this week was quite cold and windy, and this morning I woke up to about 10cm of snow on the ground. Most of it has melted, but the weather this week has most definitely put me in a wintery/holiday mood. So, when I had a chance to get caught up on this week’s Craft Roulette, I knew I had to make a wintery card.

This week’s Craft Roulette requirements where a map fold, using planter colours, with an element representing something from the sky, and a random requirement of three in a row.

My card features a Turkish map fold inside with the sentiment stamped in it. I have three cozy kitties in a row on the front, and the paper behind them has snowflakes falling from the sky. The colours of the kitties are inspired by my holiday planters. (Here’s where I learned about the Turkish map fold.)

The stamp set is Cozy Cats from Lawn Fawn, and I coloured it using Copic markers. I have no idea where the snowflake paper is from, but I thought it was great because the snowflakes are black, so they match my colour scheme quite well.

I’d really like to make it a goal going forward to participate in Craft Roulette as much as possible for the next year. I love how it gets me to really think about what I have in my stamping stash, and it encourages me to try things that I normally wouldn’t do. I mean, I hadn’t even heard of a Turkish map fold before, and it turns out it is super easy and fun to do!

If you’d like to learn more about Craft Roulette, you can do so on their website craftroulette.live .

The Brooklyn Bridge, as viewed from Pier 16 in New York City.

For some reason, I didn’t take many photos in New York, but we did see a lot. We visited Times Square, of course, although it was the afternoon before a major boxing match, so the crowds were intense. We saw the Statue of Liberty (from a distance), visited Ground Zero, saw a few other touristy spots. We were only there for a couple of days, and the main goal was to catch up with family who lives there for work.

It was my first time visiting New York. I enjoyed it, but the city was surprisingly noisy and dirty. I’ve spent time in many large cities and even lived in Toronto for several years, so I’m familiar with city life. Still, New York has a personality that’s truly its own… And the honking!! I swear I can still hear it.

Mona Lisa, designed by DMC

A good portion of my stitching time for the past few months has been spent on the Mona Lisa kit from DMC that I purchased at the Louvre back in March. Up close she looks a bit… blobby, but from a distance she looks amazing! Take a step back from your screen and you’ll see the magic at work!

Year with Ghosts, by Living on the Rainbow

I’ve been keeping up with A Year with Ghosts as well. Stitching on black fabric hasn’t been as difficult as I expected with my aging eyes thanks to my magnifying light. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I’ve already stitched three other small designs on black, and I have a few more planned. Pictures coming soon—seriously.

I’ve also been working hard to finish up scrapbooking and card making classes from last year. It feels so satisfying to complete a kit and tidy everything away. I’m really hoping Canada Post doesn’t strike again this year so I can actually send out Christmas cards.

And perhaps most surprisingly, I’ve started attending stitching events again. I went to the Kimat Stitch Days in June and the Peel Stitch In in July. I’m also planning to be at Stitch North in October. After that, I think I’ll need a long break. That’s more than enough socializing for one year!

A view of Passage Verdeau.

Le Bonheur des Dames is just delightful, full of designs by Cécile Vessière, as well as a few other treasures including hand-carved wooden birds.

The exterior of Le Bonheur des Dames.

The walls are covered with stitched samples, and the shelves are full of cross stitch and embroidery kits.

Stitched samples on the wall at Le Bonheur des Dames.

I thoroughly enjoyed looking at everything and picking out a few very special kits to stitch. I would have loved to buy, well honestly, one of everything, but luggage space was very tight for this trip and I visited on our first day in Paris. Thankfully, the shop does offer mail order, so I can always order what I’d like at a later date.

Interior of Le Bonheur des Dames.

The ladies working in the shop were friendly, although I will admit I didn’t speak much since I am embarrassed of my truly awful French. (We take French for several years in grade school here in Canada, but that along with practice in Duolingo just means I can read French not speak it with any skill. I speak better Japanese then French, which is a little embarrassing!)

In addition to all the unique kits, the shop also has a large range of Clover sewing accessories and some very beautiful scissors. They also carry DMC floss, stitching books, and stitchable fabrics like jar covers and towels.

The shop is easy to spot in the shopping arcade as there is a mannequin of a lady atop the awning. The lady is part of their logo, and is featured on their website and their business card as well.

Le Bonheur des Dames is most definitely worth a visit if you are needleworker visiting Paris. Be sure to save room in your luggage for all the treasure you will find there. And, if you happen like like ramen, I also recommend checking out Neko Ramen right next door.

Mural outside of Neko Ramen, Paris.

Le Bonheur des Dames
8 Pass. Verdeau 75009
Paris, France

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to visit Sajou while in Versailles, but I did visit an absolutely lovely store called Le Bonheur de Dames in Paris. I’ll share a little bit about it in a day or two, once I find all my photos.

Today I’m sharing the March ghost from Living on the Rainbow’s A Year with Ghosts.

March Ghost from A Year With Ghosts

I live in Southern Ontario, just a tiny bit north of Toronto. Spring birds have started to make their return, but the snow is still hanging around. In fact, there is a light covering of snow over my backyard right now. But, it will be 14C on Sunday. We like to joke about First Spring, Second Winter, Second Spring, etc. We’ve had First Spring already and right now is Second Winter. I suspect we may still eke out Third Winter this year given how the plants look. But who knows!

I’m hard at work stitching another design which I hope will be finished and ready to share by the weekend. After that, well, my stash feels like it is endless, so who knows.

Speaking of which, here is my lovely little ghost from Living On The Rainbow’s A Year With Ghosts.

February Ghost from A Year With Ghosts

So, that’s two ghosts down (and two months of 2025 over with!).

A Year With Ghosts January and February

I think these little ghost are just adorable. But, I do need to be more careful when stitching. I accidentally stitched the February ghost in white because I was sure I knew what colour he was. Of course the ghosts are actually off white. I had to pick him out, which is quite difficult on black fabric. I’m using a magnifier and light, and there is a white sofa just behind my frame that helps me see the holes, but it was still a challenge.

I was clearly in a ghostly mood in February as I made these cards to a Valentine Tarot card exchange.

Ghoul-entine Cards

I used an image from Creative Fabrica for the ghost and edited it a little bit in Cricut Design Space and then cut the ghosts from thick vellum using my Cricut Maker 3. Aren’t they cute?

March will hopefully be a much happier month. If I’m lucky, I will be visiting Sajou in Versailles shortly! I’d love to buy a pair of scissors there, but the Euro to Canadian dollars exchange rate is not good. We shall see, I suppose.

Embroidered rose necklace

The other day I dove into this little embroidery kit and stitched up this cute necklace. It look about 30 minutes to complete the stitching. It’s just simple satin stitch and woven wheel roses. I changed out the french knots for colonial knots, but they look the same.

The kit came from Amazon (a gift) and the quality of it was fine. The included thread feels silky, but it developed a fuzzy halo very quickly.

Finishing up this quick project almost makes me want to tackle a larger embroidery project again… almost, but not quite. lol!

A Study in Skulls, designed by The Stitch Crypt

I completed A Study in Skulls from The Stitch Crypt last week. The designer was kind enough to chart out a 13-hour clock for me so I could add just a hint of the Haunted Mansion to the design. (Sorry for the small image size. Click to embiggen. I haven’t update my blog theme in many years, but it’s in the works!)

I otherwise stitched the design as charted, but the dye from the purple fabric ran and discoloured all the light coloured threads. I tried all the tricks, but nothing was able to remove the dye. Ultimately, it is okay because it has given the piece an antique-y look that doesn’t change the design significantly.

This is the first time I’ve ever had a piece of hand-dyed fabric run so badly. I purchased this piece about a decade ago, from someone who’s fabric I love and use all the time. This was a misdyed piece, so I’m wondering if the final setting set was accidentally forgotten.

More stitching and more cards to come! But no politics here. While I’m aware of what is happening in the world and I’ll be doing what I can in my small corner of the world to ensure everyone stays safe and protected, my blog is a sanctuary away from that. We all need small places to rest our mind quietly before returning to the fray.

January from A Year with Ghosts, designed by Living on the Rainbow

Each month this year I’ll be stitching a section of A Year with Ghosts from Living on the Rainbow. I’m using 27 count black Linda evenweave (it was on sale…) with DMC and Kreinik #4 braid as charted. There is a chance I’ll replace some of the #4 braid with Petite Treasure Braid, as I’d like to use what I’ve got in my stash if possible.

Surprisingly, I’m not having a difficult time stitching on black fabric. I’ve switched to using a Daylight Company floor stand instead of stitching in hand. (My old shoulder injury combined with hand pain from aging and a newer elbow issue means stitching in hand isn’t very comfortable anymore.) I also use a Daylight Company light with a magnifier, which has made the process much easier on my eyes. I think there may be a few more projects on black fabric in my future.

Are you taking part in any SALs this year? I mean, I don’t need another one but I but I’d still love to hear about them. (Do I need another one? Maybe…)

I also wanted to mention that I’ve moved from Instagram to Bluesky. You can find me at stitchinglotus.bsky.social.

Today I wanted to share one of my favourite new hobbies: card making! I started card making back in 2019, though I took a big pause for the disaster that was most of 2020. In early 2023 I discovered a funn (two n) YouTube game show called Craft Roulette, hosted by Mary Gunn. It’s “the ultimate paper crafting, card making, game show challenge”, where Mary spins a wheel to choose four creative parameters for making a card. She and a guest create their projects live, and viewers (nicknamed the Chatter Box) are invited to participate and submit their own cards to the Craft Roulette website.

Entry for Craft Roulette 249

This is the card I created for Episode 249. The parameters were:
Project – zoyfold card
Colours – elegant
Element – front door
Random – three circles

This is far from the best card I’ve ever made, but I really enjoy the challenge of ruminating on the required parameters and searching through my stash to see what I have that will work. For this challenge, I made a Halloween card using a stamp set from Scrapbook.com and paper from Michaels. I snuck in the three circles by using pearl embellishments.

I know needleworkers aren’t always keen on looking at papercrafts, but I do promise to share lots cross stitch soon. I love to keep busy making things, and I also have a large backlog of things to share.