Wednesday, November 24, 2021

"My Frosty Friend" - 2021 Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament

My Friend Frosty ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com
Hello creative friends - thanks for stopping by for a visit! Today, I have a very special Thanksgiving post that includes my 2021 Christmas Ornament. 

NOTE: If you are a regular reader of my blog, I'm sure you recall my post about the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue (if you have not read it, please take a look for context). 

I struggled with how to release a holiday ornament this year, as I proclaimed 2021 to be the year I value myself and my artistry. I didn't want to provide my ornament design for free (for the sixteenth year) to a publication/corporation that was profiting from it, as I truly believe that artists should be compensated appropriately for their work. However, when I created my 2021 Christmas ornament, I found myself wanting to provide it directly to my fans and needleworkers for free. In a year full of challenges, unrest and divide, I wanted to do something positive and share some joy - after all, sheer happiness comes from giving. Many have needed strength, love, hope and positivity to overcome challenges and loss over the past year - and at this time of Thanksgiving, even with my own challenges and struggles, I have an abundance of blessings. Today, I want to thank YOU for a multitude of things: for allowing me the opportunity to continue to pursue my passion - for your kind support of my needlework and quilting designs - for shopping my website and Etsy Shop - for inspiring me - for your uplifting comments, notes and e-mails - and for sharing your enthusiasm of all things needle and thread with me. 

My 2021 Christmas ornament is called "My Frosty Friend" and is available as a complimentary pattern. It complements my previous ornaments and is in the same style as my 2020 ornament (Rejoicing Reindeer). I continued in my flat-finish tradition (if you stitch it on 32-count fabric, 3 1/4" circles work perfectly) and used DMC floss (321 and 505) to make two-tone twisted cord. I decided to attach a 3/8" red gingham ribbon bow with a couple 1/2" red jingle bells. I used hand-dyed 32-count fabric this year....search your stash for a darker neutral fabric...just make sure the white floss will stand out. I used Weeks Dye Works cotton floss for the model and provide DMC conversions with the chart, if you prefer. I truly hope this cheerful snowman will bring you joy - please stitch it with a happy heart

You can find the printable PDF chart here:
https://blueribbondesigns.com/free-charts/
I kindly ask you do not post the actual chart on the Internet/social media or on Pinterest - instead, post a photo of the finished piece and direct users to this post or my website.

My Friend Frosty ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

UPDATE to the original post: for those who have kindly asked if they could purchase this ornament design in the spirit of valuing my work (your messages make my heart happy!): I ask you talk about my designs with your stitching friends (spread the word about Blue Ribbon Designs) and/or visit my Etsy Shop or website to make a purchase...or you can Buy Me a Coffee...it is definitely not required or necessary, but truly appreciated - thank you for supporting my creativity and valuing my artistry!💓

I also want to note, Just CrossStitch Magazine has changed their policy going forward (starting with the 2022 Christmas Ornament Issue) - they will now be compensating  designers for submissions. I should also note -  they did not invite me to design an ornament for the 2022 issue. I want to thank each and every one of you who spread the word regarding my blog post and called out Just CrossStitch Magazine for their outdated policy. We did make a difference!...and while they did not reach out to me for the 2022 publication, I am proud of myself and everyone who stood with me to make this change that benefits all cross stitch designers working with them in the future. Thank you.

Finally - if you plan to stitch "My Frosty Friend", I hope you will share an image of your progress or finished ornament on social media and tag me, so I can see it! 

To everyone celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow - and to my many international fans and friends - take a little time to count your blessings...and a little time to stitch...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Sunflower Delivery - A New Cross Stitch Pattern

Sunflower Delivery ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com
Greetings friends - I'm so happy you stopped by for a visit today! I can't believe it is November already and I have been finalizing plans for our Thanksgiving holiday - where have the months gone this year?! After helping out my local quilt shop (The Quilted Sunflower) with the Jingle All the Way Kansas Shop Hop last week, I have been putting the finishing touches on all sorts of creative projects. Today, I am here to tell you all about one of those projects....yes, it's a new design alert! I just released a brand new autumn cross stitch design and it is available for digital download in my Etsy shop. This chartpack is in my new PDF format, but if you would really like to have a printed paper pattern, please send me an email - there is a link in my blogger profile - I will reply with the details, then send a PayPal invoice and ship it to you - you will be charged a little extra for printing and exact shipping fees. For now, let's get to the fun part - the new design....

Sunflower Delivery (BRD-128)

Introducing the third set of Rick Rack Rounds!
Just like Sweet Slice of Liberty and Hitchin' A Ride, these have a stitch count of 48" x 48" and are stitched on 32-count fabric, measuring 3 1/4" round. I stitched "Sunflower Delivery" (named for the squirrel delivering sunflowers to the cute autumn house) on 32-count Light Examplar by Lakeside Linens with Sulky 12 Wt. Cotton Petites (DMC equivalents are also provided). You can use almost any neutral fabric color for these autumn beauties and pick your favorite fall floss colors. The pattern includes complete finishing instructions for my Rick Rack Rounds - and you can insert pins as I did...or they look great with just the rick rack (or trim of your choice). These make great bowl fillers or could be finished as seasonal ornaments. The pattern comes with a plethora of creative ideas! I filmed a comprehensive FlossTube video showing how to do the finishing on these, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/YkBe77naAZI. These autumn rounds are quick to stitch and easy to finish...and more seasonal/holiday Rick Rack Rounds are on the way!

Additional details/purchasing information:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1063975768/hitchin-a-ride-brd-126-counted-cross

Sunflower Delivery ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

Sunflower Delivery ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

Sunflower Delivery ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

Sunflower Delivery ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

Sunflower Delivery ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

Sunflower Delivery ©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

I really hope you like this new fall inspired design - I truly enjoyed creating it!

I have also been putting the finishing touches on my 2021 Christmas ornament and I will have details for you REALLY soon...so stay tuned for that...

Plus, I have piles of sewing to complete for my Etsy shop and another new winter cross stitch design that will be available in the near future, so I will be back to visit with you again before you know it! Thanks for stopping by today and for always being so supportive of my creativity...💗

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Studio Snippets

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com
Greetings friends! My studio has been a buzz since we returned from vacation and my sewing machine has been humming along. I am back today to show some of my latest needlework finishing projects and Etsy creations. This post will be a bit longer than usual, as I have quite a few creative photos to share... rather than break them up into several posts, I am going to share both needlework finishing and sewing projects all in one post...along with details on where you can visit with me later this week...and a couple photos of the kids (our fur children) at the end. I'll keep the chatting to a minimum and let the photos do the talking. First a bunch of beautiful needlework that I finished for a talented client - these are all for the same stitcher....again, not my stitching or my designs, just my finishing work (I will post the designer details I have with each image).

Be Merry and Bright  by The Scarlett House

Merry & Minty by Brenda Gervais/With Thy Needle and Thread

October 31st by Threadwork Primitives

Merry Christmas by Liz Matthews

Cranberry Christmas by Hands On Design

And Rudolph by La-D-Da

Merry Christmas Pinkeep by Stacy Nash

Project Bag Panel by Brenda Gervais/WTNT - Finished My Way

I have also been doing tons of sewing for my Etsy Shop...lots of large project bags, accessory bags, artist bags and small project bags....along with quite a few Stitch Starter Ruler Sleeve Sets. These all sold out almost immediately - but don't worry, if you missed this group, more are in the works. I have have yardage of almost every (if not every) retired Blackbird Designs sampler fabric and many coordinates - I have more bags already cut and ready to sew. At the time of this listing, there is one  large project bag in my shop and a wide assortment of Stitch Starter Ruler Sleeve sets still available. Keep an eye on my Etsy Shop for more listings soon!!

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

Another announcement of note...if you are in the Kansas City area, I will be helping out my local quilt shop (The Quilted Sunflower) in Spring Hill, KS with the Jingle All The Way Quilt Shop Hop this week. I will be in the shop on Thursday, Friday and Saturday - so please stop by and visit with me!



Finally today - a few photos of the kids. Last week, I took a couple fall photos of our dogs in the backyard...and I was really pleased with how they turned out. I am also including a photo of Garin that I snapped last night in the kitchen (he was being so helpful)...

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com
Schatzi - October 2021

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com
Garin - October 2021

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com
Garin - momma's little helper...

How was that for a creative post? - as you can see I am keeping busy in my studio (as always). I have several new cross stitch designs in the works and quite a few Etsy items in progress, so I will be back again soon. Thank you for stopping by to visit with me!

A Grand Adventure

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com
Hello friends! I have been a bit remiss about posting photos from our recent trip. Every time we take a vacation, I find it hard to catch-up with everything upon my return. This time it was made even more difficult from a bout of whooping cough...yep, remember when I mentioned I was feeling a bit under the weather? - well, sure enough, I somehow contracted whooping cough - go figure. I am starting to feel much better, but that dreaded cough lingers. Anyway, back to our trip. We went a few weeks later in the year than usual...and boy did that make a difference. We always drive to Denver and meet up with our friends...then drive to Ouray, CO, where we spend a few days in the mountains. We all have heavily modified Jeeps and explore the toughest off-road trails. This year, the mountain summits were covered with snow and ice, which made for some interesting off-roading - the boys definitely got to utilize their skills and specialty equipment. The day after we left Colorado, there was a big snow storm that closed all the trails we had been driving on for the season. After a few days in Colorado, we headed to Moab, Utah where we had sleet and snow on the trails the very first day. The rest of the week the weather cooperated, but it was crazy to be in a desert setting with snow-covered mountains in the near distance. We were able to complete all our favorite trails in Moab...and spent the last day rescuing a side-by-side that rolled over directly in front of us at the top of a scenic trail (we were able to get the passengers and their vehicle down the mountain safely - it took over five hours). I am going to post some of my favorite photos from the trip (side bar: the girl who was trying to clean up the photos on her iPhone, just downloaded almost 2,000 photos from this trip alone - sigh). I take a lot of photos/videos of the Jeeps in action for the boys, but I also like to take a lot of nature and scenery shots just for me...so here are a few. All in all, it was a grand adventure...

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com

©Copyright 2021 Belinda Karls-Nace/Blue Ribbon Designs, LLC http://www.blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com