FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "BCS #4-2" by Victoria Sampler

 Back in the early 2000s, Thea Dueck of Victoria Sampler did a whole series of 50 ornaments, "Beyond Cross Stitch Learning Collection", each teaching one or two specialty stitches, from the very simple to quite complex.  Each batch of 10 ornaments addressed a specific set of skills.  The first level was basic specialty stitches (things like Smyrna Cross, Simple Eyelets, etc), I think the second may have been ribbon work (don't have any of those).  Level three is more complex texture - Rhodes, Double Running, etc.  The fifth level is Hardanger.   This project is from level four, which is drawn thread and pulled thread work.  They were re-issued in a slightly larger chart/package format in the 2010s with an additional 10 kits in a Level Six (Advanced Hardanger) and were available on Thea's website until a few years ago when the kits stopped being available.   I am not sure, but I think the patterns may still be available as online classes. 

All of these little kits have a stitched area about 3 x 3 inches / 8 x 8 cm on 25 count Lugana or Dublin linen with all the thread, beads and charms included.  The overall stitch count is around 40 x 40 over two.  Designs varied, but about half were either explicitly Christmas themed or had colors that were in the red and pink plus floral greenery range (or could be adapted to be there easily). 

I have 9 Christmas (or Christmasish) kits that I've collected over the years.  Three have been done in the past, but never fully finished.

I have three more of the Christmas Caroling ones like the bottom one above, and two 'odds and sods' ones in sort of Christmas colors.  

I'm thinking of using all nine as blocks in a small wall quilt.  I'll need to back the hardanger and drawn thread ones with some fabric, but looking at them plopped on a random hunk of solid '30s green , that will work fine. 

So look for the remaining five little kits to pop up sporadically in the 'Modern' slot of my rotation or as a travel project.  They only take about five to seven hours to stitch (and since none of the others have any cutwork, they will be on the faster end, I'm sure).  

This one took about seven and half hours, so I still have a couple of hours left in the Modern slot for this round of the rotation.  I'm going to get the Plum Street Samplers "Corgi Caboodle" on the scroll rods.