Thursday, August 4, 2016

In the mood for Christmas?

Every summer my thoughts turn to...CHRISTMAS, of course! For the past 20 years, we've been releasing holiday designs in August. Back in the day, we went to a huge needlework market in Charlotte every August. Alas, no more. But August is still our go-to time to release yearly Christmas designs.


When I began doing Tiny Tidings 21 years ago, I never dreamed it would be an ongoing series...for 20+ years! But they're just so FUN to design and stitch, and versatile to finish and enjoy in so many ways. Every year I sit at my computer, sketch pad in hand, and wonder what in the heck I'm going to do this year. Then I start doodling and graphing, and before I know it, there's another batch of Tiny Tidings little treasures on my computer screen.


This year I had an idea to graph a bunch of favorite holiday characters. I narrowed down the list to 5 (made my list and checked it twice!) and ended up designing "bitty" Santa, Mrs. Santa, reindeer, snowman and and elf. These little guys are SO CUTE...they sort of have big heads and little bodies, and lots of cuteness inbetween.

I got to work stitching all these little holiday pals and added an embellishment to each of them...antique gold wreath charm, "exclusive" cookie button, white snowflake button, tiny red  button, and burgundy triangle button. These little gems will be included in the (optional) Tiny Tidings XXI Embellishment Pack.

You can see that my photographer and I had some fun with peppermint candies for our cover photo. Not quite as easy to find peppermints in the middle of the summer.


Then I decided to use the designs in a different way and grouped 4 of them in one stitchery, adding some trees and lots of snow (sorry to leave you out, little elf). This would make a darling little pillow, but I decided on a "snow" inspired chunky frame. Love it!


Here are some Tiny Tidings XXI Embellishment Packs with all the goodies described above. I spent the 10+ hour drives (each way) going to Colorado recently working on these. With embellishment packs in my hand, our Audiobook which transported us to the dawn of the French Revolution, a pitstop for Mexican food and a wonderful driver (Alan), the trip was nice. Below is pic of the 9" x 13" baking pan that was on my lap to/fro Colorado. Handy!


CHECK BACK SOON for more previews of our August releases! We'll be featuring one newbie at a time, and we've got 4 things coming your way after August 15.

COMING SOON!

#176 Tiny Tidings XXI + Embellishment Pack
S127 Santa '16 - Old School Santa + Embellishment Pack
K91 Pumpkin Pocket Kit 
SPOOKED! Mystery Sampler Part 3 - the much-awaited FINAL PART!!!

August is a great month for stitching - enjoy!







9 comments:

  1. What adorable ornaments you have created for Tiny Tidings XXI! Looking forward to seeing this year's Santa!

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  2. Your embellishments are always the perfect final touch for these charming designs. Can't wait for the reveal of Santa '16 and the Pumpkin Pocket kit.

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  3. Time away is always good for the soul even if you did continue to work. As Christmas ideas are in your creative mind, do you have any Christian or spiritual patterns in the making. We all love Santa and his hard working Elves but I would also like to see some nativity etc. patterns.

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  4. I love the frame also! These are so cute!

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  5. Cannot wait to dtitch theme!

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  6. Love those little holiday people! Can't wait to get that pattern!

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  7. Ooh... my favourite Christmas stitching. Can't wait to get my hands on this new Tiny Tidings :)

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  8. These are adorable as usual, Linda. Thank you for such wonderful designs.

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  9. I always look foreword for the yearly Santa. The one for this year sounds like fun! And the oh so cute tidings chart is cute. Thank you Linda for making each year of stitching fun
    Theresa

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