OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern/kit by Mill Hill
• Materials: 28 count stormy grey jobelan, DMC floss, Mill Hill beads as kitted, Kreinik for snowflake border
• Size: about 5″ square, or 5″ x 7″ including border
• Time to stitch: 5 days

Here’s the 10th building in my Christmas village!  

The Palace Theater was easy to stitch, more fully stitched than some, and I thought the beading step would be quick.  It was certainly quicker than the Queen Anne House, next door, but it was still over 700 beads.  There are 6 colors of beads on the theater, but most are size 11 seed beads and attached with a half cross.  Only the white (snow) and green (tree) petite beads are sewn on with a full cross.  

The size 11 ecru beads are most heavily used, and I did have some trouble fitting in rows of 4 or 5 across.  The 28 count fabric is a just a little smaller than perforated paper would be (since it’s dyed) so if you stitched this on perforated paper, as intended, it would be copacetic.   The most challenging part was probably the bead swags at the end.  I always tack down the loops to create the swag shape, with a separate thread on second needle. This time, the loops are 9 beads across, so to tack down the center you need to split the thread around the center bead, sort of like railroading.  That was a little fiddly when the thread didn’t cooperate. 

The materials are fine, I only found a few malformed beads that needed to be tossed.  I love how Mill Hill kits with DMC floss.  I just pull out out my stitchbows in the appropriate colors, match up the floss, and wind it on.  Usually I wind up with lots of leftover floss because the kit is meant to be stitched with 3 strands and I only use 2 on the fabric.  My favorite details are probably the lanterns and the graphical gold design on the doors.  The theater has an art deco vibe, which I love.  

After finishing the Palace Theater, I began the Post Office, next door.  The post office is the penultimate builing in my village!