- Pattern by Joan Elliott, for Cross Stitch Gold issue #97, 2012
- Materials: 36 count opalescent linen “Intrigue” by Silkweaver, DMC, Kreinik, Mill Hill as charted
- Size: 4.5″ diameter, round
- Time to stitch: 5 days since April
I’m happy to share my second finish for Joan Elliott June/July.
This pattern is found alongside the larger version of Father Frost & Polar Bear, from an old issue from Cross Stitch Gold, or you can order the chartpack directly from Joan Elliott (JE073). The pattern is great, pretty easy to stitch, though my fabric choice made it a little challenging, more on that below. The chart is wonderfully detailed with some fractionals, lots of Kreinik for sparkle and a nice sprinkling of beads. There’s a fair amount (770) of backstitches. And the crowning touch is 2 little french knots for the eyes.
The fabric was some deep stash, labeled as 32 belfast, but it is 36 count. Hand dyed fabric shrinks, but not that much, in my experience. The high thread count, the deep blue color, and the opalescent threads woven throughout made this a little challenging, especially in regards to the Kreinik thread, which was difficult to see on the sparkly fabric. I probably should have used petite beads but I there’s not too many of them, so the size 11 seed beads, as charted, suffice. This project was a real stashbuster. I used up a spool of Kreinink and the last of my Cognac (MH 3036) beads.
My favorite details are definitely Father Frost’s face and his pose nose to nose with the polar bear. I started this project for a Semisane challenge to stitch a polar bear, it was a little more complicated than I expected. Nevertheless, I’m glad to see it finished. It’s slightly large as a tree ornament, but I still have a quite a lot of the fabric to use, so the full finishing will wait.
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