our lovely stitched Spring Floral Cross using luscious Sullivan’s threads.

 Just opened the March/April issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine to see the first of four brand new floral cross designs by our very own Linda Gillum. They are all stitched on mello Cashel linen from Picture This Plus… and use gorgeous threads by Sullivan’s USA, including overdyed and metallic threads and Mill Hill seed beads for a dimensional design that blooms with color! But you can only get the pattern from JCS magazine! ~Basha

Our partners at AMIA have released a new collection of handpainted glass pieces based on many of our inspirational designs and affirmations.  Their artisans have done a great job in creating these beautiful pieces that look like stained glass. And you can find them in gift shops across the US.  ~Basha

This lovely tip towel that was stitched by Marny spells the word Towel. It was made as a gift for her rabbi and his wife. She used the chart for the Hebrew Alphabet that we offer for free download on our website.

What a beautiful work of love . It will be treasured by the family as a unique and personal gift.

Here is the finished picture of one of  the new baby hutches that we added to the website.  I stitched the piece for my newest baby niece. It would equally appropriate for a boy baby. Our kit comes with the constructed wooden ‘hutch’ style frame ready to finish in the paint color of your choice.

Just stitch the personalized heart in blue and you’re good to go. It looks so cute painted in a sky blue color that either offsets the pink heart or would coordinate with a heart stitched in blue floss.  This design works well for either a boy or a girl.

This is a unique way to frame a birth record and will be welcomed by any new mother as a treasured keepsake. This is an economical gift to make because the frame is included with the kit. With the price of custom framing going up all of the time, it’s nice to get the finishing materials included with the kit.

What do you do with your leftover yarn? I have found a great way to use it all up and give a lovely gift at the same time. I knit this one for my brother and his new bride.

The pattern is very basic. The strips are essentially scarves that are sewn together. The yarn is a mix of textures and weights. To deal with different gauges, I knit each strip with similar yarn. The number of rows doesn’t make a difference because they will all be the same length. The width looks fine if it’s different because that adds character to the afghan.

You can customize the width of the overall afghan, this one is wide enough for a newlywed couple. What a fun way to use up all of those extra lengths of yarn. It makes a very economical project and will be welcome by anybody this winter.

My mom asked me to cross stitch a very special small gift for each of her friends in their small group. She loved the Ribbon and Lace bookmark from our Hold That Thought booklet. http://www.koolerdesign.com/shopproductdetail.aspx?ProductID=801&StoreSect=Books

I completed stitching each one before moving on to the next one and was able to assemble them all at the same time. They turned out beautifully. I’m going to fuse a little “Handmade by Chris” label to the back of each one, so they’ll always have a reminder of my mom’s and my love for each one of these special ladies.

Today your Prince has arrived! And your favorite Princesses. All three of Sandy Orton’s special fairy tale princesses are now available as a PDF downloadable chart or as a Chart Pack that we print and mail to you.  Each one is stunning with its attention to detail and color. You may want to stitch all three and display them together on one wall. They will bring charm and beauty to any decor.

http://www.koolerdesign.com/shopproductdetail.aspx?ProductID=1385&StoreSect=Charts

http://www.koolerdesign.com/shopproductdetail.aspx?ProductID=1411&StoreSect=Charts

http://www.koolerdesign.com/shopproductdetail.aspx?ProductID=1414&StoreSect=Charts

It’s time again for stitching the annual Christmas Ornaments for my family. This year I have decided to select them from our Chart Store. My ornament frames are 2 1/2″ in diameter which limits the size of the finished design. Our Tiny Christmas Ornaments #1203 and Tiny Christmas Stockings #1150 both feature pieces that will easily fit into the small hoop frames that I have.

Now all I need to do is select which ones will suit each individual. This is so much fun stitching for the holidays. It’s so much healthier than baking!

We adapted our Sportsman’s Dream design to Pixel Hobby kit format and lo and behold it made the cover of the new Autumn 2012 Herrschners catalog! We have dozens of Pixel Hobby kits available! Needlework translates well to this fun craft. ~Basha

Proud and happy to see Kooler Design has made the cover of Herrschners latest catalog with our new Pixel Hobby kit!