It’s hard to say no to Le Challenge, however. Each month, the creators of Le Challenge—Lucy of Charm About You and Nat of Made in Home—post a theme. Crafters then interpret that theme, sometimes in very different ways, and post a project in line with it the next month. Previous themes have included nature, charity, and small.
I joined the party back in September, when the theme was era, and made a Rubik’s cube Christmas ornament. In October, the theme was mix, and I made a Christmas tree of cross-stitch blocks. (The tutorial is available here.) And then the theme for November was revealed: X.
The beauty of that—for me!—was my October project fit the bill for November. So I made another Christmas tree of cross-stitch blocks. The first one will be gifted. This second one is for me, me, me!
I like working with the tiny 2½” cross-stitch blocks. My seams match up well, but my Xs are a bit off in places. I think that would bug me if the blocks were bigger. Somehow the dense patchwork of smaller squares seems more forgiving. I stitched in the ditch, as I did with my first tree. Admittedly, that part was a little annoying. I like stitching in the ditch, but the seams in this project are bulky, and it shows in my quilting lines.
I still have a stack of cross-stitch blocks in Christmas fabrics waiting to be made into something. With two quilts to wrap up before Christmas 2014, I think those X’s will have to wait until Christmas 2015.
With one submission for Le Challenge complete, I opted to make a second one that interpreted the theme completely differently. X can also represent the Roman numeral for 10, so I made 10 quilted tissue holders as teacher gifts for Christmas (my goal is to make 20!) ...
These are identical to the tissue cozies I made last month for myself and are based on this tutorial from Leland Ave Studios.
Lucy and Nat have unveiled December’s theme: ink. I have zero idea what I might do for that. If you have a suggestion, I’m all ears. Share it in the comments below, or post it to the Le Challenge blog!
Linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday, Ho Ho Ho and on We Sew, Let’s Bee Social, Needle and Thread Thursday, TGIFF at What a Hoot Quilts, and Finish It Up Friday ...
Hi Michelle! Love this little cross stitch Christmas tree! it is very hard to get tiny blocks to look perfect, but yours do!
ReplyDeleteInk. Hmmm...Spoonflower.com just had a weekly contest with the theme of calligraphy. Lots of beautiful fabrics! Here is one I liked: http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/3607267
Of course X is 10 - such a good interpretation too!!! Love the Christmas tree, thanks for sharing on le challenge!
ReplyDeleteI love your Christmas tree and this idea could be used for any cross stitch pattern, lovely.
ReplyDeleteTwo entries?!? over achiever. :D They're both cute. Hmmm, for ink, all I can think of is use texty prints or dye something. :) Probably not too helpful. Also - you're new blog header is adorable!
ReplyDeleteLove your tutorial on the X's, I will have to give that a go the next time I do those blocks, I even have the perfect jelly rolls.
ReplyDeleteI love the Xmas tree, it is adorable
ReplyDeleteI love that tidy tree.
ReplyDeletehi Michelle, firstly love your tissue covers, and secondly congrats on your win. Enjoy your spoils!
ReplyDeleteYou are so clever! Love the neat little tree and, of course, the awesome tissue holders! Not sure about the theme for ink. The only thing I came up with is something embroidered with your signature -- like you "inked the deal."
ReplyDeleteVery nice! Congrats on the win too
ReplyDeleteYour cross stitch Christmas tree looks fabulous to me... Maybe your are looking too closely! Ha, ha! Those little tissue cozies are awfully cute. Nice work on all!
ReplyDeleteInk and fabric don't usually mix, I will be interested to see what you come up with! Also love your cross stitch tree :)
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! That's a lot of tissue holders - they sure are a great teacher gift. I really love your cross stitch tree quilt. :)
ReplyDeletei love your cross stitch blocks and think the tree you made with them is awesome!!
ReplyDeleteThat tree is adorable! What a great challenge! I agree it is hard to decide what to make and sew along with.
ReplyDeleteWhat brilliant cross stitch blocks, they make a wonderful tree! Thank you so much for linking it up to Ho Ho Ho and on we Sew!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your Christmas tree! It's very cute! I pinned your tutorial to make sure to find my way back here...:-) Thanks for sharing this!
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