Beautiful body of work Katie, A true joy to look at! I have 2(different shades) red-headed sisters and I think I will be doing my own version changing her hair to red and dress in a deep sparkly green. My sisters will love it. Thank you for the inspiration
I simply LOVE your tree. It is the essence of what Christmas means to me- treasured items, homemade jewels, toy-like memories - joyful smiles. Thank you. I don’t know what I expected but I was surprised & inspired. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much! That is exactly what Christmas means to me too, and it brings me so much joy, so I'm really glad it conveyed that to you too! I just love taking all my treasures out every year and getting to enjoy them on a beautiful, sparkling tree for the season
Katie- Idea about Crystal Doves beaded leaves: What about offering a class to learn how to do the beaded leaves that would include the materials to create them for the ornaments? I’m all over learning new techniques and the beaded leaves would be such a wonderful detail on the beautiful ornament. ❤
Unfortunately it's really not possible for a variety of reasons - first and foremost, the beads, but that's not the only problem. Some - many, really - things just aren't viable at scale.
Hi Katie! I enjoyed seeing your Pooh bear ornament from a Cheswick pattern. I have made several of those as well. My favorite is Mother Goose made from 1/2” mohair. Her patterns are delightful. I love your Sparkle Prim aesthetic! Happy stitching til next time! 🪡🧵🪡✂️✂️✂️🎄☃️❄️❄️❄️
Thank you! The Cheswick Company is just wonderful - my mother and I enjoy making their pieces so much, and they're always some of my favorite ornaments. Happy stitching!
Wonderful episode! I love all your holiday pieces. The video of you Christmas tree was so impressive - I don’t think I saw one commercially made ornament. Thanks for the recommendation of Travels with Tricia - I just watched it and was blown away by the history and the beautiful objects on display .
Thank you so much! There are a few bought ornaments there, but it's the handmade ones that bring me the most joy, so that's really what my tree celebrates. And I'm so glad you enjoyed Travels With Tricia - the exhibition was just spectacular!
Your videos are always joyful, but your Christmas videos are another level of joy! Simply amazed by the volume of pieces you are working on and how beautiful they all are! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thank you so much, and Merry Christmas! The season (and attendant stitching) really does bring me so much joy - sparkles, decorations, baking, and happy stitching! What's not to love??
Enjoyed seeing your beautiful Christmas tree and displays all filled with so much inspiration. Your face really lights up when you talk about your Christmas stitching. It is truly a joyful and magical time of year.
Katie, that holly sprig is amazing! Are you doing a class? 😂 I know you aren’t. I can believe you put 5 years into it for as stunning as it is. Your knowledge of stitching, silk, couture, and sparkle is also something else. I wish I had the ability to see sparkle in the way you the ability to apply it like you do!
I have tree envy. Looks amazing. Please do a tutorial on the beaded edge done with wire. Looks amazing. Never thought of that before. I decorate my ornaments with a twisted cord. Thanks again Katie. Have a wonderful Xmas with your family
Yay, dove kit! I'll have to figure out the leaves on my own, but that'll be fun. ☺ (Your mistletoe, on the other hand… I don't think I'd want to subject myself to that. 🤣) Bijoux is just Madeira's FS Metallic #20 repackaged onto smaller spools by Access Commodities. At least some (perhaps all?) of the discontinued Bijoux colors are still available under the Madeira FS20 branding (on 600m spools). The color numbers are the same, although the color names don't always match. (And some, like Malachite, are used by both brands but for different colors! So only use the numbers if you need to translate between them.) Needle in a Haystack usually has the big Madeira spools for the colors that are no longer available on the smaller Access Commodities spools. 600m is a lot of thread though, so those get expensive. Similarly, Access Commodities Accentuate is just a repackaged Madeira Supertwist #30. ☺ Yes, you are a Flosstube Queen. Who's can argue with your mom?
Yes and no. It was Madeira that discontinued white core Bijoux, not Access, so what currently exists in retail stores is all that's out there. I scurried right to NIAH and bought the 600m spools myself when I found out they were discontinued. I have no idea how many 600m spools are floating around, but once those give out that is indeed it, which is such a pity as it's a lovely, lovely thread.
Hi Katie, I’m glad that you’ve decided to create a tutorial and kit for your dove. It’s cute. The deer that you made is nice too. Happy holidays to you and your family from me and mine. TTFN
In awe of your talent. Everything is so lovely. Would love to learn how to do the amazing beaded holly sprig! Where is is the best place to start? Do you have a book suggestion to help a person learn this beautiful technique? Oh and those sparkle, sparkle red berries are beautiful. Could you possibly show us how you made those?😊❤
Thank you! As to your questions, I'm afraid I don't have a particularly good answer because I really taught myself, thinking of what I would like to make and trying to figure out how to do it. It was a lot of trial and error, just figuring it out. But the berries are easy - thread a top seed bead on wire, fold in half to hold it in place, thread a sequin on both wires so it sits behind the top bead, and then thread on a large crystal round - these are 8 and 10 mm, although those are the most expensive beads. Smaller is cheaper with crystals! Then dab a touch of tacky glue at the base and wrap the exposed wire with the silk thread of your choice for the stem.
Thank you so much for explaining how to do the berries. I am going to get my research on and just dive in learning some specialty stitches ,surface embroidery and stump work first and then dive into adding beads. Your work is stunning and I appreciate the time you take to make videos and tutorials.
Hi Katie, lovely! Question. Can you talk about blocking and/or pressing a piece with sequins in an upcoming FlossTube? I am terrified, maybe an overstatement, of cracking or melting sequins on a finished piece. Happy holidays, Jennifer S
You don't - beads and sequins are always added last, after blocking and ironing on interfacing. Finish all the other stitching, block, prepare for finishing, and then the absolute last step is to add the embellishments. Sequins are actually pretty tough - to melt them you'd have to have your iron so hot it would scorch your linen - but it's always done last.
Beautiful video and so inspired by your Christmas tree! Everything is sparkly and looks amazing. All the holiday decorations are perfect. I saw the Dior video, totally blew my mind. My niece loves fashion so she sent it to me. I also have watched it a few times. AKGIT is going to be great. I took a break from my big projects, think I was burnt out from samplers so holiday stitching is my comfort stitching lately. Trying to knit our Christmas socks too!
The Dior video is one of the coolest things I've seen in ages. I'm still blown away by the pleating. On a curve! With silk! And I think I'm taking a break from everything to focus on holiday too - it's a great way to creatively recharge. The big stuff will still be around in January...
Hi Katie! Your work is amazing! I hope to become half the stitcher you are. I hope I have signed up for all of your green work it is amazing. I look forward to seeing you on. I believe it’s December 14. Have a wonderful week and I hope to see you then Cindie.
Okay that mistletoe is something else!! About the dove kit for next year, do you mean there will not be leaves at all, or that there will be felt leaves and not beaded leaves? Because I would really like felt leaves please. Love your trees, and I wonder if sometime you could show us your nutcracker ornaments? Herr Drosselmeyer is so cute and the rest weren't really visible. Nutcracker things are always appealing to me! Thanks for a holiday extravaganza of an episode!
Thank you! At the moment, I don't know what the dove will have in its beak - that's one of the problems to be solved. I have done felt leaves before but it's not a good solution for a kit - they're so tiny and detailed that cutting them is difficult, but even worse is trying to get them to stay together. Even with very high quality felt, they want to shred at that scale. The only time I managed it was by painting the back with a thick layer of tacky glue for stabilization, but in all honesty, it doesn't look great - you need very thick stems to support the leaves and it damages the effect. The Nutcracker ornaments have definitely been on a past flosstube - not sure if it was last year or the year before, but you'll find them on here somewhere. I love the Nutcracker and have done a host of different ornaments
@@katiestrachanembroidery Good points about the felt! Much to ponder. I'll look up those older episodes! I'm going to a performance of the Nutcracker next week with a friend who has *gasp* NEVER BEEN. We need to fix that!
I received your beautiful kits and postcards of *utmost quality*. I love them - thank you for the good cheer and special attention to detail. Peace on earth, good will to men and sparkle. Merry Christmas
Hello Katie. Thank you for sharing your holiday stitching - finished, in progress, and planned. Also, Loved the other video recommendations - Very inspiring. Merry Christmas.
Hello. Usually I just watch and never comment,but the beaded mistletoe was stunning. I know you said that you will not be doing a tutorial, but what is the name of the Bead work so I can maybe take classes elsewhere to learn.
Thank you! It's peyote stitch - very easy. There was just a. lot. of it for this gigantic piece! And a lot of materials - one reason there will never be a tutorial or a class is because I didn't keep records of how much I used of anything. I'd have to do the thing again!
Katie what a FABULOUS wonderful cheery exciting Flosstube. Made me so so happy to watch I was grinning the whole time! Ok first…. Leading w my important question. I’m in love with the sequins over the snow idea and just have to try it…. Is there a tutorial that covers that? Supplies used? Thread type? Etc etc … I read the show notes and I wasn’t sure… and secondly your projects are of course as always breathtaking and so so inspiring. It’s time for me to get brave and expand my skill set I think!! 🤪 goals for the new year : to watch your tutorials and take the plunge! As for your love of Christmas… I’m a complete Christmas nut… every yr I say that I’m paring down the decor but then as I unpack ea lovely item my husband just laughs because he can hear me talking to them telling them how pretty or cute they are and of course they must come out for the season. 😂 I’m not quite as unbalanced as that makes me sound but thought you would get it!!! Merry Christmas to you and your family! Thanks for all the inspiration! 🎄
No tutorial that I know of but you just stitch them on directly over your cross stitching once it's completed. I use Soie 100/3 but plain cotton sewing thread would also work. It's a very fun and easy way to add texture and sparkle to a finish, which I really recommend. And not unbalanced at all re: your Christmas - you should see me and my mother. Once my tree is up and ready to be decorated I legitimately kick everyone out, turn on the music, and commune with my ornaments. My mother has more decorations so it takes her about three days to cover the house in Christmas everything. My father is a very smart man who decides it is a good idea not to have an opinion about that!!!!
@@katiestrachanembroidery I love it. It’s a multi day operations at our house too. Most of Steve is very on. Oars with but some he knows he’s not authorized to mess with 😂😂😂 merry Xmas sand thanks for the info
Hello Katie i am new to your channel and just love it!! I would love to get your colour conversation for your Brenda Gervais pieces , joy and good cheer, Merry and Bright and Santa stops here. Is that possible?
Thank you! All three were exclusive to their kits and are no longer available, but I have shared conversions for many other Brenda Gervais holiday charts - they're all listed in the episode guide on my website, which is linked in the description for this episode
