‘Jolly Happy Soul’ - finished!

So, here’s my ‘Frosty’ (real name, ‘Jolly Happy Soul’) cross-stitch all complete and made up into a little decorative cushion – it’s a Brenda Gervais design. The original was designed as a pincushion I think, but as mine is bigger, I’ll just call it a small cushion. And that’s because I’ve used 28-count linen, instead of the 40-count called for by the pattern ……….. eyes and all that!! Now I hope none of you are cruel enough to attempt a close-up of those cardinal birds, because I can tell you, some of that was guesswork, owing to the one strand of floss over one thread. Even in lovely bright daylight yesterday afternoon, I was struggling with seeing where the needle needed to go – so be kind to me and look through squinted eyes LOL

I just love the way the holly leaves look ……. they have a very vintage look!

To finish it off, I used a dull red colour seambinding ribbon that I was lucky to have plenty of – I didn’t have any white/ivory, but I think I like the red anyway. And on the back, I’ve used a piece of hand-dyed cotton velvet (hand dyed by me several years ago), which also matched in quite well. Depending on your screen, it may look rather bright, but that’s probably the afternoon light I’ve just taken the photos in, so it’s not as bright as it looks.

I’m very pleased with it – I hope you like it too!