Snow in June

I think I may have mentioned that I have had a soft spot in my heart for Raymond Briggs' The Snowman, ever since I saw the movie with my then toddler son. From time to time the British cross stitch magazines have a chart with a Snowman design, so I've collected a few of them, and when I came upon an advertisement for some Snowman kits made by DMC in the UK, I tracked them down (no mean feat, as they had been discontinued). The kit came with blue opalescent aida, which I decided to use despite not having stitched a thing on aida since I discovered that stitching on linen actually wasn't impossible. I must say I rather enjoyed it although I won't switch back by any means. This piece looks like it was very simple but I had to keep track of some color changes with the greens and the rust/browns, so it was good practice for when I finally take on something with major color changes, something I haven't had the nerve to do yet. It was also the first time that I had to backstitch features - his eyes and nose aren't exactly right but his expression is rather sweet, so I think it passes muster well enough. I learned one thing the hard way - when you stitch with white floss, don't hold the fabric in an area where you've used it. The Snowman's right arm (left side of the design) is not nearly as white as the rest of him. I always wash my hands before I stitch but clearly white calls for a higher standard of cleanliness. Oh well, live and learn. Here's the finished product:

The Snowman and James
DMC mini cross stitch kit
14 count opalescent aida and DMC threads

Since I finished this I've been working on a small JBW Designs piece, which is going rather slowly. It has lots of little flowers that only use a few stitches worth of color, and I'm spending most of my time threading and unthreading my needle. I'm determined to finish it but I'll be glad to move on to something else!