The Leaves Have Started Falling
Welcome to the September wrap-up for Two Little Kits! It's been a busy month filled with both progress and creativity. I've completed a bunch of cross-stitch pieces, some from my own designs at Two Little Kits and others from personal projects I've been working on. I've also made some solid progress on six different works-in-progress, each at varying stages of completion. This month, I've been putting a lot of effort into preparing my very first physical cross-stitch kit for distribution, and I've also managed to write a couple of helpful blog posts that I hope you'll find useful.
On the personal side, it's mostly been day-to-day life shananigans and keeping up with the usual (and unusual!) activities for my kids. And as for social media 'things', it's been a bit quieter than usual, but we'll talk more about that later in the post.
Let's dive in and take a closer look at what September had in store!
Jump to:
Leading image: Autumn is coming..! 😊
Two Little Kits' Stuff
There were a fair amount of behind-the-scenes organising and -for lack of a better term- shuffling that happened with Two Little Kits -related shenanigans during September. Nothing major to quote about or share photos/graphics about, just know that the start of the new school year was taken advantage of (ie: My available time given back to me post-summer holidays). Which is an excellent feeling!
Cross-Stitch Pattern Kits
The big thing to share is progress on my first physical kit went really well! My hope [was] to get these released during October, in time for peak-holiday-shopping.
For these kits I even hired an illustrator to design me steps on how to cross-stitch, how to backstitch and how to anchor ones floss to the Aida. These graphics came out really well and I'm considering adding them to a blog post or something as well.
As of writing this blog post, these kits are now available! You can grab one for yourself or a loved one - they make for an excellent gift idea! Stock is limited so don't delay.
Finished Pieces
Five. Yep..! Five finished pieces this month! That's almost as many WIPs as I ended up with..!
While I was compiling imagery for this blog post, it was like I kept discovering more and more finished cross-stitches. I'm astounded with myself, I admit!
Anyway, let's keep scrolling and see what I put the final stitches in during September.
Stitch People Ornament
On the very first of September, I opened spaces to begin taking 2024 holiday ornaments. One of the orders I received, I was asked if it could be a rushed order. I reviewed my schedule (both Two Little Kits as well as my personal one) and quickly said "yes!".
So my customer paid a rush order fee and I whipped this piece up in 10 days. Believe it or not; not my fastest stitch portrait, but still pretty quick!
I wanted to try out a new border type for an ornament this year. I ran out of time to do the entire border like I had originally planned on doing, but I'm definitely not unhappy with how it turned out. Especially given the time constraints. What do you think of this edge-wrapping border?
There's still time to place an order for your own 2024 holiday ornament and have it arrive before December this year! But hurry!
Don't forget to order your own custom-designed and handmade ornament today so you can enjoy it all throughout December. These make amazing gifts as well, so don't delay!
"The Deadly Aquarium"
The biggest piece I completed during September is definitely my "The Deadly Aquarium" stitch.
This stitch-along, designed by Lola Crow Cross Stitch, ended near the end of August this year. I told myself early in the stitch-along process that I
- Wanted to keep up with the SAL as best as I could, and
- Make sure I completed it close to when the stitch-along itself ended.
And I managed to do both of those things!
Isn't she a beaut? I highly recommend Lola Crow's stitch-alongs. They're always gorgeous, well thought out and very informative (she gives information tidbits about what you're stitching!).
"Stitch People Day" Portrait
On September 28th, it was (once again) "Stitch People Day" - the day of the year that the original Stitch People book came out.
Fun fact: I would guess I got the ebook of the original stitch people SIY book about 9-10 months after it originally was released. I'm old school!
To celebrate TEN years, Lizzy and Spencer asked their following to stitch up a new "I am Stitch People" portrait, if they wanted to be in the running to win something. I figured why not?, came up with a new design of myself in about an hour and had this stitched up about a week later. Ta da!
What do you think about my colourful blackwork border design? I'm pretty chuffed with it, to be honest!
![A close-up photograph of the [colourful] blackwork stitching](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0732/3733/2277/files/241018-fo-sp_close01_600x600.jpg?v=1729041417)
If you want to have a piece like this made for yourself (or for another family member or friend!), let's chat today and make something awesome together. Christmas is coming and something custom-made will always win over your loved ones this holiday season.
"Design 7"
I finally picked up my copy of "Cross Stitch for the Soul" by Emma Congdon and decided to choose something to stitch from it. Just to add to my active WIPs and mix things up a little!
Just quietly; you can also find more of her cross-stitch designs on her Etsy store (Stitchrovia) if you're curious.
Looking to have a specific cross-stitch pattern stitched up but aren't a stitcher yourself? No problem! Get in touch today and I can stitch it up for you!
A teaser
The last finished piece is going to have to be fully revealed at a later date, unfortunately.
I'm a part of the next Stitchers Collective zine that's being released in November 2024. Part of joining in the zines is that you don't share your design/WIP/finished piece/etc of the pattern you're including in question until two weeks before the zine is to be released.
So you'll have to wait and see what this piece is going to look like later this year! I just wanted to include the fact I had another finish under my belt for this already bonkers month.
Works-In-Progress
The main thing you might note is the lack of
"Flower Field"
in this line-up of WIPs. That's because… well, I didn't stitch any flowers during September.
I'm really bummed out about this, I'll be honest. My hope though is to catch up on the missing days over the course of a few weeks so as to not fall too far behind and end the year strong. Fingers crossed for me, please!
Otherwise; I touched on a lot of pieces (as you can probably tell just from my FOs alone) in September. So let's check out my WIPs - including links where you can grab the patterns for yourself, too!
New Blog Posts
This month, I also added a couple of new blog posts. The first one dives into the many occasions that make gifting a custom cross-stitch piece so special — whether it's for a wedding, a new baby, or just because. I wanted to highlight all the ways a personalised cross-stitch can become a cherished keepsake for loved ones.
The second post focuses on the power of positive customer reviews. It's all about how much your feedback means to me as a small business owner, and how every kind word truly makes my day. I'm grateful for every review I receive, and it's truly such a motivator to continue creating designs that you'll love.
I hope these posts offer some inspiration and insight into the heart of what I do here at Two Little Kits.
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If you made it this far through the post; thank you! For your time, use the code: "README24" until the end of 2024 on any of my digital patterns
(cross-stitch &
embroidery)
to save some money!
Just my way of saying "Thank you" for being here ❤️️
IRL
Outside of Two Little Kits, life has been its usual blend of everyday chaos and routines. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but still plenty of moments that kept me on my toes, especially with my kids' activities. It's these little day-to-day things that add a bit of balance to the whirlwind of stitching and creativness.
Let's dive into what's been happening on the personal side of things!
Kids Stuff
I played "mum-taxi" to my kids a lot during September. Between playdates (dude - organising playdates is a whole task in of itself. Amirite?!) and therapies, it felt like it was non-stop go-go-go-go. I don't know how families with more than two children do it.
All jokes aside; it's awesome to see my girls growing their social circles; especially seeing my oldest be accepted into friendship circles for exactly who she is. 😭
General Stuff
There wasn't much else that happened though, to be honest. No outings, no new activities, nothing crazy and exciting. But that's OK, right? 😝
Social Media
Yeah… I've been absent. What's new? LOL!
I'm stuck in a frame of mind of just… not knowing what to post. Everything I can think of is just me wanting to sell and I know that's not the best course of action when it comes to posting on social media.
I am hoping sometime soon (maybe for 2025? Who knows) I might find inspiration and ideas on being creative with reels again, perhaps. I did enjoy that challenge and creative outlet; I just burnt myself out as -at the time- I was trying to post 2x a day: one reel and one static post.
And that is toooo much.
(5,737 followers).
If you're not following me on Instagram I would love it if you did! There's also two channels you can join over there: One about shop updates and one that's just me being your stitchy BFF!
The last thing to let you know about is my new-ish Facebook group -which is small, but that's OK!- but I would also love to have you there if that's something you'd like to join in on. The more the merrier!
Thank you for being here, reading through this post, encouraging me along my tracks and until next time..!
👋 Kate