When I was growing up, my dad always said that Santa said, “Yo ho ho!” I found this cross stitch and immediately thought of him. It’s going to be a Christmas present (shh, don’t tell!)

I found a simulated image of the finished work on Pinterest. Unfortunately, the website linked from the pin was gone and I couldn’t find a pattern. I tried recreating the pattern using an online tool, but got frustrated quickly. Luckily, with much searching I found the pattern pinned as a separate image. However, I still had no idea what DMC numbers would correspond to the pattern. I ended up guessing by comparing skeins to the image on my phone in the middle of Michaels. I didn’t get it quite right — stitches reflect light differently than the continuous thread of a skein — but it’s pretty close considering. If anyone knows of a color picker tool that spits out the closest DMC number, I would be quite grateful.

This little project went delightfully quickly. I’ve been working on so many large, time-consuming projects that I felt I wasn’t accomplishing anything. Small projects are satisfying for how fast I can get a finished item. I need to remember to intersperse quick projects (like this Santa) with bigger ones (the papercraft St. Basil’s Cathedral) so I don’t get discouraged by large projects, but also get to finish bigger things. It feels a bit like cheating, but it keeps me productive.

Incidentally, small projects are perfect for bringing to a taproom or distillery and working on while sitting at the bartop. If you’re at the right kind of spot, they may even appreciate the change of pace. I got into an extended discussion about cross stitch with the bartender at a distillery when I brought this to work on there. I may have a slightly skewed perception of what is socially acceptable, though, so your mileage may vary.

Santa has been framed very similarly to  the embroidered swear. The frame came from a sale at Michaels–I visit there almost weekly.  The piece was washed and ironed, and the colors did not bleed as I had feared.  Fabric sewn in place around foam core, extra backs added to accommodate the additional thickness. Nothing exciting.