Free Cross Stitch Patterns...Trixie Belden

Who doesn't love free stuff?  Well, good free stuff anyway, especially when there is no *ahem* dumpster diving involved.  I live in a college town, so I am constantly amazed at all the things the kids leave behind at the end of term each summer, all because they didn't want to haul it home with them... message boards galore filled with pleas of  "come take this" or  flat out leaving stuff  abandoning treasures on the curb.

Oh wait... is dumpster diving still hip or is it back to being gross?

I have never been one to keep up with what's trendy at the moment. I have been a generic jeans and t-shirts gal since the 1970's and I see no need to change myself now just because some item is now considered fashionable, and its been the same way with my decor tastes. Crows in this year? Already have them (crows are downright adorable), though I never went in for the sunflower thing. Rabbits seemed pretty popular a few years back, but I never hopped onto that wagon either, though rabbits really are cute.

I guess what I am saying is I don't ever expect to start trotting out patterns for whatever new crafty "hip" thing that is currently trending, and I am fine with that. I know what I love and I figure at least one person out there probably likes it too.  Those are the people I want to meet. I want to reach out through our monitors, clasp your virtual hands in mine and say "you like this too?" and feel like I have met what Anne of Green Gables would call a "kindred spirit",

But wait, I was talking about free stuff...boy it is easy for me to get off target.

I started with my first Nerdy Girl/Nostalgia Nerd whatever-you-want-to-call-me projects by creating a pattern for a character I loved from my childhood... Trixie Belden.  I've spoken before on my love for this wonderfully flawed teenage sleuth before, so I probably don't have to go into any details, but its safe to say that I went a little overboard, as I am often wont to do, and created numerous patterns... some of which I decided weren't "perfectly perfect" enough to sell in my Etsy shop.

Seeing that Trix isn't perfectly IM-perfect herself, you might think these should fit right in, but, for one reason or another, I wound up deciding to save some of these to offer as freebies, for those who will love and want to stitch them, because they speak to the child within.  I will add more freebie patterns down the line, so be sure to follow my blog so you will be the first to know when they become available.

So lets get to it, shall we?

First freebie is this illustration from Secret of the Mansion, in which Honey is giving Trixie a boost through the window of Mr. Frayne's crumbling old mansion...Honey is looking fearfully behind her as she just had just been surprised by Queenie, the hen, who had flown at her in an effort to keep the girls away from her nest.

Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion

I don't know for certain why I didn't choose to sell this one, but I think its because, while the details of the picture are great, this just isn't my favorite image of the girls.  Its a fun moment from the book, but I just couldn't see it being incredibly popular, mostly due to that look of fear on Honey's face. This is one that I want to stitch up for myself, but is on the back burner at the moment, as so many other patterns are clamoring to be stitched first and I have already filled up my stitching project slots through the holidays.

This one isn't my largest pattern, but its certainly lovely with lots of detail. Finished pattern is 100 stitches x 127 stitches and uses 50 colors, so you have a lot of depth in this one. In US measurements you're looking at the finished project to measure 7.14" x 9.07" on 14-count cloth, 6.25" x 7.94" on 16-count, or 5.56" x 8.33" on 18-count.

I should probably mention here that in order to get the free pattern, you simply need to click on the link beneath each image and you will be directed to a printable PDF pattern... you will need Adobe Reader or other similar program in order to read the file.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery in Arizona

This one just frustrated me, as the original image doesn't give a clear shot of Trixie's face, and so its just colored pixels...it will still look just fine, but I want so much more detail than that.  I really do love this illustration, and I may try again, but I need to find a better copy of the book cover than what is currently sitting in my collection.

This one is 100 stitches by 146 stitches, and the finished project measures 7.14" x 10.43" on 14-count cloth, 6.25" x 9.13" on 16-count and 5.56" x 8.11" on 18-count.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Blinking Eye

This one is a favorite, and I am happy to be able to share it. This is one of my favorite Trixie tales and even a jeans and t's gal like me can't resist that gorgeous sailor dress.  This lovely pattern features Trix admiring the wooden statue that she decided she just had to have, sparking a whole new mystery for the Schoolgirl Shamuses to solve. I hope that you enjoy it... its one of many in the line-up of my "projects to stitch".

The finished piece will measure 7.14" x 10.93" on 14-count cloth, 6.25" x 9.56" on 16-count and 5.56" x 8.5" on 18-count.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery on Cobbett's Island

Okay, this one is larger and has a lot more detail...I just love the beachy feel of this and Trixie's happy expression as she prepares for what she believes will be a week of sailing and fun, rather than the mystery that awaits her...though if she had any idea a mystery awaited her I am sure that smile would be all the wider!

This one will measure 7.14" x 14.29" on 14-count cloth, 6.25" x 12.5" on 16-count and 5.56" x 11.11" on 18-count. 

Trixie Belden and the Marshland Mystery

Okay gang, this one is pretty huge, coming in at 100 stitches by 218 stitches, but the detail is great, and this is a pretty iconic shot of our favorite teen detective, considering how often she has to rely on her bike in order to get around and collect clues! This image from the Marshland Mystery shows Trixie, basket filled with herbs and flowers to create a new book of botanical specimens for their teacher at Sleepyside High.

This one will definitely require a specialized frame as it will measure 7.14" x 15.57" on 14-count cloth, 6.25" x 13.63" on 16-count and 5.56" x 12.11 on 18-count,  It may be big, but it will be completely worth it when its done.

And last, but not least...

Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery

This one is the entire cover image, minus the writing (I couldn't find my image file with the lettering removed, sorry!)  This one isn't for sale on my site simply because the face, once again, isn't detailed at the size of image I have. Yes, you can see that she is smiling, etc, but its not as crisp as I would like it to be... unfortunately, the cover in my Trixie collection isn't good enough, so I am on the lookout for a better copy.  Trust me, once I find a cleaner image, I will re-work this pattern and post it here.

As is, this is still going to be lovely stitched up, and isn't so tall as to be intimidating like Marshland.  This piece will be 100 stitches x 154 stitches, which means a 14-count cloth will measure 7.14" x 11", 16-count will come out to 6.25" x 9.63" and 18-count will be 5.56" x 8.56".

As with anything else posted here for free, you have my permission to stitch these up and sell the finished products (please include a link to my blog on anything you sell), but the pattern itself is not available for resale.

Regardless of which size of cloth you choose to stitch any of these on, or which pattern tempts you to start stitching, I wish for you the blessings of the Embroidery Gods: May your floss remain free from unwanted knots and tangles, your stitches fall in their proper places and your family and friends allow you the time you need to get your projects done.

Happy Stitching.

Stitching my first nerd-love pattern

Am I allowed to use the term, "nerd girl"? I am sure that there are millions of girls out there just tossing out this phrase, and far be it for me to jump on the bandwagon...but what to say otherwise? Geek Girl is just as trendy, Nostalgia Nerd is a bit wordy, though it is actually pretty accurate and I am fairly certain no one is using it yet.

Lemme check...

Dang it, it IS being used.

Oh well, Nerd Girl for now I suppose. I'll have to think on what else to call it some more...regardless, my first, fully realized, getting-my-literary-childhood-geek-on pattern was a blast to do. I had fun playing with the pattern design, with stitching it up, with being SEEN stitching it up (so I could excitedly bore the pants off of anyone who asked about the project) and even with snapping photos of my progress every day or so just to dweeb out over the images on my phone.

Like I said, I'm a geek...now lets deal with it and move on, okay?

Now, less we forget what it is that I am talking about, maybe a tiny little refresher might be in order.  You see, I am a big Trixie Belden fan, and have been for nearly 40 years .. close enough that the actual count really isn't an issue. I can place the blame squarely on my paternal Grandmother (THANK YOU GRANDMA!) who gave me a copy of book #18 Mystery of the Phantom Grasshopper not too long after it first came out in 1977. She found it at a yard sale, and thought it might be something I would like (we both loved to read).

There was no big fanfare about it...our family showed up one day to visit and she handed it over saying, "here, I thought you might like this."  No angels sang, no marching band with twirling batons ablaze marked the moment, but still, a love was born that day.

Zip ahead a few decades and here I am, with a newly-printed pattern in my hot little hands and all my skeins organized and ready to go. I could almost hear faintly in the back of my mind, "Houston, preparing for lift-off in 5...4... 3... 2... 1....." 

I'm sure that I haven't quite nearly enough explained how much I love this piece of my childhood (and adulthood, I'm not ashamed to say I still read my Trixie books, in fact, I still have all 34 of the Trixie titles Golden Publishing put out at that time. How many kids can claim to still own an entire series of books from their childhood that their mother didn't make them save? I even still have that very copy that started it all, though I have a duplicate copy to read now so I don't wear out my old one as quickly).

Again, I head off into tangents (and run-on alliterative sentences!)...sorry Houston...where were we on that countdown?

Ah yes...BLAST OFF!

My first few stitches were momentarily confusing (what's with the pale lavender? Did Trixie have a shadow under her eyes that I hadn't remembered?) Still, with each new stitch the excitement grew. My husband sweetly oohed and aahed every time he saw me stitching, but he truly was happy that I was cross stitching again after such a long break (hand tremors...ugh...one of the joys my health tosses at me from time to time).

Only a few days in it was recognizable (to me anyway) what the finished piece would be...everything but those few pale purple stitches...those, I admit, were really bothering me. Sadly, I couldn't deal with them yet as they were securing my foundation stitches...I would have to wait until I had a lot more stitches laid down before I could even think of ripping them out... which I eventually did. It turns out the program read Trixie's blue eyes as a purple and plotted accordingly. I didn't notice when I was buying my embroidery thread, as the pattern had a thin, blue line around one edge of the oval frame, so I saw blue thread and thought "oh, that's for her eyes."

Nope. Thank goodness it was a problem easily corrected later on....wait...more on that in a moment.

  

In these first few shots you can see her face is quickly taking shape

Even more so now...wow, just going by the photos, the stitches are just flying by!

Wow, that orange is BRIGHT, but its definitely my girl coming through the stitches.

                             

Ugh! That purple is driving me nuts...time for those stitches to GO!

Try to always keep your seam ripper/embroidery scissors handy...you don't want to be a doofus like me and risk ruining all your hard work by using tools like a screwdriver and a full-size, wickedly sharp pair of Gingher scissors! Please note: in any other situation, I cannot praise Gingher's scissors highly enough! They are well worth investing in for your fabric and thread cutting needs! 

(not that they need me to sing their praises...they know how amazing they are!)  

Whew, glad THAT's over.

                                                                                                                                                                 

Pretty new blues and I love how the colors make her eyes pop!

  

Now to finish up on the hair and that background

As far as the original pattern was concerned, this was complete, but that cut-off bottom edge looks very sloppy. Unfortunately, the original image that I used had the rest cut off.

And, voila, she is complete! I love how PC Stitch's program allows me to add additional stitches onto the pattern...and, thankfully, for this project it wasn't too hard to continue the shirt, based off the illustration on the back of the book jacket. 

So what happens now.  Well, as much as I loved doing this piece, I eventually decided before I was finished that I would stitch it again, but this time on a creamy yellow fabric, rather than the black.  The black is lovely, but, if you'll look back at the original book cover, the books were printed with a golden shade of yellow backdrop.  I think stitching on yellow would just feel more true to the look and feel of the books.  

So what about this one? Hmmm...I really don't have any followers as of yet, so offering it as a giveaway would be rather pointless.  I'll probably put it up for sale in my Etsy shop or offer it in one of the Trixie groups I am a member of on Facebook.  That way someone who likes the piece, but doesn't have the time (I won't say inclination, because how could someone not love cross stitch???) will be able to add it to their collection.

Or maybe I WILL save it for a giveaway...in about a decade when I manage to pay off some people to follow me ;D

It's been a long time coming...

It is amazing how time flies, isn't it?

I have been working lately on getting my Etsy shops, Bluecreek Creations and Bluecreek Photography up and running, and am now finally ready to start listing.

That's right, Bluecreek Creations has its first item up for sale.

Its a custom vinyl featuring my favorite teen detective, Trixie Belden. I had no intention originally of offering decals, but if these do well then more will be added down the line.

More items will be listed through the weekend, including my Totem Bags (more on those in another post) and various custom cross-stitch patterns.  

Bluecreek Photography will start listing in a week or so, as I decided to focus on the crafting side first.

I have always wanted to create and sell my own crafts, and now I am finally seeing it come to life. I can't begin to express just how excited I am to see this come to fruition.  I've never had large aims, and have never aspired to be the next Martha Stewart; I just wanted to put my stuff out there and see if anyone else would enjoy the things that I did.  

Here's hoping that someone will.