It's never too early to work on holiday projects, especially since we in the needlepoint world have done an excellent job of creating and sustaining the need for ornaments for every season.  I would argue we created seasons for ornaments.  (I'm looking at you St. Patrick's Day.)

The next two weeks will focus on cute stitches on a holiday project from a stitching friend of mine.  Today's stitch is a variation of what I consider a classic, the Tied Upright Cross.  By leaving a row in between the crosses on all sides, you have an opportunity for a cute accent.

The diagram includes two possibilities, a bead over two rows on the vertical or a small upright cross.  The stitched sample illustrates the bead in all the intersections.  You can use one or both accents.  It's completely up to you.

Speaking of the stitched sample, it uses Planet Earth Silk, Kreinik Metallics, and Sundance Beads.  

The thread combinations are kinda countless as it completely depends on how sparkly (or not) you want it to be.  A matte variation could include Very Velvet (gray lines) tied down with Rainbow Linen (black lines) with a matte Delica bead as the accent.  I think that would make an adorable whimsical basket.

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

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If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster.  35 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch!  Enjoy!