3D Cottage Trio

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I finished it!! Here's my second piece from Nutmeg and I'm sooooo pleased with how it turned out.

I originally saw this piece posted on their Facebook page and knew immediately that if I dropped dead my ghost would change continents to haunt the Nutmeg HQ on grounds of unfinished business for never getting to stitch these amazing little cottages.

I featured Nutmeg in my DESIGN #9 as my WIP for September. Obviously what drew me the most to it was the fact that it's 3D and that's quite rare in the world of cross-stitching. Second was that I'm just obsessed by miniatures and cute little cottages covered with flowers and it's both of those things. When I contacted them via email to make my purchase they explained they had withdrawn the kit's production due to the materials in the kit. He stated they were running low on the material used in the base which I assume means the plastic canvas used to stabilize the pieces.

Since then both in email and through instagram they warned of the complexity of this particular kit and offered help if I needed any. Thankfully I didn't, but I can absolutely see why they were worried! Constructing this took longer than I expected it to but that's likely a lot of my own fault. I used probably three times as much invisible thread as needed putting it together. First I went through and just made small stitches to attach the fabric to the plastic, then on my second pass I folded the fabric around the plastic to stitch down the "seam allowance" (as it were), and the third pass was actually connecting the pieces.

The most difficult part for me were the roofs. I'm happy with the turn out but there's definitely a part of my brain nagging at me that they aren't perfect. The greenhouse's roof feels the most bulky. I really wanted the green supports to connect but the fabric was in the way so there's the white gap there. I think the end result still looks nice, but I'm unsure beyond trimming and creating better mitered corners that it would've turned out different, and even then the extra amount of effort on such small a piece of fabric might've outweighed itself. The tool shed's roof is tilted to one side and I had difficulty connecting it to the walls. Again, I'm happy with the turn out, but like the greenhouse I'm not sure it would've been worth the extra time to try to miter such a small piece. The main cottages' roof gave me the most trouble by far, folding like an accordion and poking out the wall segments and having to stitch both sides at practically the same time to keep the overhang amount consistent and yet still it ended up a little wonky. Oh well, it looks perfect from most angles so I'm satisfied.

The most obvious change is one I make to 99% of the pieces I work on: french knots got turned into beads. I used size 15 glass seed beads in silver-lined red, color-lined pale yellow, green-lined topaz, color-lined pink, and color-lined light green. I changed the bicycle from black to red, the birds from black to blue and yellow, and removed a shovel element from the back of the first cottage. I used shiny satin/rayon thread for the pond to give it more of a water effect. I stitched the wooden supports with two strands of thread instead of the single strand the pattern called for. I had considered glow thread for the windows and lantern as I had done for the previous Nutmeg piece but ultimately decided against it due to the color constraint.

Design wise I'm extremely happy with all the cottages. I love the feeling intended that each cottage has its own personality and theme while maintaining a cohesive look together. I could've sworn I read an excerpt in the kit notes about the personalities but looking back through I must be skimming over it or have dreamed it up.

The first cottage is soft: pink, blue, and yellow pastels leading back to a foodie garden and greenhouse. This is my favorite one, not least because it's the one with pink. I love the climbing plant on its walls and envy the owner's aesthetic. I could never have plants climbing up the side of my house let alone against the windows, I would be too terrified of bugs. I think the plants growing are meant to be pumpkins, strawberries, and some unknown seedlings.

I feel a little bad for the second cottage, squashed in the middle, missing out on some personality for the front but they make up for it in the back! The little garden with its pond and stepping stone path and flower beds is SO NICE and I love that they get the bird feeder too. The little cat watching the birds from below is such a cute touch. I like to think that they received flowers from the first cottage as a gift and are displaying them in their upper floor. Their little topiaries make my heart happy.

The third cottage is bright and warm in its color scheme. I like that it balances out the softness of the first cottage. Their red flowers are consistent all the way from their front porch to their flower beds in the back and I love that the little terracotta pots are also throughout. The lamppost feels a little out of place for me but I'm not judging too hard since my mom put lamp posts in our yard in the real world. The little rabbit hutch is so dang cute and I like that the bike with the toolshed really makes this cottage's owners feel like the most active of the three.

Overall: I love it. I'm so thankful they had enough supplies to make a kit up for me and I don't have to haunt them.

Color Total: 31
Bead Sizes: 1
Bead Color Total: 5
Bead Total: Uncounted
Size: Ground: 6.75 x 4.75 inches / Cottages: 3 inches roof-ground x 5.5 inches wall-wall x 2 inches back-front / Greenhouse: 1x1x1 inches / Tool Shed: 0.75x1x0.75 inches
Time Total: Stitching: 68 hours / Finishing: 14 hours / Total: 82 hours
14 count Dark Green, 18 count Cream, 14 count Black, and 18 count White Aida fabrics

Pattern by Meg Evershed www.3dcrossstitch.co.uk/