Lotsa Christmas Ornaments Set 2 a Cross Stitch Pattern by Kooler Design Studio

First things first: this pattern has whole cross stitches, quarter stitches and back stitching, and a few French knots. If the patterns I haven't done yet have other, more complex details, I haven't seen them yet. I've only just returned to cross stitching after a LONG hiatus. This little set of patterns is just the thing to get me back in the groove. I like that the designs are each small enough to fit on a small hoop that's easy to hold. As I move from one to the next I can tell that my skills are improving. I did the Joy one first, and enjoyed it so much I did it again immediately. That design went pretty quickly for me but is probably not a good choice for those who loathe back-stitching. I had real fun with it. I followed up with the dog, which in retrospect I can see was maybe more complex than I needed right then. :) That one took forever, or seemed to. I like this set so well I'm all set to buy the first booklet in the series since they share the same floss colors. (I think this set has one extra shade not seen in the first book? 775, using the symbol 4, if I remember right.) As a newbie to stitching, I do find it a bit frustrating that every single pattern has at least one stitch that's in a color that's not used anywhere else in that ornament. Thanks to that I've gone online to learn about pin stitches, loop starts and other such things, I pretty much had to, but at first it mostly just annoyed me that I'd bought entire skeins of floss for one stitch here and there. Yes, those tiny highlights are pretty much reason the visual effect works, but still. As a newbie I think I'd have preferred a slightly less complex palette. I'm not sure I'm entirely a fan of the range of colors here, things like the dog's Santa hat are mostly an orange color with hints of bright red and a peachy color as accent. Pretty, but somehow I think I'd prefer it if those color choices were closer to reality. My snowman hat wound up looking sorta sad, and I'm thinking I may go back and redo that bit someday. On the other hand, the colors are vivid and striking. By the time I got to the mouse with the candy cane my stitching was better and the highlight effect of the peachy color on the candy cane was really quite nice. I'll bet it shows up nicely against the color of a Christmas tree. Oh, and as an almost total newbie to cross stitching and a total newbie to ornament making, I'd have appreciated some advice on the pattern about how to actually turn the finished designs into ornaments. I've seen some online tutorials that seem simple enough, and I do understand the basic idea, but I'd have welcomed some written advice. My own preference would be for ornaments that are totally stitched, not a huge fan of glues and adhesives on my stitch work, even if it's an ornament or card that won't last forever. Re-reading this it sounds as though I have a lot of complaints, but I think my criticisms are basically sort of superficial. The booklet itself is solidly constructed, the graphs are large enough that I can see them, and the symbols are well thought out. The only thing I sorta wish they'd do entirely differently is that I wish they'd printed two graphs of each pattern, one with the stitches the other with the back stitches and decorative details done last. It's what I'm used to from the old Dimensions patterns I did years ago, and I think it would make it easier to see what needs to be done.