One Stitch at a Time

A History of Chris-Mystery

   As we get ready to start our Christmas Stitch-a-Long this year, I thought we might enjoy a little stroll down memory lane. Can you believe this will be our fourtheent year of Chris-Mystery? They started in 2011. Many of you have been with us since than and some even since our start on eBay in 2003. xoxo

So, the Chris-Mystery idea began as a Halloween stitch-a-long all those years ago! We had been doing “Friday Freebies” to generate some traffic, and it occurred to me that something on a larger scale might be more fun. Each week, we released a letter– this is where the poems began, too! Here’s our very first instruction sheet. 

Pretty cute, huh! If you told me I would be expanding on this tradition through fourteen years of stitch-a-longs, well, I just wouldn’t have believed it.





We had the Yahoo group at this time– participation was fabulous! Were you a part of the old group? You could post your own photos, and each week we had hundreds of photos of each letter. When Yahoo closed the groups down, all these photos were sadly lost.

Of course, we went on to do a Christmas one, just a couple of months later. Short words seemed to work well. Both my finished Halloween and the Joy table runner were given away as gifts. I know exactly where they are–hee,hee– do you think it would be nervy if I asked for them back to take better photos! 


2011 Chris-Mystery JOY

A year later, we were still working on short words! This one, I had the presence of mind and also the greediness to keep– it also had quilting patterns for the embroidery machine to finish it. I think a bell definitely went off in my head– and it took a while, but this is the precursor to the fully quilted designs you see now, like Stitches of the Sea.


Now we’re in three years, and the next one lives in INFAMY– my main embroidery machine broke down, and would be in the shop for WEEKS! I had to get out an old one– and then finally had to buy a new one. Instead of PUT UP THE TREE! and SLICE UP THE FRUITCAKE!, other exclamations were coming out of my mouth all through this stitch-a-long. Looking back on it, I see it more favorable now– that fruitcake design is one for the ages. This finishes piece, I have no idea of where it is honestly. I think it’s in the house somewhere buried. Cement shoes.


In 2014, I decided to go back to short words– I wanted us to make something for our sewing rooms. We stitched out the word PIECE, because I though “Piece on Earth” was sew cute! To this day, I have people write to me saying Piece is spelled wrong. For those people, did you know that an A is included so you can also stitch it as PEACE? Apparently, no one reads product descriptions anyway.

I ended up donating this, unfinished, for my local quilt guild’s sale– someone finished it, and I guess at that point, I felt better about it–
I bought it back!! LOL

2014 Chris-Mystery PIECE

I guess by 2015 I’d had enough with short words– we did ornaments. I love the way this came out, and this is out every year in my home. This stitch-a-long had one color ornaments for free, and full color ornaments for sale– the upgrade kit had been born!


2015 Chris-Mystery Ornaments

2016 was the year of the Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar– we did a design a day for the month of December. I do not know how I kept up with this! I would still like to take these counting designs and make a big applique quilt out of it.


Countdown to Christmas

For the stitch-a-long, I just took bits and pieces from it and used them to cobble together a table runner. This is one of my favorites– and one of our best-sellers–I hate to say it, but it’s still just a flimsy–quilted this year? Hope so.
2016 Merry Christmas Tablerunner

Next came the Twelve Days of Christmas– this had a free charm size, and then a 4″x 4″ detailed version for sale. The charm size has a beautiful finishing kit, not pictured here.
2017 Twelve Days of Christmas

The 4″ x 4″ set I stitched on large star blocks I had made with the Fat Quartershop’s book “Among the Stars.” They just re-released it, and it reminded me how close I was to finishing this! For the life of me, I cannot find it. It’s one of those situations where I have obsessively looked in the same places time and time again. 

Twelve Days of Christmas 4×4 Set

The next is my very favorite one! My Christmas Album. There were charm and 4″x 4″ designs. I was thinking of the song “A Few of My Favorite Things” when I digitized this.

My Christmas Album 2018 Charm Size

Here is my finished 4″x4″– completely embroidered with sashings and plaid and bows. Art from the heart! This hangs proudly at my front door, from about Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day… all the finishing designs are also available you can make one just like it, too!

My Christmas Album 2018 4×4

Then the year of Cross Stitch began!
These were sew fun to digitize, with all of our favorite Christmas Carols. Again, there were two sizes. 


Kris Kringle’s Cross Stitch Charm Size

Kris Kringles Cross Stitch 2019

2020, such a crazy year! I did not even think of a Christmas Stitch-a-long. Instead, we did “Once Upon a Time, Winter.” There was talk of a dark winter for all of us– I hope this brightened yours. There was again, a charm size and a 4×4 size.

Once Upon a Time, Winter Charm Size


Once Upon a Time, Winter 4×4 Size


That brings us to 2021– and we created this beautiful winter city together–

“St. Petersburg Christmas”

I did some armchair travel on this one– taking bits and pieces of cathedrals and recombining them into the 4×4 designs. I’d love to redo this in cross stitch– would you make it?

St. Petersburg Christmas


Last year was our first year in Maine– looking out over our meadow was the inspiration for the four creature of “Winter Twist.” That reminds me– I still need to get a binding on this! LOL

And now let’s hear from you! Did you stitch along for all these years? Did you finish, or still WIPs? I hope I’ve inspired you to put a few stitches in something today.

Discover more from One Stitch at a Time

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

sewfast61 Avatar

Published by

sewfast61
Categories:

6 responses to “A History of Chris-Mystery”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I'm new to the game, but made your Winter Twist last year. I am looking forward to seeing this years….may need to be on the purchasing crowd, but that is ok by me….you deserve it. And I even have some of that string somewhere!

    Like

    Reply
  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I have been a good customer of yours for many years and my home is full of beautiful things that you designed ,love your designs. I did not receive the new stitch along ornament.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Contact us at sanfranciscostitchco@gmail.com

    Like

    Reply
  4. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I'm new to the game, but made your Winter Twist last year. I am looking forward to seeing this years….may need to be on the purchasing crowd, but that is ok by me….you deserve it. And I even have some of that string somewhere!

    Like

    Reply
  5. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I have been a good customer of yours for many years and my home is full of beautiful things that you designed ,love your designs. I did not receive the new stitch along ornament.

    Like

    Reply
  6. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Contact us at sanfranciscostitchco@gmail.com

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment