Review:Neat Container – Cross-Stitch

Recently I had the chance to check out the Neat Container Storage system, which is part of a Craft Gossip Giveaway. It is a handy storage system that comes with storage bins in a wide range of sizes. The set I tested has eight of the the size #1 (six-inch wide) shoe box pod, eight of the #3 (four-inch wide) accessory pod, and four of the #4 (twelve-inch wide) sweater box pod. There are smaller and larger sizes of the pods available as well.

I certainly can see where they’d be useful for for organizing shoes, sweaters, and accessories, but I plan to use the pods for organizing craft supplies. But, I digress. Let me tell you first about how easy the pods are to set up and use. The pods arrive stacked in sets. They are two-piece and the lids snap in place. The tops are clearly marked, which is nice.

The containers are light-weight, but it is clear that they are durable. I did some smash testing and they stood up well to that. I placed heavy objects in the containers and they held up to the weight just fine – I know they will hold up to my cross stitch stash.

After you put the pods together, you set up a five column system that is demonstrated in a video on the website. It is quite simple and easy – it requires no extra hardware or tools and no special skills or training. I had the Neat Container set up in just a few minutes. What is great is that you can then pull out one of the pods from anywhere in the system, even the bottom, even from the corner, and the tower of pods won’t tumble down.

I think I have found the place to organize all my current works in progress!

Learn more about the Neat Container at neatcontainers.com .

Pricing for the kits range from $35 to $189 depending on how many pods are included.

Next Pattern:

15 Ugly Christmas Holiday Sweaters To Cross Stitch

I was trying to think of some different Christmas cross stitch pattern themes that I could share with you and I came up with wanting to do a post of patterns with ornaments on them that aren’t necessarily ornaments themselves.

This is a really hard term to search for, so I’m sure there is more than what I was able to find. But I love the idea of stitching up some ornaments if you don’t have space for a tree or want to send a little holiday cheer from afar. Let’s take a look at these cross stitch patterns featuring Christmas ornaments.

The bold baubles sampler from xCounting the Starsx is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. This set of 16 little ornaments would be cute propped up on a mantle or bookshelf, and of course you could stitch them individually and turn them into ornaments, too, if you wanted. The full design is 165 by 186 stitches and uses 30 colors.

If you want even more baubles that you can mix and match into your own sampler project, check out this collection from Mason Art Maison. It includes a whopping 140 cross stitch Christmas ornaments that you can combine or use on individual projects. I love the hand drawn and painted look of these. There are seven pages or ornaments, each of which is around 300 by 300 stitches, with the individual ornaments running around 70 by 70 stitches.

Looking for something smaller? This little branch with three ball ornaments from Wild Bluebell Patterns is super cute and just 59 by 43 stitches. It comes out to 4.2 by 3.1 inches (or 10.7 by 7.8 cm).

Or try this little bundle of three baubles from Ecliptica Design. They’re shown in individual frames but you could also line them up into one project. Each is 34 by 38 stitches, or 2.4 by 2.7 inches/6.2 by 6.9 cm. They use five colors and two blends each.

Snail Fishes Stitches also has a cute Christmas ornament cross stitch pattern with a variety of little ornaments. This one uses just three colors and is 63 by 64 stitches. It’s perfect for a 5 or 6 inch hoop if you stitch it on 14 count fabric.

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