Hen & Rooster Cross-stitch

One of the first projects I made when I learned about counted cross-stitch was to make these for my mother in 1983. I already knew how to embroider so it was an easy transition to x-stitch. My parents had built a lovely home in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and I made these to match the new kitchen decorated in cobalt blue, rusty red and off-white.

I have no recollection of who designed these or where I purchased the patterns. Because I was still new at x-stitch I made these on 14-count Aida cloth. My mother displayed these proudly in her kitchen and after she passed away they came back to me.

They were framed to match the kitchen using navy blue mats on the Aida cloth and then rusty red mats lifted to give depth and to prevent the glass from flattening the stitchery.