Alice's Winter Wonderland Miniatures Are a Must-Have for Cross-Stitch Enthusiasts

Hello!

I've got to say, Alice's winter series of miniatures is absolutely stunning. If I'm not mistaken, it's the latest one out right now. They also have nautical ones with lighthouses, ships, and seagulls, but the seasonal ones are my absolute favorite. To be honest, I wasn't a fan of the summer series, so I didn't end up buying it. But autumn and winter? I'm totally in love!

Where I bought it and the price

I've been buying almost all my sets on Ozon lately, and this one was no exception. I knew I was going to end up stitching the entire series of five, so I bought the set of all the miniatures from the official manufacturer's store - it cost me around 1500 rubles. Now it's a bit pricier, around 1750 rubles. You can also buy the sets individually for 400-500 rubles per piece.

The content

As always, the canvas is Aida 14 count. The stitching is full, and I don't see any reason to replace it with an evenweave - although some people might prefer to stitch on evenweave and do full coverage.

I've got two needles - one is a tapestry needle with a blunt tip, perfect for stitching crosses. The other is a sharp one, meant for outlines. There are some places in this set where you need to backstitch in the middle of a square, not just along the edge, so the sharp needle was super helpful. Now I use those sharp needles from the Alice sets to stitch outlines in other sets too - I never would have thought of that on my own.

The chart is printed on the back of the packaging - it's pretty dense. It's glossy, and it's a perfect square with all sides being equal, which is super convenient. There are no blank rows or squares in the chart that end up being 9x9 rectangles. The chart is color-coded and symbolic - that's my favorite format. The key is also easy to understand.

The floss is from Gamma, just like the rest of the set. There are 16 colors, and they come on an organizer and are already attached. I love it when the thread's end is facing me, so I usually rethread it in larger projects. But with miniatures, it's not a big deal.

Tech

I was expecting the usual suspects, but here's the thing - there's a full cross, a half cross, a full cross in 2 and 1 thread, and a half cross only in 2. No blends whatsoever.

The back is available, and there's a lot of it because of the fabric. Five threads are used in different combinations, and it's amazing how a simple fence and a shed can transform the picture after stitching the outline. Before:

And after: For working on miniatures from Alice, I highly recommend the rectangular hoops from Nurge, number 1. The design fits perfectly in the middle, and I've been using them for almost all my projects. I've almost stopped using wooden hoops - only Nurge, which is plastic, and metal for circular ones. I'm absolutely in love with them, and I might have to write a separate review for them. My cross-stitch life has been divided into before and after I bought my first Nurge hoops.

Overall Impression

The designer did an amazing job. This is a small design, about 7x7 inches, but the level of detail is incredible, even in the 40x40 cross-stitch pattern. The fence, the bush, the tree, and, of course, the house are all beautifully rendered. The light is on, and the smoke is coming out of the chimney - it's all clear and visible at first glance, without needing to spend hours studying the details.

This design isn't as dense as "Horses", although it does have a single-cross stitch. But it's only one symbol, and overall, the design relies more on double stitching. I stitched the "Frost" set in about a week, not rushing through it. Although it's possible to finish it in one day, it's a great option for those who want a quick result. As for beginners, I wouldn't recommend it. When I first started, I struggled with stitching similar colors next to each other, and I often made mistakes. Here, the sky and snow are stitched with similar shades, so it might be challenging. But it's all individual.I'm really happy to recommend both the house and the entire series. I've got two projects left out of five, and I'm hoping to finish them off by the end of winter along with a larger design from Panna, which I've already gotten a bit tired of.

My reviews of the "Winter's Come" series (with finished kits):

Horses

In the Forest

You might also be interested in my reviews of Alisa's autumn series miniatures too:

Wet Boulevard

Quay

Tram

Seagulls over the Bridge

Old Park