Border Blues

This new stitcher has made quite a newbie mistake. I'm working on a little design for my blog header, which has a border. I got all the sides to match up, but it didn't take long for my self-congratulations to dissipate. I stitched nearly a quarter of the design before I realized that I had turned the block of linen the wrong way, and my stitching goes in a different direction from the border stitches. This is always what you get warned about in cross stitch lessons - make sure your stitches all go the same way. Sigh. I could frog it all out and start afresh but I don't have the heart to do it. So I'm going to continue, hoping that it won't be noticeable on my blog. Can anyone tell what I'm stitching yet? I'm using Spinach by Crescent Colours and I like the variegated look in the design.

I read this post by Deb of Lavender Rose Ramblings after I discovered my error, and its wisdom helped me get a bit of perspective on this latest debacle. I urge anyone who has ever been discouraged to read it.

Oh Christmas Tree

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. We were in Florida visiting my mother-in-law, and I haven't had any pictures of anything worth noting. Remember I am a very slow stitcher!

While we were away I worked on Christmas Motif Sampler, figuring I could at least finish it during vacation. Well, I completed the tree but ran out of Weeks Dye Works Holly just when I was ready to work on the animals. It didn't look that variegated so I tried to get some DMC to match, but to no avail. It'll take a trip to my LNS (about 45 minutes away) to get this design finished. For anyone who is planning to stitch it, there is an error in the chart - the tail of the ribbon at the top on the right side is higher than on the left, so be careful. It must be really hard to avoid such errors, as they are more frequent than one might think. Maybe not all the designs are stitched before they are released?

I'd planned to start LHN's Moon and Stars but find I'm just not in the mood for it. While I was away I bought The World of Cross Stitching magazine, because it had a chart of an illustration from Raymond Briggs' The Snowman. I love that story and movie; I used to watch it all the time with DS when he was really small. So I'm going to do that one for my next project. The project called for some blue aida. It'll be the first time I've stitched on aida since I discovered linen. I hope I remember how to do it. I know I could do it on linen but I rather liked the look as it was in the magazine. In the article about the designer it said there was a whole book called The Snowman in Cross Stitch available, but when I looked it up on amazon.co.uk the only one I could find was 238 pounds! On Amazon's site here it's a bargain - $144.66. I guess I don't want it that badly.

I'm also working on a small design to use in a banner I want to make for my blog. I think I've finally figured out how to post a blog banner, though I'm still not sure of the dimensions to use. It will be nice when I can make the blog look a little less generic!

A few questions

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my pinkeep - it feels good to get such a nice reaction. I so enjoyed making it, and it's the start of many more to come. Now all I have to do is the stitching for others. I do have a few other small pieces like Blessed Be and Small House Sampler so you'll be seeing those soon.

Meanwhile I have a couple of questions I'd love some advice on. How do people hide the ends of the cording so they don't show on the back? I put the ends up at the top and the bow hides them on the front, but you can see them on the back. Is there a better way of doing it? Where do you usually start your cording or ribbon?

My other question is about fabric. I'm about to get going on Moon and Stars. My fabric is folded in quarters so there are creases across and up and down it. Is it better to iron out the creases before I start, or will using Q snaps be enough to keep the stitches flat over those areas? I've only done small projects so far so the fabric for those hasn't been folded. Many thanks for any help. I am going to Florida this weekend - we are visiting my mother-in-law - and I'm looking forward to stitching in the warm sunshine!

My First Finish!

I made a pinkeep! This is the first thing I have ever finished. I was so anxious about trying for so long, but today I decided to get over myself and just give it a go. I used the tutorials by Vonna and Nicki (thank you both!) and it was really easy. I didn't expect to enjoy doing this but I did. There was something very satisfying about producing something that wasn't just on a piece of cloth with raw edges. Now, I won't say it is a perfect piece of work by a long stretch. It's a bit lumpy and it isn't quite a perfect square. But all in all it turned out okay, and I am proud of it.

I started this during the afternoon although I didn't have any backing fabric that worked (or ribbon or pins for that matter), so I ran out to Joann's to get what I needed. The backing fabric is what the pinkeep is on top of. I'd been planning to use green fabric but couldn't find anything that worked. I found a pretty brown ribbon that I was going to use, but then I saw the twisted cording with a red that picked up the color in the cardinals and the house, so I just had to get it. Then I found the gold pins. Altogether the pinkeep isn't as understated as I had envisioned, but I'm quite happy with it. Now I want to turn all the little projects I've done into pinkeeps. This could be quite addicting!
Meanwhile my Christmas tree project is at a standstill. It just isn't holding my interest. So I'm going to start something new: LHN's Moon and Stars, which I've had kitted up for awhile. I'd been going to start it today but my son was obsessed with playing Disney's Scene It which he got for Christmas, so when I wasn't making my pinkeep I was wracking my brain to remember Disney trivia. But as Scarlett O'Hara said "tomorrow is another day!"

'Twas Three Days Before Christmas...

I should be packing instead of blogging. We're leaving for a week with my family tomorrow morning, and I'm frantically doing laundry and looking for enough clothes to last us for the trip. So no stitching here today, but I did do a scan of my little holiday project from JBW Designs. I'm afraid this is one tree that won't be up for Christmas, but it will accompany me and hopefully see in the New Year. Of course I discovered a place where I was a row off, so it was one step forward and two steps back for a bit. I'm still fixing it up which is why there's an empty patch under the reindeer.

One good thing came from starting to get ready to travel - I went into the pantry for a plastic bag to contain all the various chargers we have to take along, pulled one out of the basket, and lo and behold it held the floss for the birds' feet in Hope Perches that I'd been searching out for days. I'd just about decided to use something else but I really wanted to do it with the floss the chart called for. So a few more stitches and the birds will be flying.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas (or had a lovely Chanukah) and a very happy and fulfilling New Year. Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support in 2007. It got me through a lot of tough moments of doubt. I love this stitching community!

Hope is nearly perched

At long last I have a picture to post. I really slowed down on my stitching and didn't have anything to show that was all that different from the last picture. But I'm finally done with the birds and the poetry lines. All I need to do is the birds' feet, and wouldn't you know it, I can't find the floss I bought (GAST Nutmeg). I know it's floating around here somewhere, so it's really frustrating that I can't quite finish yet. This will be the first piece I'll have framed when it's finally done. I do love the saying, though my husband makes all kinds of jokes about birds flying around inside a person.

I have one UFO I've been working on lately - JBW Designs Christmas Motif Sampler II. I hope to get it done before Christmas, and to finally figure out how to make a little pillow or ornament. I'll try the pulled thread method and see what develops. I'm still very wary of trying to finish anything, though seeing all the gorgeous ornaments on blogs lately makes me long for them.

Looking through my little but growing stash, I'm deliberating on what to start next. I bought the floss for the Autumn pinkeep from The Gift of Stitching but with yesterday's ice storm I'm not in a fall mood. I have LHN's The Bookshelf but I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. I have a lovely chart by Papillon Creations with a cherub and lute player that I might do. What I'm really hankering after is Gingerbread House (oops - it's Cottage) by Country Cottage Needleworks but I haven't been able to get the chart yet. Well, something will call to me soon.

Staci, thanks for thinking of me! I knew when I started this blog that I wouldn't be able to post updates as frequently as most other bloggers. I'm just so incredibly slow, but I keep plugging. You know what I wish? I wish a quick stitcher would post a video of how they do it. I just am in awe of the speed in which people turn out projects, and I'd love to see what the process looks like. I think I stitch as fast as I can but I'm a turtle compared to all the hares out there!

Progress and Pillows

Hope Perches is coming along, with three lines of the words just about done. I'm quite enjoying stitching this, and am now seeing how the birds stand out even though the blues look similar up close. It's such a pretty little design; I may have to do some of the other Literary Littles that are available.

Though I've decided to frame this when it's finished (I can't resist the idea of seeing it on a wall), I have been wondering what I would do if I were to make it into a pillow. The thing I can't figure out is how you make sure the design is straight when you sew the backing fabric together with the design material. I assume you do it inside out and then turn it rightside out, but I'm stumped as to a method of ensuring everything is lined up properly. So if any of you more experienced stitchers have any tips, I would be very grateful!

I wish I had a stitching group (or even friends that stitch!) For the past few days I had an old friend visiting from Minnesota; she is a knitter and a needlepointer, and we had such a companionable time sitting together and working on our respective projects. Well, at least reading blogs fills a bit of that need for me - it's such fun to look at all the beautiful projects out there, and dream of what I might be able to do one day if only I can stick with it!