Cross Stitch Update

Wow…what a fun week on the homefront with my cross stitch.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it but first…I want to remind everyone of the upcoming stitch along.  Once again, Stitchery Nook is helping us by offering kits.  You can find the kits for purchase HERE.

This is the piece we will be stitching…Spring Messenger from Scattered Seeds Samplers.  I’m so ready for spring and by the time I get this little piece stitched, we’re going to be MUCH closer to spring.  It’s going to mark the days for me and hopefully you too.  Of course, everyone is welcome to join in on the stitching.  If you’re new to stitching it’s a good piece to start on.  Ask questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.

On the website you will need to order
1-the pattern if you don’t have it
2-the threads if you don’t already have them
3-ONE type of linen/Aida if you don’t already have it

Me, I’m getting the pattern, the DMC threads, and 40 count linen.  I love this linen…it’s one of my favorites. I’ve talked to you about it before.  It’s called Vintage Country Mocha.  If you are brand new to stitching I suggest possibly stitching on 28 count linen or 14 count Aida.  This will make your project a little larger but will help you get the hang of stitching.  You are welcome to call the shop and they can help too.  Again, HERE is the link to the website.  If the site looks a little different, no worries.  Liz has been working super hard to update and re-work the entire site.  Congrats on a great job Liz!!!  You all are going to love the new look to the site.  Everything is very clean and much easier to navigate.

My plan is to start this as soon as it comes in the mail.  I’m hoping for an April 1st finish so I can still enjoy this over spring.

Now to what I was stitching this week…I didn’t get a lot stitched on my Apostle’s Creed piece this week.  I am stitching this on a 40-count Thornfield by Needle and Flax.  It called for Harvest Basket by Gentle Arts for the words but I am using Trail Dust by Classic Colorworks for the lettering instead.  Here is where I was last week.

Here is where I am this week.

This is the first week I only stitched one row.  All of the other weeks I’ve been stitching two rows each week.

The reason why I didn’t stitch more than one row…I was closing in on some finishes with other projects and I wanted to push them through and finish them.

Another project I worked on was our stitch-along, Black Dog Sampler by The Scarlett House.  I am stitching mine on a 40-count Dirty Tea Cup by Needle and Flax.  Here is where I was last week.

I only stitched on this one short night.  I think I am getting to the 1/4 mark on this.  I don’t know that I’ll stitch on this a lot more until April rolls around the next assignment to stitch the next 1/4 of it rolls around.

Here is where I am…

I stitched the M, D, E, and started the F.

I might stitch a little more…I might now.  Who knows?  I’m unpredictab

I worked on We Live in Hope by Blackbird Designs project.  I am stitching this on a 40-count Picture this Plus linen called Legacy.  Here is where I was last week…

This is the one I really tried to push for a finish on.

The first night of stitching I finished the row that said, “Coming to America” and my initials.

The next night I had a big stretch of time to stitch so worked really hard on my Grandma’s information.  I didn’t chart it out first.  I just started stitching.  Her name is Elsa Helena Olson.  She came to the US from Sweden on the ship SS Ivernia.  She landed in Boston Harbor in 1908.  I know it’s hard to believe but that took about 3 hours to stitch that.

The next night I stitched in my Grandpa’s information. His name was Anders Ivar Johnson.  He came from Sweden to the US on the SS St. Louis.  He landed in New York in 1902.  I ended up just putting NY for New York as it was what would fit and look good.  Again, I didn’t chart it first.  I just winged it.

The next night I tasked myself with putting in the do-dads to fill it all in.  The flying white bird was first.  I decided to add a heart and put an “M” with the year 1911.  My grandparents we married in 1911.  I put a heart there.  I then took some of the motifs below the house and filled them in at places where it looked like something should be.  Blackbird Designs is well known for having lots of do-dads.

I am SUPER happy with this and so glad I stitched this.  Now I need to get it framed.  I’m going to frame it myself.  I already made a frame for it but don’t have the glass.

The night after I finished that I picked up Rudolph and Friends by With Thy Needle and Thread.  It’s on mystery linen with called-for flosses.  This is tiny- only 3×3 on 40 count.  This is where I was…

You might remember that on the 25th of each month I stitch on either a Christmas or Winter piece.  This was what I stitched on for January 25th.  I got pretty far…far enough that I thought if I stitched on it one more night, I might be able to finish it…so I did.

I want to keep this out all winter so I opted to not stitch the candy cane.  We have wild deer in our area all the time so I’m thinking of this as a deer and not a reindeer thus no red nose.

That makes two finishes in one week.  YAHOO!!!  I’ll need to get this made into a pillow…or finish it somehow.

I had a little extra cross-stitch time…being I finished We Live in Hope, I thought I better pull this out too.  It’s Come to the Garden project by Teresa Kogut.  I am stitching this on 40-count Vellum by Picture this Plus with the called-for colors.  Here is where I was last week.

I’ve told you before that this piece has plagued me.  Either the designer or I am constantly making errors. I really don’t want that to discourage anyone from stitching this…because it’s so beautiful…but it’s been a problem for me.  When I run into things, I want to keep sharing them with you so if you are stitching, you too won’t get frustrated.

This week, I finished the big basket with the blue flowers.  Someone told me they thought they were blueberries.  Anyway…that’s finished.

I decided to go up and continue on the big flower.  I finished the leaf on the left and started the leaf on the right.  Darn.  My leaf on the right was one stitch higher than the leaf on the left.  What did I do now?  I counted and compared…counted and compared again.  Nope, I was right in my stitching.  Darn.  I must be wrong on the left side.  I counted and compared…I counted and compared.  Nope.  I was right.  Then I ran my needle on the chart comparing the chart’s left leaf to the chart’s right leaf.  THE DESIGNER IS WRONG.  All of the other leaves are mirror images of each other except the bottom two leaves.

I don’t care.  Really I don’t and no one will notice it.  BUT…I wasted all of that time trying to figure out my stitching and comparing it to the chart.  That’s what I mean when I say this chart has just been a problem for me.  Again…I’m not changing anything…I’m not worried about it but I did want to figure it out.  UGH.

I’ve decided that I am going to commit to getting this chart finished.  I am going to stitch something on it every week.  I don’t have to finish anything.  I just have to stitch something even if it’s only one single bee.

I want to finish this piece and be done with it.  Again…I love the piece…just not the actual chart I am stitching it from.

You might remember that I started With Thy Needle and Threads pattern.  I’m stitching this on a scrap of Vintage Country Mocha in 40 count.  I am using the called-for floss colors.  This I didn’t stitch on at all.  I was too excited to get the other two projects finished.  When I get so far along that’s the point where I just drop everything and finish a piece and leave the other things behind for a week.

 

With the finish of We Live in Hope, I don’t have a Blackbird Designs piece that I’m stitching on and one of my plans for the year was to always have a Blackbird Design project that I was working on.  So…I’m starting this tonight.

A kind blog reader sent this to me and I’m FINALLY starting it!!  I’m so excited.  The project is Birds of a Feather.  I’ll be stitching it on 40-count Picture this Plus Doubloon.  It’s a nice warm color that I love.  I was so lucky to find some of this linen.  I found it at Kitten Stitcher online.

That’s where I am at with my cross-stitch this week.  As of writing this, I have five cross-stitch pieces I need to fully finish making pillows or framing things.  Hmm.  I better get on that.