I told you that last weekend I worked a bit on tidying up my dining room table and rearranged some of my cross-stitch area. I have a long-term goal to make this area into a cross-stitch sampler wall.
It’s a work in progress for sure. That piece on the wall is not staying there.
Well, for this to become a showcase for my cross stitch some of the junk in the big long basket has to have some attention. It’s all cross-stitch-related. So I need to just get on it and tackle it.
I pulled out two pieces that were finished with the stitching but not fully finished. I also finished stitching my little Autumn freebie.
Jo…I told myself, it’s time. That put me in a finishing mood so I thought I’m just going to tackle these one at a time and get them done.
I pulled one I’ve put off because I was a little afraid to finish a piece as a circle. I’ve heard people lament about it so that made me a little nervous.
I looked all around the house to find …a container that was circular. It had to be 3.5-3.75 in size. I ended up with a diaper rash cream container. I traced that onto sticky board. For those of you who aren’t familiar you can find this is the cross-stitch section at Hobby Lobby.
There are a whole bunch of you cringing right now as it can be controversial to use sticky board. I use it on pieces like this all the time. They are not heirloom pieces. I don’t care if they aren’t preserved perfectly for years and years to come. This is just a quick small stitch that is for decoration. Using sticky board makes for an easy finish and at this point, that’s what I’m going for.
I got some batting scraps. I’ve heard that they help make doing circular finishes a little easier as it helps hide inperfections. I was all about that!
I peeled the piece off the sticky board and pressed the circle on top of it.
In pencil, I drew a rough circle a little more than an inch away from the edge.
I cut it out. It’s totally okay if this is a rough cut.
I did a running stitch around the edge and then popped the batting and sticky board into the center.
I pulled the thread tight.
I flipped it over and played with the positioning of the stitching. It was easy to manipulate it one way or the other. Once I got it where I wanted. I tied a knot in the thread.
At this point, I could see that the edge really is hard to get smooth. I was okay with how it looked but decided I wanted a little more zip to the project.
I thought about using this rick rack. I didn’t like it. The reds weren’t good together. The rick rack should be wider too.
I found this Lady Dot Creates chenille. I liked that. The color is the same as the color of the spool of thread. I thought it looked pretty good and worked great to hide imperfections.
Here it is with everything glued into place.
I am happy with it.
I bought the little container at the thrift store some time ago with the intention of someday using it to finish a cross-stitch piece. I finally did it.
Yahoo!! It’s a finish.
I get so frustrated with myself sometimes. It took me about 20 minutes to finish once I just finally did it. AHH!! Why do I wait???
The blue dots on the piece on the left is a reflection from the camera.
Well, this is the first in a series of finishes to come as now that I did this one, I want to do more. I guess I just needed to get in the mood.
For those curious:
This piece is from Heart in Hand. It’s called Needle and Thread. I stitched mine on 32 count Lakeside Light Examplar. The trim is Lady Dot creates. I think I changed a couple of colors but I don’t remember for sure.
I’m off to finish another piece!! Go-Jo GO!!
Looks Great Jo. Well done and I look forward to seeing the next and the next…………
What a great finish! It looks really good. I love seeing all the different items you use to finish your cross stitch pieces :-)
I’m the same way. Once the hard part is done, the stitching, I lose motivation. I have a few things to be framed and at this point it is just bite the bullet and get them done. I love the way you finished this piece. Thanks for so many ideas.
Great finish Jo. I really like the way it came out.
Every baptized child in our church is given the cloth used to wipe the water off their head. It’s small count so it’s soft. There’s a group of cross stitchers who stitch the child’s name & baptism date on their cloth as a keepsake. I used to help but can’t really do the small count anymore. I sure love to see your projects and my fingers itch to do it. I will continue to sew quilts for charities !
Good job, Jo! I think many of us stall out when it comes to the final finish. I really like you idea of a sampler wall! That will be outstanding!
Another cute finish, love it. I don’t cross stitch, never heard of sticky board. The trim really makes the piece look finished and what an adorable container. Go Jo Go!
I started cross stitching in the later 70’s. I have many pieces still today that are on sticky board. They look as nice as they did the day I finished them. Don’t know about longer than that, but they look good 40 years later.
I just sold a set of those boxes at the local consignment store. Hmm,now I wished I would have kept then, Oh, well. More stuff. lol
You are so creative!! I love the little stitching you finished. Your cross stitch area will be very nice when you get a little further with it.
Lovely!
I love your finish Jo. I love the process of cross stitching but stall when it comes to finishing. I also did the little free Autumn piece. I pan to make it into a little pillow to add to my other fall smalls. I am really looking forward to seeing your finishes. You are very creative!!!
Looks great! Just a note, when gathering in the round, the edge gets smoother as your gathering stitches get smaller. You could run a long machine stitch around and gather with the bobbin thread.
That looks terrific!! Really neat way to get it finished. Will be watching for more finishes to appear and see how your cross stitching area is developing too!!! That is a very interesting piece of furniture with all the drawers too. You go Girl!!!
Anne
Sweet finish, Jo!!
Thank you for this! I also have many unfinished ‘finished’ pieces. I am not very creative, so I struggle with how to finish. I love what you did!
Love it. You have done a lovely job.. and it is great to be able to view your beautiful finished work.