In the cross-stitch world, there is a project called New Year, New Start. Meaning you start a project on New Year’s day and your hope is to finish it sometime during that year. I’ve been thinking about what I might want to start. Hmm..
Here in the family we recently celebrated my grandson Carver and my grandson Ander’s birthdays. That got me thinking that I really don’t have a cross stitch piece commemorating my grandkids. Wouldn’t it be great to come up with a piece that I could stitch and do that?! That led me to this chart which I already have. It’s Crowns & Shields from Blackbird Designs.
If you look at it closely it’s a combo of motifs all together with initials included in them. My thought was that I could stitch on this throughout the year. I could start with some pieces that don’t have initials in them, then as each grandchild’s birthday came around, I would stitch their motif with their initials. I think somehow I would put the last name Kramer on it…or put mine and my husband’s initials on it as well. The idea really started growing on me.
But then came all the decision work.
The piece is stitched up in two different colorways with two different finishing options.
The first is done in all red. Admittedly, I am not a fan of the pink linen…I would do it on a nice neutral linen.
The other option is this…
This was stitched in all different colors and then made into a pillow.
I’ve thought about it enough to know that I would like to frame the piece and not make a pillow. But I can’t decide if I like the red version or the colored version better. I really like both.
In the book is also this piece. This is stitched in three colors. Mostly a black along with two other colors as accents.
In the book, they made it into this drum. I like that too but there’s not enough room for all of the grandkids. I could stitch the other one and use these colors instead though. I kind of like that idea.
There is plenty of space to put all 10 grandkids onto the top piece. I love that! But…I’m so confused about which colorway I’d like to stitch this. Come on blog readers…you know my style and my decorating. Which way do you think would look best for my house and my aesthetic?
So…I’m leaning towards stitching this as my New Year/New Start. I think it would be a perfect addition to my cross-stitch walls and I love that it commemorates the grandkids.
Anyone want to stitch along??
Jo, after viewing the options, and thinking about the different (shy, spunky, inquisitive, talkative, etc.) personalities of your grandchildren, I believe the colorful version fits THEM best!
I agree! Do they have favorite colors you could use for their initials? Or could you choose colors that hint at their personalities
I was able to see the back cover and like the blue color. I think a dark denim blue color would look good for most of it. Maybe add a red and or gold accent color like for some of the little crowns. I love the way you personalize your cross stitch pieces. Putting your grandkids names or initials on this one will make it awesome.
I like all the different colors to go with all the different personalities of the grand kids!
I think you could primarily stitch in one color but then have each child’s initials in their own color. It would give a little sparkle to the piece and be easier for the kids to find their own initials. But I’m not a crossstitcher so that might not be feasible.
I like this idea too!
I like the option of all different colors like in the pillow. The colors not only reflects personalities but also the ages of your grandkids.
Definitely love the idea of New Year/New Start and celebrating their birthdays by adding them to this beautiful work of art. Their favorite color would be a great way to personalize as well.
That is a hard decision. I kind of like the three color version for your house. Otherwise I like the colorful one and as some readers suggested using different colors for each different grandchild.
You could do one drum for each family. I like the multiple colors or you could choose a color for each family. You could ask each child to pick their favorite color too. Sounds like a fun project. You may need to leave an empty spot on each just in case…
Assign each of the families a color and all the kids from that family would have their motif stitched in their family’s color to link them together. It would give you a colorful piece with another level of meaning. An easy way to identify siblings.
Perfect!!!
This!!
Great idea, Jo, and a perfect chart. I would follow your lead but I only have 2 grandchildren! LOL!
Toni…maybe you could make a family piece and put your children, you and the grandkids all on one piece.
How about getting a bigger drum?
this makes terrific sense. otherwise, something for each branch of Kramers with their favorite colorway. I guess this suggestion is not really helpful. It makes more work for Grandma Joey.
The multicolor one looks like something you would find in a French flea market. My vote.
What a fun project to take on. Let each grandchild pick the color for their initial, that would get them involved in the project as well.
Multiple colors is gorgeous!!! Use your favorites and assign a color to each line.
I like the colorful one. In a single color, like the red or black, it seems the kids’ initials would get lost in the mono color scheme and wouldn’t stand out the way you would want it to. I also loved the thought that the different colors represent the uniqueness of the kids. What a fun idea.
I also think that the colorful one represents the individuality of the grandchildren. I know that you are a red “girl”, but I bet that not all of your grandchildrens’ favorite color is red.
I like your idea and I had already bought the book. I haven’t done anything from it yet. I’ll plan to stitch with you. I will probably do mine in red. Hugs,
My first thought was to choose their favorite color to stitch their symbol and initials. Choose shades that coordinate, for example, all civil war tones, plum instead of purple, etc. The older kids would love helping you choose their color from options you preselect.
Jo – now it is your turn to enable me! I absolutely love this idea to stitch this for the grandkids! I have 10 grands so do you think I could fit them all into this?
Hard decision. The one thing I noticed about the colors used on the pillow version is some of it is so light that it looks faded away. Lot of good comments provided – lots of choices. Love your personalization ideas and thoughts on when to stitch for each GC.
They’re are plenty of comments about what color to use, but my thought was, you want a piece that you can add to it in case more grandchildren come along. My reason for this is my sister did a cross stitch with just the grandchildren that our parents already had and there was no room to add the new grandchildren, so they were left out of the piece.
Different colors. Not one child is identical to the other. They all have their own personalities. Let your grandchildren pick a color they want theirs to be.
I like the multi color version and the idea of each family having their own color is interesting. Then the initial for each child could be different. But that might be too complicated too! Framing seems the way to go to best preserve the piece asim sure the little ones would want to find their initial often!
I like the idea of each family having a colorway. Then the initials could be blue for the boys and pink for your lone girl.
Or, blue for the boys and one lone pink symbol.
Lots of great suggestions! I lean toward multi-color too. Would it help you decide if you enlist the help of your stitchy daughters…see what they think their kids would like best? Or, you could pick a variety of colors that blend well and let each child pick “theirs” from that group.
I vote for the multi color large one. You chose which child gets which motif and color. It will represent how you see them. I really like that chart – I may stitch along with you.
I think I vote for the colors. Choose ten of the cartouches through out the piece and color each a different color for the grands and finish the rest with the color of your choice. That would set off the grandchildren s cartouches