Tag: cross stitch

All play and no work.

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February is the first month in many that I will not be travelling—for business or pleasure—at all. Yes, friends, I will be home every. single. weekend. I spent my first free weekend in delightful laziness. It was lovely.

While I was busy not doing laundry, I did manage to accomplish a lot, crafting wise. I finished the stitching for my Spring Trifles pincushion. I finally got the backstitching started, and finished rather quickly—much to my surprise. I am amazed at how it brought the piece to life. You can see it in the bees, one here is outlined and one is not:

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It makes such a difference! The finished piece is ready to be sewn up into a pincushion that I will probably never stick a pin into. I thought about framing the thing, but it would be so precious stuffed and sitting on the sill of my sewing room window.

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I also  knit one whole rainbow sock. I am thoroughly enjoying this yarn, Mothy and the Squid in Summer Skies, Rainbow Brite. It is the very definition of rainbow and is kicking off my rainbowalong quite nicely.

The winning post 🙂

In secret knitting news, I’ve been working up the first clue of the Snowmelt MKAL. I’ve never done a mystery knitalong before, but the suspense is just amazing. I’m not going to show the actual project until the second clue comes out later this week, but here’s a peek at the yarn. It’s all from Peepaloo Fields, in Smokestack, Smitten, and Bumble (l-r).

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Anyway, I’m hoping I to sew up the pincushion in the next couple of days. I’ve been doing well with finishing one project per week. Sort of an informal goal that helps me buckle down a little bit on various WIPs that are nearly there.

YoM day 32: Sock and Snowmelt Shawl

YoM day 33: Snowmelt Shawl

YoM day 34: Sock and Snowmelt Shawl

YoM day 35: Sock and cross stitch

YoM day 36: Sock and cross stitch

YoM day 37: Sock and cross stitch

Happy making!

In other news

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When I was a little girl, my mom was a cross stitcher. She had samplers and other pieces she had done hanging in the house, she had patterns and thread and fabric and beads in a drawer in her sewing room, and she taught me the basics. The only thing I really remember making was a bookmark, and that was decades ago.

A few years ago, Kevin sent me a teeny little stocking stuffer-ish cross stitch kit. I had so much fun trying it out again! Eventually I found my way to The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery and fell in love with their patterns. I purchased this one and went out and got my supplies. I worked on it some, but was honestly a little discouraged at how slow of a process it was. I have had this issue a few times, I keep thinking about how much faster and easier knitting is for me and then I get frustrated. So when we moved, the cross stitch got packed up and that was that.

Fast forward to last week, when by hook or crook I found myself in a real cross stitch shop. It’s local to me—yay!—and is patently amazing. So many patterns, beautiful fabric and thread, and all the notions you could dream of. I decided to give it one more try—on something small. They had a lovely selection of pincushion patterns and that seemed like a great way to go.

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I got home and got started that weekend but as a I worked on the first few bits…  I couldn’t really see them. I was straining my eyes and giving myself a headache just trying to see where to place the next stitch. On Kevin’s mom’s recommendation, enter my shiny new Ott Lite. It lights my desk up like daylight and I was able to proceed with my stitching.

New light OFF
New light ON

The shop was missing one color, so at the moment I only lack the brown for the roof and the sheep, the bottom border, and the backstitching.  It’s a wee bit wrinkly since I’m trying the in-hand technique. I have it in a hoop here so it’s easier to see, but I’ve been stitching without a hoop. I like working that way a lot.  On a side note, washi tape does not work well on the edges of linen. Not at all.

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I have thoroughly enjoyed this project so far. I am trying to let go and not be frustrated by the fact that I could knit a whole sock in the time that it takes me to cross stitch half of a pincushion. It is a very different style of making, and I am enjoying flexing my creativity in other ways.

YoM day 25: Sock knitting

YoM day 26: Sock and hat knitting, with the teeniest bit of cross stitch to finish the grass

Happy making to you!