This variegated heart project started out last summer as a way to unwind while on vacation. Yeah, right. The chart was so horrible to stitch from, I decided to give up until I could get home and make a photocopy of it to work from. 6 months later, here we are… I made a photocopy of the chart as soon as I finished Autumn Leaves, and then sat down with a full container of Wite-Out tape in an attempt to cover up all of the heavy grid lines. I do not mind grid lines that show you every 10 stitches on a pattern, but this chart was absolutely rediculous. Every tenth grid line was the EXACT SAME thickness as the backstitching on the heart. And the ENTIRE chart is backstitch, no full cross stitch at all! Generally, the grid lines are there to help you keep your place, but do not interfere with your stitching. The ones in Just Cross Stitch magazine, however, are another story. I love the charts this magazine puts out, but they are horrible to follow. All of the symbols are in black and white. All of the grid lines are in black. All of the backstitch is done in black. It makes me want to put down my stitching and jot off a letter to the publishers of the British magazines to let them know how great they are. Because compared to the US mags, they ROCK! So anyway, I spent about an hour whiting out all of the lines that were not supposed to be there, based on the color photo of the finished piece in the magazine. Then I was ready to stitch. I am using a red marker to mark off the stitches as I go along. Kind of a pain to keep putting down my work to do that, but it is making it easier to stitch. In one day this heart is already half done. Compared to the 1/5 or so I had completed last summer, after a week of stitching.
I guess I need to start thinking about what my next project will be!
XXX
Carrie
