Okay, Now We’re Stitching!

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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.

Variegated Heart

I guess I need to start thinking about what my next project will be!

XXX
Carrie


Done at Last!

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Whew! Here is the finished Autumn Leaves.

Being sick made this one take longer than it should have, but the last few days have really seen some serious stitching time. I am not sure if I will frame this right away or wait until next fall. I don’t have a suitable frame picked out at the moment.

Up Next: It’s time to finish Janis Lockhearts’s Variegated Heart (or, as the designer called it, Hearts & Diamonds). Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine.

XXX
Carrie



I need some stitchy time!

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Once again I had a day with no cross stitch. Well, that isn’t entirely true. I processed orders. I did inventory. I started on my taxes. But that isn’t exactly the kind of cross stitching I had in mind. My 10 day goal to finish Autumn Leaves was a joke. Who was I kidding? I spent last night restocking DMC floss. A shipment of 140 boxes came in. That’s 1680 skeins. Mmmm… that’s almost as good as chocolate! I love looking at the rainbow of colors, and seeing the display cabinets full to the brim. I don’t particulary enjoy opening all of the boxes and finding which spot the floss goes in. But I guess that’s part of the job. Today I restocked all of the other items that came in that I was running low on, such as bobbins, needles, magnetic boards, and fabric. Tomorrow I have to add all of the brand new products that came in, namely hoops in every size. I also can’t wait for my shipment of Coats & Clark floss to arrive. We have decided to add their line of floss to our shop. Later in the year I hope to add the entire Anchor line, as well. Hopefully this will satisfy our overseas customers, who cannot purchase DMC threads from us due to DMC’s European Union rules. It’s a brand new year, and so far it has been great for the shop. It looks like the economy is turning around. Yay! More orders = more $ to spend on new inventory!

XXX
Carrie


Plugging Along

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I have finally been able to get some work done on Autumn Leaves:

Autumn Leaves

I am giving myself 10 days to finish this. Whether that is realistic or not, I don’t know. What I DO know is that it is January 7th and the Christmas tree is still up. In my defense, yesterday was Epiphany, so it couldn’t come down until then anyway. But I know I have to kick things into gear and get stitching. As soon as this one is done, I have to get to work on my daughter’s Christmas stocking. She will be 4 next Christmas, and I am determined to have a hand stitched stocking for her, like everyone else has. Not only was her stocking dismally plain in comparison this year, it didn’t even face the same way as the other three. It seems that all Christmas stockings sold in the stores point one way, while most cross stitch patterns create stockings pointing in the opposite direction. Go figure.

Autumn Leaves will definitely be a project I won’t forget. I started it because the crow in the picture reminded me of my uncle Dan, and now the unthinkable has happened. My aunt Wendy (his wife) has just been diagnosed with leukemia. It’s a different type than my uncle had, and the doctors are hopeful that she will make a full recovery. But still… being diagnosed with this disease only a year after your late husband was, is a shock to say the least.

XXX
Carrie