Another hedgehog

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The other day when my 6 year old wanted to work on her cross stitch, I decided to get out a new project. A Summer Ball is lots of fun to work on, but difficult when you have to stop every couple of minutes. I looked through my “work in progress” tote and found a project I had completely forgotten about. I had not started it yet, but had the materials ready to go. It is a cute little hedgehog which is stitched in two parts and then put together to make a pincushion. It was a free cover kit from a recent British magazine, but as I subscribe to the digital edition, I don’t get the kit. Fortunately, the chart was inside the magazine and I just had to find my own supplies. The design is stitching up very quickly, and I already have most of the first half of the little critter done. The other side is basically the same thing, only in reverse. I can’t wait to get this one done!

I haven’t taken a photo yet, but here is what he will look like. I even managed to find the same pins, although they are a different color.

hedgehogcushion

XXX
Carrie


Summer Ball week #???

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When I first started on A Summer Ball, I posted progress pictures every Sunday for several weeks. Then I put it aside to work on other things, and I am just now getting back into working on this. So I honestly have no idea how many weeks worth of stitching this is. I do know, however, that I am getting closer and closer to being done with pages 1 and 2 (out of 10). So when I finish these pages, I will be 1/5 of the way done. Wow, that sounds daunting! This is by far the largest project I have ever attempted. But I am really enjoying working on it. The Easy Count Guideline is helping so much. I can quickly glance down at the fabric and know where I need to begin stitching a new color. I mostly get to work on this in the evenings for about a half hour, and then possibly a bit more on the weekends. I had hoped to have the entire project done in just over a year, but I know that is not possible now. My new goal is to have the first two pages done by Halloween, and then one more full page done by Christmas. I am going to keep working on this until I tire of it, and then put it away and get out another WIP, such as the deer in the woods.

summerball4

summerball3

XXX
Carrie


Stash Finish #12, Framed

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Willow Tree House Sampler, designed by Catherine Theron for Kreinik. Just Cross Stitch magazine, June 1999 issue. Stitched on 30 count linen with Kreinik Silk Mori for the cross stitch and Northern Lights silk for the grass. I did change the color of the lettering and house door and shutters because I did not have the right color on hand.

willow1

I am really pleased with how this piece was finished. I found the frame at Hobby Lobby, on clearance for $3. It doesn’t have any hanging hardware, so I will have to add some. For now, I will display it propped up on my dresser.

I used acid free foam board and silk pins to mount the stitching:

willow2

willow3

willow4

Then I used pearl cotton to lace the back.

willow5

willow5b

I then added two more layers of foam board to fill in the extra space, and finally glued kraft paper to the back.(I didn’t take a photo of the kraft paper)

willow6

I normally don’t take this much care with my framing. Actually, most projects I finish don’t even get framed – they end up in a box with all of the others. Now that my walls are pretty much filled up, I like the therapeutic value to stitching more than just making something to decorate the home!

XXX
Carrie