A Horrible Thing Happened On My Way to the End of Stitching an Ornament

As most of you know, I have been busily stitching ornaments from back issues as well as this year's Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments magazine.  Since last month I have stitched 7 ornaments & have attempted 2 which nearly put me in the loony bin, both of them having been designed by, well, never mind   : )   Seems like 7 ornaments are a lot to stitch in this period of time, but I've counted them & recounted them.  There are indeed 7.  I still have 17 ornaments kitted.  Will I succeed in stitching them all in time for the holidays?  We shall see   : )

I will now share with you the story of the horrible thing referred to in my post title.

The Design:  Redbirds Rejoice

The Designer:  Blue Ribbon Designs

The Magazine:  JCSCO 2013 

Before I tell my tale, let me say what an absolute delight it was to stitch this ornament!  A cross stitched ornament filled with cross stitches!  God bless Blue Ribbon Designs   : )   Anyway, this ornament is stitched 1 over 2 on 40 ct linen.  I never noticed before I began stitching that the words Joy, Hope, & Love are stitched 1 over 1.  No matter though ... they are cross stitches.  Hallelujah!  Amen!

  

Stitching 1 over 1 on 40 ct linen isn't a big deal unless you make an error & have to pick it out.  I was about 75-80% finished stitching this ornament when I did indeed make an error, & my greatest cross stitching fear happened.

Please don't freak out at the ornament colors as they appear in this photo.  I was, needless to say, quite frustrated when I photographed it which happened to be on a very dark & rainy afternoon.  I couldn't have cared less about coloring ... all I cared about was getting a picture of that hole down on the bottom right side.  It was in my mind to send this photo to someone who might be able to either help me repair the hole or otherwise talk me down off the ledge, so to speak.  To whom did I send the photo? I sent it to my good friend Marly at Samplers & Santas   : )

Marly has a reputation for being a rebel  : ) She has described her unconventional approach to cross stitching on her own blog many times.  Off the top of my head I believe she has, among other things, dyed her linen after having stitched a design, eaten a variety of culinary delights while stitching, & thrown her stitching into her clothes dryer. It was Marly who taught me that it's okay to make knots with your threads on the back of your work rather than weave your starting & ending threads underneath other stitches. I thought surely she had encountered a hole in her linen at some time in her stitching life & surely she would know how to fix it, & she did : )   She told me to simply pull the ends of the broken thread out a bit & to the back of the piece on each side of the hole, then pull a thread from the edge of the fabric & weave it in.  Worked like a charm   : )

I am now stitching another ornament but I can't tell you anything about this one as it's for an exchange.  You will have to wait to see it after the exchange is completed   : ) 

Tomorrow I am heading to Lexington for my one month followup appointment after my heart surgery.  I don't anticipate any bad news.  I actually wish I could just cancel the appointment but I have to follow through.  

Our house continues to be on the market but our contract will end on November 1st.  I received an email from our real estate agent a few moments ago.  He said someone might want to come see it on the 18th.  It will depend on how long a morning meeting will last & how long an afternoon wedding will last.  I'm keeping good thoughts   : )

Be blessed my friends!