Greetings one & all! It took me a couple days to post my March IHSW report. Monday was a very dark day ... literally. Very cloudy, very gray, very overcast. Definitely not a good picture taking day. Yesterday I had a few errands to run & by the time I got home, I was too tired to bother with taking pictures. However, this morning I got them taken before we headed off to an appointment I had in Frankfort. That's Frankfort, Kentucky ... not to be confused with Frankfurt, Germany. Sigh! If only!
My first stitch since the dreaded HE Along for the Ride (see header photo) was a pure delight. I posted about this pattern here. It stitched up quickly & I totally enjoyed the whole experience.
Title: A Day of Joy
Designer: The Little Stitcher
Threads: Suggested DMC
Fabric: 32 ct Belfast Platinum linen
After taking my last stitch in Joy, I felt cocky. Giddy even! I began rummaging through my chart files & as soon as I saw this one by Jardin Prive, I knew it was going to be my next stitch. I had just the perfect size piece of 32 ct antique white Welchelt linen in my stash, & I decided to use a lovely variegated thread my friend Sally included with an RAK she sent me last year. It's a Carrie's Creation hand dyed floss in the colorway Olde World Red. Lovely floss!
I was really enjoying stitching this piece ... up to a point. The left side of the design seemed to go very well. I remember thinking how contented I felt doing the stitches. Well, I don't know what happened after I started working on the center portion of the design, but the little heart to the right of the lantern ended up being positioned incorrectly. I decided to not allow my OCD to overtake me. It was one space away from the lantern just like the heart on the other side. It looked good. I was okay leaving it that way. Well, when you make a mistake like that, you need to remember to allow for the incorrect positioning when you stitch anything else near that motif. I positioned the squirrel's body based on that little heart. I positioned his tail based on the key which was based on whatever that thing is in the top right corner so all was well there, but when I got to the end of the squirrel's butt, it did not meet his tail. Rip, rip, rip. I restitched the squirrel's body & all was well ... for a while. My next step was to stitch the bird on the thread spool, making sure it was positioned exactly where it should be based on that mystery thingie in the top right corner. It wasn't until I reached the bottom of the spool that I discovered I had counted down 4 spaces instead of 3 to begin the tail which totally threw off the positioning of that motif. Did I rip it out & start again? In the immortal lyrics of an Amy Winehouse song, "no, no, no." This meant I had to creatively (?) redesign the spool & then the border to accommodate the redesigned spool. Okay ... all's well that ends well, right? Not quite. I then started the back stitching. I had to add some back stitches to the squirrel's head. Things became a little fuzzy here. Do squirrels in France have antlers, or perhaps long ears? Does this particular squirrel have a bunny wish? By this point I didn't care ... I just wanted to get the blasted thing finished. I then moved over to the left side of the design to add the back stitching to the floss card. It wasn't a surprise to discover I had make an error in positioning the square representing the floss. I reached for a Xanax & continued. My last bit of back stitching was supposed to show the flight of the butterfly. Naturally since the floss card had been mistakenly positioned, the path of flight for the butterfly was a bit off. I just winged it. Lol! Winged it! Butterfly! Get it? Why am I laughing?
Just writing about my second IHSW piece has my hands shaking & my throat closing up. I am wondering ... do I have to add French designs to my list of cross stitching projects to avoid? I don't know what happened during the stitching of this piece, but it turned out okay despite the errors in positioning.
I think it's time for another cross stitching breather. What will I be doing instead? I'll show you tomorrow : )
17 comments:
Such sweet pieces!! Yuck on the issues though....
Haha, it's definitely a bunny-squirrel! Very cute though.
My head is spinning!!! Stay away from matches. You didn't mention your leg so I'm hoping it's better.
I've always had a hard time following those French designs. There's no rhyme or reason to where all those precious little motifs end up. Your is beautiful though and I really like the floss color.
Shirlee, did you come back too fast and too furious to stitching..lol! Both pieces look great...even the bunny squirrel. I really like to floss color. Anxious to see what you choose tomorrow.
Judy heartland stitcher
Miscounting is maddening to be sure! Been there many times... Yours look great with the tweaks you did tho'.
WHOOOOO HOOOOO you have been stitching and they look gorgeous ... fab colour on the french design which I can't see any of the problems you have mentioned :) love mouse xxxxx
It looks great.
Great floss color also.
Marilyn
OK...back away from the cross stitch. Tell your DH to hie the matches!!
It looks fabulous, only you know about the small misplaced stitches. Truly it looks perfect from here.
Hugs!
Lovely stitching Shirlee!! You're back on the saddle :D
Oh no! I am sorry to hear you had some bother with your stitching, but both look lovely :)
Glad to see you stitching again Shirlee. They look good, really. I am proud of you for leaving the miscounted motifs there and winging it!
That thing in the upper right is supposed to be a skein of DMC I do believe.
I love reading your posts . . . to be honest, most x-stitching blogs I usually just scan for the pics, but yours I actually read! You make me laugh.
Both your finishes look lovely Shirlee. Glad you like the thread I sent you. I love it.
I call it personalisation when I make a mistake. I did it on the LHN I'm stitching and I ended up leaving it!
Most of my stitching for the past YEAR OR TWO seems to go the same way as your red piece. I'm always "off" somehow, somewhere and I think I can live with that. Then it comes back to haunt me as I continue to stitch with nothing lining up.
I've been trying to count, recount, recount again, stitch, then double check everything. I absolutely hate ripping stitches.
Regardless, both of your pieces turned out beautifully.
Have a great day!
Your stitching looks great, I am always mis counting I think I spend the same time frogging as stitching hugs.
Shirlee, despite your perceived "mistakes," I think the red piece turned out beautifully!! I really doubt any of us would have noticed any improvisation if you hadn't pointed it out :) I keep telling you--give PS designs more attention--they really are true comfort stitching!
Post a Comment