My Stitching History
Ok ......
I've been itching to write about my new re-found hobby of cross stitching for, em, quite a while now and now have at last bothered to do something about it.
I'm probably going to want to fiddle around with it quite a bit, when I've figured out how, different sections, adding photos and such, but I really feel the most important thing about these online journal type websites is to update them regularly so for now, that is what I intend to do.
I first started cross stitching some time between 10 & 13 years ago, a little while after I got married. I'd done embroidery, mostly table cloths as far as I can remember, as a child, then later on done some tapestries on printed canvas at least one of which is still sitting in a cardboard box in a cupboard unframed. Don't really like it too much now, I much prefer cross stitch.
I got the bug for stitching again after I was married and asked for a tapestry kit. I got a long stitch kit for a birthday or Christmas from my mother-in-law. Didn't really realise at the time long stitch is kind of a beginner's type of stitching. I finished it very quickly and was eager for more so got myself another kit, this time counted cross stitch.
Not sure what my first project was. I had a trilogy of cottages which I bought from one of those clubs where you get so many items at a ridiculously low price then have to commit to buying x more at the regular price. Not sure if the cottages were the first cross stitch I did or if there was something else before.
Anyway, the cottages were actually quite hard for a beginner, not that I realised that at the time. They were on eavenweave linen and there were lots of colour changes. The second one I did with the crosses the other way round. I got them all framed and they were on our bedroom wall in our old house. The glass on one of them broke when my husband threw a racketball ball at it (accidentally).
The next project was elepants in the savanna, or somewhere like that. It is also on evenweave and the first time I had done half cross stitch with one strand. I did a load of it in two strands at first then had to unpick it all. It isn't that complicated though, there are no fractionals and the backstitch just follows around the edges rather than being an intrical part of the pattern itself. Its very effective and the only one of my projects which is up on the wall now. From a distance it looks like a watercolour.
The next project was the dragon and castle, a Janlynn kit, the most complicated design I've done to date and the most impressive! This one involved blended threads (two strands of different colours stitched together) - loads of different combinations, fractionals and effective use of backstitch. This kit was on aida, the first time I'd used it. I didn't realise at the time that aida is in fact more of a beginner's fabric. Owing to the large number of fractionals in this design it probably would have been easier on evenweave. Its framed but the frame is damaged, its sitting in the hall now waiting to go back to the framer if I'm ever brave enough to try contacting him again.
The only other framed project I have is Winnie the Pooh holding a large blue balloon. The balloon is just plain blue and I remember doing it, painfully boring!
Back then I also did a shire horses picture which I got from a magazine. I had that framed too & gave it to my mother-in-law as a present for birthday or Christmas. It went up on her wall but disappeared after a couple of weeks and I haven't seen it since. I also did an assortment of Christmas cards including a large old fashioned father christmas for my brother, and a tiny Christmas tree for my mum which probably only took me about half an hour. Mum gets that card out every year, bless her! It is my intention to stitch her a card again this year but I feel very disinclined to stitch gifts for anyone else as I really feel they don't appreciate the amount of work that has gone into them.
Back then I also completed a cartoon-y type Father Christmas coming out of a chimney which we get out every year, and a Pooh-sticks picture which is still sitting in the box unframed.
I tended to have several projects on the go at once and when I put my hobby on hold for several years there were several abandoned projects left.
1. Tutankhamun mask - about half done.
2. A very large vertical picture of 2 clowns hanging onto a rainbow - almost complete just a tiny bit of backstitch to be done.
3. Pansy Fairy - Craft Collection kit - about half done.
4. Old fashioned father Christmas with his horse - all the cross stitching complete just the back stitching to be done.
To be continued ...........!
I've been itching to write about my new re-found hobby of cross stitching for, em, quite a while now and now have at last bothered to do something about it.
I'm probably going to want to fiddle around with it quite a bit, when I've figured out how, different sections, adding photos and such, but I really feel the most important thing about these online journal type websites is to update them regularly so for now, that is what I intend to do.
I first started cross stitching some time between 10 & 13 years ago, a little while after I got married. I'd done embroidery, mostly table cloths as far as I can remember, as a child, then later on done some tapestries on printed canvas at least one of which is still sitting in a cardboard box in a cupboard unframed. Don't really like it too much now, I much prefer cross stitch.
I got the bug for stitching again after I was married and asked for a tapestry kit. I got a long stitch kit for a birthday or Christmas from my mother-in-law. Didn't really realise at the time long stitch is kind of a beginner's type of stitching. I finished it very quickly and was eager for more so got myself another kit, this time counted cross stitch.
Not sure what my first project was. I had a trilogy of cottages which I bought from one of those clubs where you get so many items at a ridiculously low price then have to commit to buying x more at the regular price. Not sure if the cottages were the first cross stitch I did or if there was something else before.
Anyway, the cottages were actually quite hard for a beginner, not that I realised that at the time. They were on eavenweave linen and there were lots of colour changes. The second one I did with the crosses the other way round. I got them all framed and they were on our bedroom wall in our old house. The glass on one of them broke when my husband threw a racketball ball at it (accidentally).
The next project was elepants in the savanna, or somewhere like that. It is also on evenweave and the first time I had done half cross stitch with one strand. I did a load of it in two strands at first then had to unpick it all. It isn't that complicated though, there are no fractionals and the backstitch just follows around the edges rather than being an intrical part of the pattern itself. Its very effective and the only one of my projects which is up on the wall now. From a distance it looks like a watercolour.
The next project was the dragon and castle, a Janlynn kit, the most complicated design I've done to date and the most impressive! This one involved blended threads (two strands of different colours stitched together) - loads of different combinations, fractionals and effective use of backstitch. This kit was on aida, the first time I'd used it. I didn't realise at the time that aida is in fact more of a beginner's fabric. Owing to the large number of fractionals in this design it probably would have been easier on evenweave. Its framed but the frame is damaged, its sitting in the hall now waiting to go back to the framer if I'm ever brave enough to try contacting him again.
The only other framed project I have is Winnie the Pooh holding a large blue balloon. The balloon is just plain blue and I remember doing it, painfully boring!
Back then I also did a shire horses picture which I got from a magazine. I had that framed too & gave it to my mother-in-law as a present for birthday or Christmas. It went up on her wall but disappeared after a couple of weeks and I haven't seen it since. I also did an assortment of Christmas cards including a large old fashioned father christmas for my brother, and a tiny Christmas tree for my mum which probably only took me about half an hour. Mum gets that card out every year, bless her! It is my intention to stitch her a card again this year but I feel very disinclined to stitch gifts for anyone else as I really feel they don't appreciate the amount of work that has gone into them.
Back then I also completed a cartoon-y type Father Christmas coming out of a chimney which we get out every year, and a Pooh-sticks picture which is still sitting in the box unframed.
I tended to have several projects on the go at once and when I put my hobby on hold for several years there were several abandoned projects left.
1. Tutankhamun mask - about half done.
2. A very large vertical picture of 2 clowns hanging onto a rainbow - almost complete just a tiny bit of backstitch to be done.
3. Pansy Fairy - Craft Collection kit - about half done.
4. Old fashioned father Christmas with his horse - all the cross stitching complete just the back stitching to be done.
To be continued ...........!
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