A to Z challenge - choosing the fabric

I've finally worked out which cross stitch to do for the A to Z Challenge.

I'm actually going to be stitching two.  One I'm planning on starting soon because it's a little more complicated.  The other I'm planning on stitching each day.  We'll see how it goes!

Choosing the patterns means it's time to choose the fabric.

I've decided to stitch on aida rather than evenweave.  Although I prefer the finish of evenweave (it looks smoother in my opinion), I find aida quicker to stitch on because it requires less counting.  There's also less chance of missing a line or two, so less frogging (unpicking).

Rather than order fabric especially for each project, I'm delving into my stash.  I have quite a collection of hand-dyed and coloured fabrics.  I love hand-dyed fabrics.  I find they give added dimension to projects, without having to add a lot of extra background stitches.  They're also more fun to look at than plain white.

Just some of the colours in my stash

I find choosing the right colour can be tricky - there's either too many "perfect" choices or no "just right" choice.  I cheated this time - I handed my stash to my youngest brother and said "which do you think will work best for these projects?"  He's not the most artistic of my brothers, but he made a choice, and I'm going with it.

Both of these fabrics are from Sew It All, an Australian company that specialises in hand-dyed and opalescent (sparkly) fabrics.  I love their colour ranges, and their prices, and that they're Australian.  Most of my more recent projects have been stitched on their fabrics.

For Project 1, I'm using "Bluescape" from the 'Colours of Australia' collection.  There's a lot more greeny-blue than is showing in this picture.

 

 For Project 2 I'm using "Stormy Sky" also from the 'Colours of Australia' collection.  The second picture shows the colours better.

I'm itching to get started, but I need to sort threads first.  That's a job for Future Me.

Happy Stitchin!

WIP Wednesday

This week I've started work test stitching a new pattern!  This one has been in the design stages for almost a year but I finally managed to finish the pattern last week with a bit of input from a couple of friends.

I started the piece on Friday, and this is where I've gotten to today:

I'm stitching this on "Rose Garden" 14 count aida from Sew It All

Not the fastest of stitching, but I've been working on a few other new patterns as well - which is why they take so long to design - I keep distracting myself!  On that note, stay tuned - I've added several new patterns to my Etsy store and will be detailing them in full over the next few blog posts.

Any guesses as to what this one might be? ;)

Happy Stitching!

A Whovian Wedding - it's a new pattern!

It's about time I posted about another new pattern.  This one leads on from my prevous blog post about stitching presents for friends' weddings.

For a long time I wasn't sure how to design a geeky wedding sampler - I just couldn't get it to feel/look right.  Then someone contacted me via Etsy to ask about a custom wedding pattern featuring Rory and Amelia Pond and the TARDIS, and the pattern finally came together in my head.  The person never got back in touch to finalise their order but that's okay because now I have what I think is an awesome Whovian Wedding Sampler!

Patterns now available from my Esty store

There are two different styles to choose from - casual Amy and Rory, and formal Amy and Rory... mostly because I couldn't decide which one I liked best!  Also included is the alphabet and number guide so you can customise it to suit your own needs.

Happy Stitching

How to Cross Stitch - the Cross Stitch

The Ultimate How To Cross Stitch Guide - Post 3 is all about the main, nay essential stitch involved in cross stitching.

The Cross Stitch

The main stitch in cross stitch is, funnily enough, the cross stitch.  It consists of two short stitches to make up the cross.  Aida is great material to stitch on because (as you can see below) the square are already present, making it easy to make your crosses.

To stitch a cross, you position your needle behind the fabric and come up at 1, then push it down at 2. Come up again at 3, and push it down again at 4 and, voilà, you have your cross.

Usually in cross stitch, you need to make a row of stitches.  Rather than stitching each cross individually (which would be rather tedious and time consuming), you stitch a row of the bottom half, then come back along the row stitching the top half.

Then it's all just a matter of reading the pattern and counting, skipping over the blank squares or squares with other colours in them.  You may find it is helpful to use a highlighter to cross off the squares you've already stitched so you don't lose your place, particularly on larger or more complex designs.

Finishing off

To finish off your thread, weave the needle under five or six stitches to anchor it in place before cutting off the excess thread.  Alternatively, you can anchor it in place by your next five or six stitches, using the running start method from the previous post.

Coming Up...

Next post I'll show you backstitch, which is even simpler than the cross stitch.  In a future post  I'll also show you how to stitch on evenweave, which is my preferred fabric.

Happy Stitching!