GimletBlog

Lately I’ve been selecting stitching projects from cross stitch magazines. The articles are useful for learning about different designers, offer a chance to try out new skills and include a variety of charts in size, level of expertise, and topic. I’ve been stitching several small projects; all taking one week or less to complete.

The first magazine project to catch my eye was a free kit by Margaret Sherry included in issue 196 of CrossStitcher magazine. It doesn’t get much cuter than this pair of cuddling kittens. The completed design measures 15 x 12 cm, stitched on 14 count white Aida fabric using 18 colors. I wish the magazine had listed the floss codes; I didn’t run out, but a few people wrote in to the magazine’s web site in need of more, and it would be helpful to have the codes if I wanted to make another one as a gift. I completed it in about two weeks: this was my first experience with fractional stitches, and the backstitching required a lot of careful attention, too. Both the fractionals and backstitching were very useful to create the charming, illustration-like appearance of the kittens. The most exciting part of this project was finally learning how to make French knots. As a lefty, most embroidery stitches have been beyond my capabilities. I found a great tutorial on the Primrose Design blog, reversed her photos as per her suggestion, and was making French knots in no time.

Next, a different magazine has been publishing a series of tropical fish charts; so far I’ve completed five out of the six designs. Look for a separate blog post describing these fun, colorful projects — they’re Thing Two’s favorites.

I haven’t finished off the fish series just yet because I wanted to try stitching a card for my newest nephew. Issue 136 of Cross Stitch Collection (CrossStitcher‘s sister publication) featured a delightful birth sampler from Faye Whittaker’s All Our Yesterdays collection. Any one of the children from this sampler would make a cute new baby or birthday card; I’m especially fond of this little boy and his teddy bear. It was stitched on 18 count white Aida fabric with 13 colors of DMC floss. One fun aspect of this project was that I was able to make the card using a leftover scrap of Aida and I had most of the floss already, too. Cross Stitch Collection focuses on more advanced projects than CrossStitcher, but still provides easy-to-follow general guides and advice for the beginner.

After finishing my nephew’s card, I was ready to make Mother’s Day cards for my mother and mother-in-law. I chose two beautiful designs from Joan Elliott’s book, A Cross Stitcher’s Oriental Odyssey. The orchids were the natural choice for my mom, the orchid collector. Both designs measured about 2½ x 3 inches and were stitched on 18 count oatmeal Aida with 12-15 colors of DMC floss. Again, I was able to stitch these cards with materials already on hand and each took just a few days to make (a good thing, as I had to scramble to get the morning glory card to the post office on time). The cardstock colors are much darker than they appear in the photos; the orchid card especially is a very dark red rather than fuschia.

Joan Elliott’s book is a lovely resource for cross-stitchers interested in Chinese and Japanese art and culture. Extensive notes describe the meaning behind each design and several suggestions are made for finishing the projects — cards, sachets, pillows, and more. The stitches used are whole and fractional cross stitches, back stitch, and French knots, so these designs are within the patient beginner’s abilities. I agree with the Amazon reviewer’s opinion that these designs could also be stitched on linen (rather than Rustico Aida) to great effect.

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… but I finished another cross stitch project from Thing One’s babyhood! Back In The Day, I bought the Beatrix Potter Counts set of charts from Green Apple with the idea that I would use the cute character/number pairs to decorate Thing One’s nursery. I managed to complete the three specialty numbers and the regular numbers one through eight before getting distracted, or bored, or who knows what happened? Eventually Thing One grew too old for Peter Rabbit decorations in his room, and Thing Two took his own sweet time joining our family, so the cross stitching box ended up in the basement. After successfully completing Thing Two’s birth sampler shortly after Christmas, I decided to finish numbers 9-12, and did so just before Valentine’s Day.

Each number was stitched on a 9″ square piece of 18 count cream Aida fabric, and uses about fifteen different colors of DMC floss per design (two strands of floss for the cross stitches and one strand for back stitches). The chart book provides handy measuring guides for 11, 14, 18, and 22 count projects, and suggests using the numbers to decorate bibs, hooded towels, growth charts, and other baby items. These are cute little designs, but most of my satisfaction derives from completing them after so long. Although now that Thing Two is discovering Peter Rabbit and his woodland neighbors, I may get to add these to a nursery after all.

Meanwhile, I had ordered a kit from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath based on a watercolor Jane’s sister Cassandra sketched in 1804. That project took considerably less time to complete: I started it immediately after the Beatrix Potter patterns and it was done by February 29. I’m very pleased with how it turned out; the color scheme and small size of the piece give it a very delicate appearance.

The design area is about 6″x5″, stitched on 18 count cream Aida fabric, using seventeen colors of Anchor floss (one strand for cross and back stitches). The directions combine two contrasting colors into a single cross stitch in a few areas, creating extra color tone and texture in the lower deep folds of Jane’s pelisse. The kit provides the fabric, a needle, and plenty of floss: I made a mistake early on and had to redo most of the pelisse, but at the end I still had a small amount of floss which could be used for a future project. At the time, though, I wasn’t sure I would have enough to cover my goof, and the big chain craft stores don’t carry Anchor floss, so I was delighted to learn that a nearby knitting/crochet specialty shop sells Anchor floss as well — and it’s much easier to visit than the chain stores, which are mostly out of town.

I haven’t decided what to stitch next: I bought the companion kit depicting Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, Hampshire, but I also own a Beatrix Potter chart book for Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes and would like to stitch the two designs depicting a favorite poem. In the spirit of continuing education and family heritage, I’d like to try Hardanger embroidery, but I’m not ready to start learning that yet. Meanwhile, I hope that Uncle B will apply his mechanical engineering skills to improve my scroll frame. I like the theory of the frame: I find it easier to work with and it doesn’t leave heavy creases like the hoop I used for Thing One’s projects. But the frame I bought doesn’t always hold the fabric securely. Does anybody have a favorite brand of scroll frame, or any thoughts about using scroll frames or hoops?

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I bought a cross-stitch birth announcement kit to work on while expecting Thing One, and wanted to make a matching sampler for Thing Two. Although the floss and fabric were purchased well in advance of Thing Two’s arrival, I didn’t actually get around to starting it until the week before this Thanksgiving. (Yes, Thing Two is two and a half now.) The goal was to finish it in time for Christmas; I managed to complete it a few days after the holiday. Still, considering all the other tasks and projects that needed attention during this time, I’m pleased that it took only six weeks to complete. The design was worked on 18 count white Aida fabric and measures 11″x14″. Next I hope to finish up a set of small Peter Rabbit designs (also 18 count) that were started when Thing One was a baby.

ETA: I should have mentioned this kit was by Heartwarmer Designs, purchased from Deseret Book. I haven’t seen the kit in stores for years, but it occasionally shows up on eBay. Heartwarmer Designs doesn’t appear to be around any more, either.

The original package included fabric, 14 colors of DMC floss, and a needle. No fancy embroidery, just cross stitches (using 2 strands of floss) and back stitches (1 strand). Kits were available in two color schemes: bright primary colors and pastels; I own the pastel version. While the personal information can be stitched in pink or blue, the main poem and border around the sampler are blue; it would be interesting to see how the sampler would look with those parts stitched in pink.

Besides stitching samplers for the two Things, I think I stitched one as a gift for a nephew. I don’t remember making any others for the rest of the nephews and nieces, so if any of the sisters-in-law feel like their children have been sampler-deprived, get in touch and we can work something out.

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