March 2013 Catch-up

After more than six months of procrastinating and allowing Delphiniums to gather dust, and feeling guilty that progress had ground to a halt, my motivation thankfully returned. This was around the end of September, I think.

 

I’d set the beginning of December as my deadline, and stitched like crazy. After a fortnight, I realised Delphiniums would be finished well ahead of my self-imposed deadline, providing I continued to devote as much time as possible to stitching. The one thing that helped to keep me going was that the sooner Delphiniums was finished, the sooner I could get to work on a project that I actually wanted to do.

 

Somewhat frustratingly, as Delphiniums was nearing completion, I ran out of a handful of threads. Having contacted Derwentwater Designs, I was then in a state of limbo whilst I waited for the threads to be posted to me. I really wanted to be stitching, but the issue was that I’d been using my No-Sew Table/Lap Stand for Delphiniums, and wanted to use it for my next project as my other No-Sew roller frames weren’t wide enough. In addition, I couldn’t find my masking tape.

 After a couple of days of being stuck in limbo, I found my masking tape, which made me feel deliriously happy. Delphiniums was promptly removed from the table/lap stand, and replaced with the Aida for my next project; Wedding Couple by Design Works. Two days after that, I received the threads for Delphiniums, which I completed on November 12th.

 

As yet, I don’t have any images of Delphiniums. It was far too large too scan, and after it had been washed and pressed, it was promptly taken to Betty Stitchkit to be framed. This proved to be an interesting experience for me, as I had naively believed it would be as simple as choosing a frame and that would be that. How wrong I was! It was felt that Delphiniums would look better with a frame mount, and what a vast selection there was to choose from. After that, we (me and my mother) got to choose the frame, and were then asked what type of glass we wanted! Although the cost didn’t come as a surprise to my mother, I almost had a heart attack. There was no opportunity to take any photographs of Delphiniums after it had been framed, due to several layers of bubble wrap that had been bound around it, which I didn’t want to disturb.

 The good news is that my gran absolutely loves Delphiniums, which now has pride of place in her room at the care home. Apparently, it’s sparked a lot of interest from staff and visitors. Of course, things like that are always lovely to hear.

 After Delphiniums was completed, I had Wedding Couple straight back on my frame. Much to my amazement it took me just over a week to stitch, and was completed on November 20^th.

 Immediately after Wedding Couple was removed from the frame, I made a start on Wedding Arch by Bothy Threads. The kit included Madeira threads, which I must admit was lovely to stitch with. It felt lovely and soft, and just seemed to glide effortlessly though the Aida. There was a small section of the design (I won’t say what) that was stitched with ‘glitter thread’. It was rather like Kreinik blending filament, which I’ve never been a fan of. I did consider substituting the ‘glitter thread’ with DMC metallic thread, but quickly dismissed the idea because the effect just wouldn’t have been right.

 

It had always been my intention that in addition to the wedding samplers, I would stitch a wedding card. After months of looking at cross-stitch charts, blackwork charts, and card kits, I had all but given up hope of finding anything that appealed. Then, one day, I just happened to spot Stitching Cards; a website packed with e-charts. Instead of stitching on Aida, one stitches directly on to card using a prick and stitch card-making technique. There is an excellent step-by-step tutorial (with images) on the website, and all the charts have an ease of use rating.

The design I opted for required Kreinik metallic cord, which I’ve never worked with before. It is a fine single-strand thread, but very strong, and looks divine. I had truly believed I would find the card challenging to stitch, but it proved to be incredibly easy, and immensely enjoyable. The most time-consuming aspect was pricking the holes, which resulted in an unpleasant burning cramp in my left upper-arm. There are pricking tools and foam pricking mats one can purchase, but I managed perfectly well with a glass-headed pin and a (clean) tea towel.

 Whilst I don’t think the intended recipients of the wedding samplers and card visit my blog, I’d rather err on the side of caution and delay posting images until after their wedding (August).