Past, present & future

I have been busy doing all sorts and next to work moving house took up a fair bit of my time. Naturally during all that I kept on stitching but keeping up the blog somewhat drowned in other stuff. So time for an update what I have been working on, what I plan to work on and what I hope to start in the near future.

For the past two years I have added some more to the WIP pile, so updating the WIPocalypse is needed. But I put most WIP's on hold for Death By Cross Stitch from Long Dog Samplers.

A huge ass sampler only stitched with full stitches, some backstitch but in one colour. The main reason was the moving house bit. All projects needed to be put away for the move and one project with one cone of DMC 310 would be easier to quickly move. Many people adapt this piece and work it in the most amazing set of colours but for me DMC 310, black on white 16 count aïda worked perfectly. Also I took a picture of the project each time I started a new length of thread so as I went along I could watch the pattern grow. Future plans involve putting these pictures in order so it becomes a clip.

I started the piece in March 2017 and finished it just recently on January 24, 2019.

I changed the initials in the centre next to lions and the surrounding area to make sure they fit properly. Also I 'fixed' a tiny area on the right side that I didn't appreciate in the original pattern. The date in the bottom is changed to 2019 as to properly state when it was finished. Other than that I kept it all as was including the alphabets and most minor intentional 'mistakes' that have been put in the pattern. All in all it was a bad-ass project to work on which gave me huge pleasure.

So, after having moved house, and finishing this giant piece it is time to return to the WIPocalypse and keep up the blog!

Happy stitching!

Backstitching

I have mainly been working on the Victorian Dollhouse by Joan Elliott. Such vibrant colours and a joy to work on. There is one down side to this piece. It has tons of backstitch.

Backstitch is not my favourite but it does make a huge difference on certain pieces. The stitch instructions always tell you to first do all your full and half cross stitches and leave the backstitch to the very last. In pieces like this with a huge amount of backstitch I prefer doing bits of it in between so I don't get annoyed when I have to do it ALL in one go.

Also doing the backstitching helps discover tiny errors that I have made or crosses I missed:

It is an absolute great way to check your work. While doing the backstitch you realise you oopsied. A quick correction and it is fixed.

Backstitch can be done in different ways. In this piece I choose to do one backstitch over two threads next to each cross stitch over two threads. In other pieces it might be nicer to have your backstitches span several cross stitches. This is particulairly useful when your backstitch is not aligned with the cross stitches but crosses over them.

The next picture shows backstitches spanning stitches. Imagine trying to pierce the needle through the stitches trying to create a straight line! That would be next to impossible and create a jagged backstitched line at best.

So how you backstitch completely depends on the design and foremost your preference!

Now to show you how backstitching can really make a picture come alive I have taking a picture of the living room bit of the Victorian Dollhouse before and after the backstitch.

Can you see the picture go *pop*? I sure can!

So despite the backstitching being an evil that can be utterly boring it can really be worth the effort to create an everlasting masterpiece you can enjoy forever.

Happy stitching!

Victorian Christmas Eve

I finally finished Victorian Christmas Eve on December 30, 2015. Just in time for a new year full of different projects.... Or at least other WIP's!

Peppercricket Farm - It's a wrap!

I finished all the backstitching on Peppercricket Farm yesterday. I have made one tiny adjustment but I am taking a wild guess here and claim that no one will ever notice!

I enjoyed working on this even though it took me ages to finish.

Blast from the past!

Instead of doing loads of backstitching I decided to clean out my cabinet and I found some finish products. So it is time for a blast from the past!

 

Eastern Promise - A design by Joan Elliott that was published in CrossStitcher issue 200

 

Carrousel - From a random needlework magazine from nineteen ninety-something

 

Two cute little kittens - A Margeret Sherry design (I think) came with CrossStitcher as gift

 

Miss Moo Moo - Made for a friend (omg, still not gifted!)

 

My middle son's name in Winnie the Pooh lettering :) (He is 11 now but still likes it)

 

Teresa Wentzler's Tempest in a teacup - a free to download pattern for you to try from her site

 

Train - I think this was in Cross Stitch Collection

 

The Needlework Shop - a design with loads of tiny details, loved making this!

 

A pre-printed panda, stitched for my daughter

 

Winter wolves - A smaller Dimensions kit

 

Quick Biscornu

 

And a tiny cupcake card

WIP #5 Update Peppercricket Farm

I have been working on Peppercricket Farm since I laid down the Victorian Christmas Eve. First my progress so far:

So I have most of the full cross stitches done. On the right side there are quite a few half stitches left to do. Then after that there is a fair amount of backstitching in various colours to top it all off. When I picked this up I figured I would finish this first before starting anything else. But ofcourse there is Always something tricking me!

This time the annual needlework fair is messing up my plans as I could not help myself and I bought two lovely kits that have been on my wishlist for quite some time. I will share them with you;

 

Gracious Era by Alan Maley (Dimensions)

 

Japanese Garden by Sung Kim (Dimensions)

 

Two most wonderful kits that make my hands itch to start them, well the Japanese Garden is. The Gracious Era will have to wait until I have finished Victorian Christmas Eve as that is a similar type pattern. As an added bonus I was given this cute little Vintage kit by DMC. Pretty little piece that is that I will surely fit in between my bigger projects someday.... Oh someday.... 

WIP #7 Update Victorian Christmas Eve

Today I reached the 50% done mark on this project. Page 3 of 6 is now done excluding the backstitching. I will take a break from this project for a bit and aim to finish another WIP.