Wednesday 19 March 2014

Cross Stitch,The Big Reveal


Back in October I posted about my secret cross stitch project. I had hoped to have it finished at the beginning of December but unbelievably it got put on the back burner and I only got a chance to finish it last night! Obviously this is for my new flat, woo hoo. When I started I hoped it would be finished for moving in day and it would be one of the first things on the wall. Sadly that wasn't to be and it has only just made it on to the wall.



The pattern is from the Etsy seller andwabisabi  and the pattern is their Our Sweet Home, Best Selling Cross Stitch Pattern. The pattern cost £3.38 which I think is a bargain. My mum taught me to cross stitch when I was young but it has been quite a long time since I have wanted to do any hand stitching. I find a lot of the cross stitch patterns either really simple and childish looking or really complicated and old fashioned. So when I found this pattern I was delighted.



As I didn't own any embroidery thread so I decided to buy a bulk pack on Ebay so I could have a play with lots of different colours and not break the bank. I ended up buying a pack of 50 Anchor cotton embroidery floss for a total of £9 including postage. I think embroidery thread usually costs about 80p a skein so that works out at about £40 worth of thread. I was fortunate that there was enough variation in the pack that I received so I was able to pick similar colours to the original DCM colours suggested in the patterns.  




I thought I would show you this too. I bought this thread organiser at the Hobbycraft and Creatives Stitches show which was on in Birmingham at the same time as the Cake International show. I cant remember exactly how much it was but I believe it was less than £2.00. I found this little tool invaluable when I was creating my cross stitch. It kept all my threads in order and the cutting blade on the top meant that I didn't have to carry a pair of scissors with me when traveling about wit my cross stitch (I love how portable cross stitch is). The other hand thing about this gadget is that it has a magnet and needle holder in the top. Although I didn't use this feature for transporting my work I did find the magnet very helpful when I dropped my needle and couldn't see it.



This is a quick photo of the back. I decided to line the back with some curtain lining that I picked up at the East Fortune car boot sale. I think it just looks a bit neater than having all of the raw ends exposed. To secure it to the hoop I just used my hot glue gun. I am a little be worried about it getting sun bleached and dusty as it is not protected by any glass or such like. I guess I will just have to see how it goes. 


As you can see I have been pinning a lot of different ideas for artwork suitable for displaying in embroidery hoops. I am hoping to eventually create a whole bunch of different crafty pieces to display in a collection on my living room wall. They will all be framed in round or oval embroidery hoops or picture frames. They will include cross stitch, embroidery, felt, wool, cotton, applique, patchwork and whatever else I can get in a hoop. At the moment my board is predominantly full of animal images and although I would like quite an organic, nature inspired wall I would also like the occasional funny piece too (I'm thinking Dr who). Keep tuned to see my progress.

2 comments:

  1. Lovely work! I love all the stitchy hoops you've collected on your pinterest board. It will make a great wall display!

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    1. Thanks Nessa, I am really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.

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