Hi Everyone
What is it with Murphy’s Law that as soon as I properly relax on a holiday, that I then get sick? The upside to spending a week and a half on the couch and binge watching Netflix, is that I have been able to get a bucket load of cross stitch done!
Moonlit Waters Fairy Progress…
The deal/rule I have with myself at the moment, is that I’m not allowed to move onto another project until I’ve completed a page. This rule applies to the larger projects I’m working on and it drives me a bit batty when I start getting an itch to start a new project. So, as a result of this rule and getting sick, I was able to finish a page on the Moonlit Fairy project (see below) and start some work on some Christmas ornaments and Christmas related projects.
Christmas Ornaments…
The Christmas ornament I completed last night (20 September 2019) was Snowflakes from Ultimate CrossStitch Christmas Volume 19 2018. I bought it during my Christmas holidays at the coast and I want to stitch all the things in this issue.
One of the things I really enjoyed with this project, was stitching on plastic canvas. All of the projects I’ve worked on in the past have been on Aida or Evenweave, so it was a nice change to work on something different. The main challenge I had with working on the plastic canvas, was it being clear plastic and getting my bearings with where I needed to put my next stitch.
I decided to stitch two snowflakes in two different colours – purple and blue and I had contemplated using ModPodge glue to stick them together or double sided tape. My concern however, was that neither would hold very well and I didn’t want there to be much of a gap between the two snowflakes. I could have made the joining of the snowflakes extra decorative with the use of metallic threads for the seam and beads. But I wanted it to be seamless and the focus to be on the snowflake and the clear edge around it, which triggered my light bulb moment. My boyfriend is an avid fisherman and has a variety of fishing lines that I may be able to use to join the snowflakes together!
The line was a lot more flexible than I thought it would be, based upon what my boyfriend was initially saying about the line. Also, because of how fine it is and that it’s so clear, on the snowflakes, I can’t see where I’ve stitched with it!
Stitching with the fishing line gave me a new appreciation of stitching with metallic threads and similar threads that can be difficult. They’ve got nothing on fishing line! I appreciate that fishing line is just that – it’s not meant to be stitched with. I can also appreciate how easy it is to get tangled and knotted whilst being used as fishing line and getting snagged. For the majority of last night when I was joining the snowflakes together I was internally cursing and swearing like a sailor because it was knotting up and getting caught on the rough edges of the snowflakes. Then there was the additional challenge of re-threading the needle with the line. Oh. My. Gosh. The line is clear and curling up and not wanting to play nice. It took a large bundle of my patience and stubborn perseverance (this line was not going to beat me!) to get it done before I went to bed.
But it’s done and I love the result of my first attempt at stitching on plastic canvas and using clear fishing line. I don’t know if I would use fishing line again. I would probably use some pretty, decorative paper to line the back of the snowflake so that people wouldn’t see the back or ensure the ornament hung in a way that people couldn’t see the back when it’s on the tree.
Fishing on the River project work in progress…
For the last few days – since completing the snowflakes – I’ve been working on the ‘Fishing on the River’ project whilst trying to hold off on starting any new Christmas related projects. It’s been progressing a lot better since I photocopied the pattern so that I could have a working copy. I found that trying to just eye-ball the pattern and not mark where I’ve stitched doesn’t work very well. I found myself getting a little muddled with where I have or haven’t stitched – especially when it came to stitching the half stitches.
My aim at the moment it is to stitch it for my boyfriend for his birthday or Christmas. Whether I get it done by this birthday/Christmas or next year, is debatable at the moment because there are just so many projects I want to work on at the moment!
Projects I’m itching to start…
While I’ve been working on the fishing project, I’ve been really keen to start on ‘The Candy Express’, ’12 Days of Christmas’ and ‘Santa’s Coming!’ from the Ultimate CrossStitch Christmas Volume 19 2018.
At the moment I’m thinking that I’ll stitch ‘The Candy Express’ and ‘Santa’s Coming!’ on the marble green fabric (see below) – even though the pattern calls for ‘Santa’s Coming!’ to be stitched on 14-count white Aida and ‘The Candy Express’ to be stitched on 28-count Sky High evenweave.
At the moment I have my nephew in mind for these two projects. He’ll be turning 5 very soon and I’m uncertain at the moment about how much he may appreciate the projects. However, if I stitch some more Christmas ornaments, he may enjoy putting them on the tree – especially if he knows that they are his special ones!
Running Update…
I’ve been very, very quiet on this front because I haven’t really done much for what feels like a long time. Yesterday (21 September 2019) I did some interval running for 3km and it was good to get out and about again.
On 10th November 2019 I’ll be participating in the 5km leg of Canberra Times Fun Run with the aim of getting as close as I can to the 30 minute mark. I’m a bit worried about whether or not I’ll be able to reach that time because of how unfit I’m feeling with running. The good thing though, is that I’m participating in my local gym’s 8 week challenge, which will help me with getting my fitness up!
Until next time, happy stitching and wish me luck with making decisions and progress on my projects!
The XStitching Runner 