Hi Everyone
I’m not sure about you, but I’m sad that Maynia is coming to an end for this year and a tad relieved. Towards the end I felt like I was trying to keep a number of plates spinning at the top of sticks, by trying to make sure I had spent enough time on all of the projects I had started during May or continuing to work on from previous starts.
Stitch Maynia Stats
In May, I started Fight Like a Girl, Candy Train, Who’s Been Good? and Autumn Castle as my new projects and continued with Moon Lit Fairies, Four Seasons Kittens, Gundaroo Mushroom, Barnyard Kittens and Three Dogs as my continued WIP’s.
Autumn Castle designed by Evgenia Kolesnikova
Most of my time was spent on Autumn Castle designed by Evgenia Kolesnikova. I think I’ve raved about this project before. What I’m loving about it is the colours and it’s something different to what I normally work on. But it makes sense that I’ve started working on something like this, because I love spooky things, ghosts and things relating to the supernatural/paranormal!
I was able to stitch about 884 stitches, which works out to being nearly half a page and I’m stitching it on 18 count pink Aida. When you look at the cover picture, you will see that I’ve started in the top left corner.
Gundaroo Mini Mushroom designed by Kristen Gawonski
I feel like I’ve been working on this project for ages. It doesn’t help that I’ve now got so many other projects to distract me! In May, I was able to work on it for 7 of the 31 days and I was able to get a total of 1000+! I’m actually quite surprised that I got so many stitches in because there were certainly times where I felt guilty for not stitching on this project and I some days I felt like I needed to guilt myself into stitching it because I really wanted to stitch the shiny new ones! The pictures below show my progress and what it will look like when I’m done:
For anyone who’s new to my blog and reading this for the first time, the special thing with this project, is that it’s my own design. The image on the right is a photo that I took on my parents farm at Gundaroo, NSW, Australia and using the software PC Stitch 11, I was able to convert it into a cross stitch pattern. The thing that I’m testing with this project is how well it will turn out on 14 count Aida. My additional aim with this project is to enter it into the Canberra Royal Show. Fingers crossed it gets there!
Fight Like a Girl Designed by Tanya Amity
I’ve really struggled with this project which is surprising me. I really thought that I would have an easier time with getting into it. The main challenges I have with it is the amount of fabric this project potentially needs, the colour of the fabric and how I’ve loaded the pattern into Pattern Keeper.
Tanya has been fantastic with providing me (and I’m assuming anyone who purchases the pattern) with 3 versions of the pattern – black and white without the back stitch and special stitches, a colour version without the back stitch and special stitches and a colour pattern with the back stitch and special stitches. Me not thinking, loaded the whole PDF onto Pattern Keeper and I’ve stitched myself up as a result! Pattern Keeper has done well to interpret the pattern the best way that it can and what I will need to do is see if it’s possible to separate the PDF into the 3 versions and see if that makes any difference for me. The biggest challenge with that will be the way Pattern Keeper interprets the key for the chart. At the moment, Pattern Keeper is able to highlight the symbol on the chart, but at the moment it’s unable to tell me what the corresponding thread colour is. So I’m needing to refer to the paper version and progress from there. Below are the pictures of my progress and the cover picture to show what it will look like completed:
I’m stitching this pattern on 18 count navy blue Aida and I’ve stitched 744 stitches according to Pattern Keeper. The pattern recommends 28 count Navy Blue Lugana. I haven’t figured out how much fabric that would be, but the fabric I am using (from Victoria House Needlecraft) measures 76cm wide by 79cm high. I figure that if I have roughly an 8cm border, I should have enough fabric!
You may notice in the image on the left that I’ve had to do some frogging as part of the struggles I’ve had with mis-counting. A lot of which is to do with me working on it when I’ve been a bit tired and awkward. Because there’s so much fabric (see image on the right), I tend to try and roll it up a bit and have the project up side down and I’m reading the pattern right side up. It’s a weird quirk of how I stitch sometimes, but it works – mostly!
Barnyard Kittens by Dimensions
I’d started this project what feels like ages ago and put it down for a while. When I’d first started it, I had made the wise decision of updating the floss holder by drawing the symbols on it.
This has helped me so much more than I had initially thought it would. The only reason why I need to refer back to the key on the pattern is when I need to check how many strands of each colour I need to use. And as I’m writing this, I’m making a mental note to add to the floss card, how many strands I need for each symbol. For many Dimensions kits, the number of strands per colour vary from 1 to 3. Sometimes 4. It can also vary in terms of the combination of colours. E.g. 1 strand of white and 3 strands of pink or 1 strand of black and 1 strand of light blue. This helps to create texture and depth to their designs. Below are pictures of how I’ve progressed and what it will look like at the end:
I’ve started in the middle of this project and 90% of the time I’ve stitched this during my lunch break when I’ve had the sun streaming in and it’s felt nice and warm on the couch. I’ve stitched a reasonable 891 stitches on the black 14 count Aida the kit came with. This is definitely one of those projects I need to stitch when I’m awake enough and with plenty of light!
Four Seasons Kittens by Gold Collection Dimensions
This project is taking a lot longer than it should to complete. One of my struggles with this project is that there’s not enough space on the floss card to update it like I’ve done for Barnyard Kittens. I could put all of the details on the other side of the card where there’s nothing printed…I probably should and will after this post!
Meanwhile, I’ve been able to get about 792 stitches in – about 137 of which has been back stitch – and when that’s compared with some of the other projects, my desire to stitch other projects shows! Below is my progress in comparison with the finished picture:
Santa’s Coming! – Designed by Durene Jones
This was a new start and a project I’d been eyeing off since September or so last year. The pattern is in the Ultimate Cross Stitch Christmas magazine/book (volume 19, 2018) that I picked up when I was at coast – before all of the bush fires and “fun” we’ve been experiencing.
I’ve decided to stitch it on some 14 count Aida that I purchased online from the Australian company Threaded Needle and unfortunately I’ve lost the slip that came with the fabric, so I’m not sure what the name of the fabric is. I’m using DMC threads to stitch the pattern and if all goes well, I will hopefully have it finished by Christmas this year!
When I get around to it, one of the challenging things will be stitching my nephew’s name instead of the name Angela, as you may see in the above image on the right. You may also notice with the fabric I’ve chosen to stitch on, is marbled green. This is how the fabric came and why I chose to purchase it.
So far, I’ve been able to stitch about 304 stitches…hmmm. I was not expecting such a low number. I can’t believe that I’ve neglected this project! But I have a plan…check out my next post and you’ll see what I have in store for it!
Candy Express! – Designed by Shannon Wasilieff
This project also comes from the Ultimate Cross Stitch Christmas book/magazine, volume 19, 2018. Every time I look at the finished picture in the book or when I’m looking at the pattern, I just want to eat it! It looks so yummy! That could also be my sweet tooth talking…
Like the ‘Santa’s Coming’ project, I’ve decided to stitch this on the same fabric – 14 count Aida, marbled green (My name for the fabric. I’m still not sure of the exact name). The pattern recommends the use of 28 count sky high evenweave. I have 28 count fabric, but I really like the marbled look the image in the magazine/book has, so that’s why I’ve chosen to go with the 14 count marbled green Aida.
During May, I was able to get 818 stitches done!
Three dogs – Designed by Luca S
I hope I have the designer right for this project. It’s an Anchor kit that I think I purchased through the Fox Collection website many moons ago and I had started it not long after I’d finished a fishing project.
I’ve had a love/grumble relationship with this project. I love that the fabric is pre-gridded. I’ve never stitched on anything like it before. What I’ve struggled with is the thread becoming too thin and breaking. A part of it’s my fault because I’ve had the thread too long for what this thread needs to be. The other thing I’ve struggled with is the background of the project. In hindsight I should have decided to go with half stitch because it would make it so much quicker. Then there’s the colours…so much brown! Especially after stitching some of my other colourful projects.
What I do like about this project is the pattern has been printed on A3 paper and it makes my life a lot easier to see the symbols. Which should mean that I’ve been able to get about 800 or so stitches in…but unfortunately no. I was able to get 631 in.
Moon Lit Waters – Artwork by Julie Fain, charted by Michele Sayetta, Heaven and Earth Designs
For anyone who has been following my blog for a while, will know that I’ve been working on this project for a long time – with limited progress to show for it. At the start of May I purchased the digital copy of this pattern and loaded it into Pattern Keeper. This has been a good thing and a bad thing. Pattern Keeper is awesome! If you haven’t tried it yet, I strongly recommend you give it a go.
The app has made it a lot easier for me to clearly see where the symbols are on the pattern for the colour I’m stitching at the time. I’m able to clearly mark off where I’ve stitched and frog areas that I’ve made mistakes on. What I hadn’t initially counted on, was the incorporation of some new colours that DMC had released within the last 12 months or so. This is where I have a small grumble and yet another page of my project will have a heavy amount of creativity going into it to balance out what I’ve already stitched with the areas that are yet to be stitched. The incorporation of the new colours has meant that the symbols have changed and what colours are stitched where has thrown me off balance by one or two stitches in some places and about 3 to 4 stitches in other places.
Thankfully with HAEDS, there are so many colours that make up the big project, that I can get away with a bit of creative license. And I end up being the only one at the end of the day that has an idea of what I’ve needed to change around. So without further adieu, below is what I’ve stitched during May and what the finished picture will be.
At the moment I have no idea how much I’ve stitched in May and because of how small the crosses are I’m not going to count them all. If anyone knows how I can find the monthly total in Pattern Keeper, please let me know!
What’s next?
Now that May is done and as I’m finishing this post, it’s 1st June 2020 I’m looking to figure out what I’ll do for June and the rest of the year. For June at least I’ll definitely keep working on the WIP’s I now have from May and I’ll stitch what I feel like stitching, rather than needing to keep the projects on a regular rotation.
This month I might also start some of the other projects I had wanted to start in May, but didn’t get around to it. The projects I have in mind are the really colourful ones and a spooky one:
- Design Works Crafts ‘Frog Pile’
- Design Works Crafts ‘Colourful Zebras’
- Charting Creations ‘All Hallows Eve’
- Shannon Christine Designs ‘Excuse the Mess’
- Shannon Christine Designs ‘Koi Pond’
This of course will most likely change. Especially since travel restrictions in Australia are slowly easing. I live in Canberra (aka the Australian Capital Territory (ACT)) – Australia’s capital – and we are surrounded by the State of New South Wales (NSW). As of today, Monday 1st June, we can now travel anywhere we want in NSW and as far as we want in NSW, as long as we abide by social distancing and health and safety requirements! This is huge news for everyone living in NSW and ACT because we can travel to the coast, go bush, go to the snow (when the snow fields open up in about a week or two) and anywhere in between.
What my boyfriend and I are planning on doing is going to the coast as soon as we practically can. We could travel today, but about half of Canberra will be travelling to the coast and we have to work tomorrow (we’re still working from home). Also the weather today is true Canberra winter weather! So we’d rather stay home and enjoy the warmth and comfort of our home and worry about the stresses of travelling later. Practically, we’ll most likely travel to the coast in about 2 weeks. This will give us enough time to get our logistics sorted out and it’s my brother’s birthday next week – Queen’s Birthday long weekend – and he has the coast house booked for that weekend. Lucky duck!
Before I completely wrap things up for this post, I just want to do a quick shout out to Jemma Jones, Dreaming in Aida. Thank you for mentioning me in your post from 17th May 2020! I hope you continue to have such awesome results in your Cross Stitch Diploma Course!
Until next time,
Happy Stitching!
The XStitching Runner 