Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A Good Friend Once Told Me

That cross stitching, it's a simple thing, you thread a needle:





You bring your needle up through this hole:





And down through that hole:



A very simple thing.

It has become apparent to me over the last week that cross stitching is not simple, at least when you move into the 40ct linen and silk thread league. Until recently I was never that stitcher. I was a DMC and overdyed cotton kind of girl on nothing higher than 36ct. But my love for Primitive Needle's Ichabod Seabury pulled me to the dark side. And dark it is.

I couldn't see the holes in the linen and my eyes aren't that bad. Reading glasses even at the lowest magnification made the fabric even blurrier to my eyes, so I felt my way along on this project. It's full of stitching mistakes. Chock full of them I tell you.

But because misery loves company I'm going to have a contest right here on this old blog. I left one glaring, huge, major, big time mistake in this piece, the kind of mistake that will make stitchers say to themselves, "can you believe she left that mistake in there, can you believe it, seriously?" and "can you believe she admitted to it?". I ripped it out and restitched four times before saying, "I give up, in you stay". So in the next couple of days I'm going to take a really good, freshly ironed picture of my darling Ichabod and let you find my Amish mistake. Once you find it, you can email me and all the correct responses will be put in a bowl or hat and drawn from and the winner will recieve my gently used Ichabod Seabury chart and cut of PTP 40ct Swamp linen on which to stitch your very own Ichabod. And I just looked at my chart and gently used is correct, I wrote the dimensions for 36ct linen on the back, whoops. Well at least if you decide to go up to 36ct I've done the math for you.

This is a very simple stitch, I just decided to make it harder on myself by attempting 40ct for the first time with a darkish linen.

The Picture This Plus Swamp is a wonderful funky green and I love it. All my stitching mishaps with this project were my fault, bad lighting, not the linen, I love, love, love Picture This Plus fabrics and definitely not the fault of the chart. It was all me, myself and I.

So stay tuned for The Amish Mistake contest to pop here in the next couple of days. I'd have posted a better picture today but this is one of those days when I have to be 20 places at the same time, I hate those days.

So see my quick snap of a completely finished Ichabod Seabury below:




Ichabod Seabury
The Primitive Needle
40ct Swamp linen
Belle Soie Floss



And stay tuned for The Amish Mistake contest!
Also, any guesses from what movie I ripped off my title and the first few lines with some creative license by me?

11 comments:

Katrina said...

Very pretty, congrats on the finish and I like your Garden of Eerie piece too :-).

Margaret said...

Oh I love it!!! Love the swamp fabric, love the design, everything! Why don't I have this chart? Sigh. I agree -- when the fabric is dark, it sure is hard to see those little holes! Looking forward to your contest. :D

staci said...

Well, I think it looks marvelous! Congrats on a fantastic finish :) Love that fabric too!

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes, 40 count linen. I have procrastinated trying this stuff. You have given me some hope! Now to find strong readers and a good light. Blessings to you - kelley secrest

Deb said...

I really love that Swamp fabric, and the design! I have a hard time on darker 40 ct. fabrics too - lighter ones aren't bad. Strong light and a magnifier are the keys I think. But congratulations on your finish! It really looks great and I look forward to your contect for the Amish mistake.

Anna van Schurman said...

I love the swampy fabric. But you know what? I can't be bothered to find your mistake. Not that I don't want the prize because I do. But I am so not that stitcher. Who is that who would study a photo of a beautiful piece of stitching and finger point? Don't make us.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

I give you credit for persevering! I would have given up! I love the color of the fabric and your finish looks perfect to me! I'll never be able to find your mistake....

Missy Ann said...

Mistake or no, it's fabulous. And you are now two finishes ahead of me for the year. Stop it! lol

Michelle said...

Love love love this piece. The fabric and thread colors are gorgeous. Now I have to stitch it. Damn!

Siobhán said...

It's gorgeous, Melissa! I don't know how the mistake would be glaringly obvious unless you misspelled a word or something. It looks great!

Anonymous said...

I just love this piece! The fabric is great and if you made a mistake, I would never notice. Your stitching looks wonderful.
Pam