Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Tuesdays With Miss Lila

Or Revisiting the Whole Rotation Thing

I'm not much of a rule girl. I follow them because that's what one is supposed to do and it only took one ticket for not wearing a seatbelt to make me buckle up(but it still annoys me that in Florida people on motorcycles can choose not to wear a helmet but me, in a car surrounded by metal, am forced to wear a seatbelt and I don't want to hear all the benefits, I get it but I think helmets should be required on motorcycles if I have to be attached to my car, just sayin'). Anyway, I have started a new rotation that I don't expect to last very long because I'm a rebel at heart but if I can get some time in on each of these projects for a just a little while before breaking my own rules I might see some genuine progress.

Tuesdays are for CHS Miss Lila's House. I have an Aunt Lila and you'll be hearing more about her later on. Yeah, I know you are all on the edge of your seats!




Miss Lila's House

Carriage House Samplings

32ct black linen dyed by moi

DMC


I'm so very ashamed of the stitching you see below:




I have frogged this area four times. I have changed hoops, tried stitching in hand, used a Qsnap. Nothing will make this area look nice. The little X is going funky on me here. I am now referring to this house as the Amityville house. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wake up any morning and find it surrounded by flies. Check out the Amityville Horror movie if you don't know what I'm talking about.


I will admit that this linen is a cheap 32ct that I dyed myself, it's obvious that I got exactly what I paid for. I plan to frog one more time and also switch to DMC that hasn't been bobbined, just in case that is the cause of all my woe. I do love this piece, because as I mentioned I have an Aunt Lila, my Mamaw's oldest sister, so she is technically my great aunt and I loved her a lot.


Has anyone else ever had this problem when stitching 2x2? I can't remember a time when I have struggled this much trying to get the little X to cooperate.














11 comments:

Deb said...

I think that Miss Lila looks wonderful! I'm not sure what could be causing your "X" problem unless it's the linen. Perhaps not perfect when it was made, on the soft side? I don't know. What I do know is that when I stitch with white I have the same problem - my stitches just don't look right.

I'm sure that when you're finished with the piece and it's ironed it will look absolutely perfect.

Katrina said...

I think she's is so pretty!!! Try pulling your thread straight up and not at an angle. Sometimes that can throw things off. I am sure it will be fine either way.

Margaret said...

Oh but she's so pretty! X problem or not. lol! Love it! The linen looks fine. Lila is gorgeous -- keep on keeping on! :D

mdgtjulie said...

I don't think I've ever had a problem, but your problem isn't too noticeable either. I would never have known there WAS a problem is you hadn't said, "There's a problem," lol. Good luck getting it to go away though!!

Terri said...

The only 'problem' I see is that maybe the fabric is showing through your stitching? That wouldn't bother me since this is "cross-stitch" LOL

The only suggestion I have is to railroad your stitches. I normally only railroad my stop stitch if my threads are not wanting to cooperate. I use bobbin'd and skein'd threads.

Good luck with your rotation. I used to have one and stuck to it quite well but I had a 6 months slump and haven't attempted to rotate now that I'm back stitching. I'm enjoying Houses of Hawk Run Hollow too much to switch to anything else, right now :)

Siobhán said...

I think Miss Lila looks great! I think when you're up close to something, you're super critical. Step back from it & you should be happier with it. Good luck with the rotation!

staci said...

I think Lila is lovely! I hope all your stitching goes smoothly from here on out!!!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

I don't know... I can't see your problem - she looks great to me.

I'm not a rotation girl, either. I'll be interested to see how you do...

Sylvia said...

Your Miss Lila looks wonderful. I do know that I have problems with white DMC but that has been it so far. I hope this time your x's stay straight.

Lana said...

Miss Lila looks great! I have had times when those little x's just defy me too! Hang in there!

Michelle said...

Miss Lila looks lovely. I hate hate hate stitching with white though.