Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Cross-Stitch Projects

Hey There:

I've always been a crafty person, I used to spend so much time and money on yarn, I knitted blankets, sweaters and baby clothes. Over the years I've done other crafts, such as jewelry making, scrap-booking, stenciling, mosaic....let's just say I really know my way around Michael's and JoAnns!

When I moved to San Diego and had to pay rent for the first time in my life I made a few changes that would save me money, for example, I dyed my hair to my natural color to eliminate the monthly trips to the hair salon, and I picked up cross-stitching.

This is a very economical craft! A beginner can start by downloading a free pattern online, purchasing the hoop (less than $10) and floss ($0.50 or less), or buy a kit with all the supplies included, and that guarantees fun for months or years to come!

In my case, the projects I choose are more complicated and I'm happy when I can finish one in less than 6 months. Cross stitching is a big stress reliever for me, one of the reasons why it takes me so long to finish is because I get tired of it, leave it for a few months and then re-take the project. Do that a couple of times and the project is finished within a year or two. These my most recent projects:

Wedding Keepsake

This is called Hand in Hand Forever and I purchased from TheStitchery.com I made two of these as a Christmas gift for my Brother and Sister. I started them in the middle of August and finished them two days before Christmas. It was made with lots of love for my siblings.



Christmas Angel

I have a book filled with Christmas patterns, this is one of the projects from that book. I like this project because it has gold and silver floss, beads and it just looks beautiful. This project was finished in 2006, it took me one year, I remember I started it on December and had it ready for the Holidays the following year.



Guardian Angel pattern

Ever since I saw this as a pattern I knew I had to do it, I used to have a Guardian Angel like that above my crib and with all the things I've done, I just know I have a few of them taking care of me! This project was finished in 2012 and this one took me 2 years to finish, the coloring was very intricate and it usually happened that when it was time to back-stitch I would leave it for a few months and then get back to it again.

On this project I made a huge miscalculation and didn't have enough space for the tip of the wings, so had to add a small strip on the top. It doesn't bother me too much since this is one is for me and I learned my lesson of measuring twice.



Currently I am half way done on a cat pattern, want to make a sepia photograph of my Mom and Dad and my most ambitious project yet, a Russian Mother of God icon. If I do that one right I will be sure to win some contests.



4 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to take up a crafty side project but the start up costs always scare me. I'm so glad to hear that you can download templates online and with some thread and needle you can start. Great idea! I love what you've done so far. Wow... 2 years to finish one!!!

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    1. Thanks! You can always find kits on sale at Michael's or JoAnn's since this is not a very popular craft. And on thrift stores I've found amazing books, but like with all crafts start small!

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  2. It is always best to use the arrows at the top and side of patterns to find the midde stitch and begin there. This way you do not need to calculate fabric size since the fabric is included in the kit. :) I made this kit twice and never had a problem with it.

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  3. It is always best to use the arrows at the top and side of patterns to find the midde stitch and begin there. This way you do not need to calculate fabric size since the fabric is included in the kit. :) I made this kit twice and never had a problem with it.

    ReplyDelete