Patriotic Pinkeep and Cross Stitch Camp

Several weeks ago I joined in on the Cross Stitch Camp challenge for July.  It's a virtual event created and hosted by Sheri of Colorado Cross Stitcher.  Cross Stitch Camp is being held for 3 months (June, July & August) in which stitchers can participate in various monthly challenges set by Sheri.  Luckily there is no requirement to participate in all 3 monthly challenges (I was behind on watching Flosstube and didn't learn about it until in June) but I was motivated and decided to join in for July.  The challenge was to stitch something by a designer whose pattern you've never stitched before and being that it was for July, I thought a patriotic item would be a good idea.

I looked through my collection of patterns and chose the Patriotic Pinkeep by Bendy Stitchy Designs.  Another factor of choosing this pattern was because I had to take into consideration the stitch count/size of the design.  I was joining in on the challenge on July 17 which meant I only had a few weeks to get the design stitched by the end of the month.  Well, it was a fun stitch, the perfect size and, with my plan of stitching a minimum of 30 minutes per day, I completed the challenge!  Not only did I get the design stitched (finishing the stitching is required and fully finishing is optional), I also fully finished it!  Being that it was the end of July, I stopped in at Michaels a few days ago to search for any patriotic type item to use in finishing my project.  I was in luck because there was a good hand full of items on clearance!  I chose a Red, White & Blue shadow box frame which only required minimal alteration.  This is the original box design.

 

Here are the details about my finished project.

Fabric:  14 count light blue Aida (brand - Loops & Thread [100% cotton])

Floss:  DMC 3865 and Sullivans (the DMC conversion) 45006, 45106, 45235, 45275, 45217, 45375 & 45238

Design Changes:  I left off the year and added a stitched star from the pattern.

 

Finishing:

I measured the inside of the shadow box and cut a paper template and traced it onto chipboard.  I cut a piece of the stars fabric (a fat quarter from Michaels) and adhered to the chipboard.  I placed the fabric covered chipboard square into the box for the backdrop.  Using a 5" Fiskars circle template, I cut a piece of chipboard.  I then traced the circle to the back of the stitched piece ensuring the design was not cut off and then cut out a circle approximately 1/2" away from the traced line.  This is to ensure there was enough fabric to wrap around the chipboard.  I then laced the design to the chipboard and adhered red 100% cotton rick rack for embellishment.  (Was I the only one that didn't know rick rack came in cotton?  I had never even thought about the material it's made of and the few packs I bought from the fabric store, they are made of polyester.  Not that anything is wrong with polyester but I thought it was good information to share!  So, I don't remember what got me looking but I found some cotton rick rack in a variety of colors and sizes on Etsy and made a purchase from the shop Sew Vintagely.  Anywho, back to the project!)

 

Finally, I adhered the stitching to the backing panel.  A quite quick and simple finish! 

 

Happy Stitching!