Autumn cross stitch

My latest fully finished cross stitch project is the freebie Autumn cross stitch pattern by Tiny Modernist.  I stitched this up last year and put it away until I could figure out what to do with it.  I initially wanted to finish it on a wooden pumpkin piece but it was just a tad too large.  So, the next best finish was to make it into a pillow.  

 

Here are the details:

Cross stitch fabric:  14 ct. off-white Aida cloth

Pillow size:  approx. 6 1/2" x 7"

Cotton trim: orange rick rack (from Sew Vintagely)

Pillow fabric:  Adel in Autumn collection by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs

    front fabric panel:  SKU #C10824 (chocolate)

    backing fabric:  SKU# C10822 (chocolate) 

Floss:  DMC 729 & 720; Sullivans 45170, 45242 & 45268

 Happy stitching!

 

 

One Stitch at a Time

My latest fully finished cross stitch project is the One Stitch at a Time pattern by Tiny Modernist.  I completed the stitching in July and periodically I would think of finishing ideas and recently I finally came up with this clean and simple finish.

Here are the stitching supplies and  details:

Fabric - 16 ct. white Aida cloth

Finished stitched size - approx. 4" x 4"

Floss

Blues - Sullivans 45444 and 45442 (the DMC equivalents are 3846 and 3844)

Yellow - Sullivans 45171 (the DMC equivalent is 726)

Grays - Sullivans 45483 and 45089 (the DMC equivalents are 168 and 413)

Greens - DMC 906 and 907

Corals - Sullivans 45075 and 45076 (the DMC equivalents are 351 and 352)

Brown - Sullivans 45097 (the DMC equivalent is 436)

 

Finishing details:

 

I purchased an ArtMinds wood plaque from Michaels and painted the sides and part of the interior with Folk Art's Wicker White acrylic paint.  I measured, cut and adhered some blue fabric to the plaque interior for the backdrop to showcase the design.  I adhered the stitched design to a piece of chipboard and pondered on how to make it pop off the background.  I like the look of rick rack and also wanted to use cording so I looked through my supplies to see what would work.  I decided on some nice 100% cotton jumbo rick rack (purchased from Sew Vintagely on Etsy) and figured out the placement, glued it down to the background fabric and then adhered the stitched design on top.  Next, I considered either purchasing a tool to make cording or trying a DIY method.  Well, I referred back to this video by Lolly Palooza that I watched several months ago and using some yarn to practice, I was successful in producing some cording!  I wasn't sure what color to use for the cording and was thinking of using the 45442 floss but as I was looking through some of my supplies, I discovered I had some DMC Perle cotton size 5 in a complimentary color.  Well, I never realized there was a color number on the Perle floss and guess what? As I peeled off the label, I saw number 352.  Wow, no wonder it was a great match to a color I used, LOL!  Sullivans 45076 is equivalent to DMC 352!  So, with 4 strands of the Perle cotton, I made some cording and adhered it to the perimeter of the design; a nice addition to finish the look!

 

Happy stitching!

Cross Stitch Camp August Challenge

August was the final month of Cross Stitch Camp hosted by Sheri of ColoradoCrossStitcher.  I finished my project just in time, on the last day of the month, and got it posted on time to Instagram!  The challenge for August was to use something new to you and I chose to try 28 count Monaco that I purchased some months ago.  Also, while I was perusing Michaels a few days prior to starting the challenge, I discovered they were now selling Anchor floss and I thought it would be fun to try it out.  But did I really want to add more floss to my collection?  Not only that, there was no requirement to try more than one new to you item for the challenge.  Once I decided on the pattern, a freebie by Tiny Modernist called Witches Brew, I saw it only required 4 colors of floss and the recommended brand listed was Anchor!  So yes, I returned to Michaels and purchased the colors needed. 

While I did finish the stitching on time, I started fully finishing it yesterday and managed to complete it today!  Here's the FFO:

I had a few finishing bases that would have worked but I stopped in at Michaels yesterday, just in case, and found a wooden tag sign (pictured below with the fabric and rack rick from my supply collection) that I was excited to use.  Along with the tag, I pulled other finishing items from my collection of supplies.  I removed the mini word tag and hanger from the sign.  I traced the sign onto a piece of scrap box packing material and adhered the fabric to it and then adhered that to the top of the sign.  I then glued the stitched piece to a piece of chipboard.  I placed and glued the rick rack on the background fabric before adhering the stitched piece.  For the finishing touches, I added two layers of ribbon and a brad. 

My thoughts on the process of using the new to me items?  Well, I had to use a magnifier to stitch on the Monaco (2 floss threads over 2 fabric threads) which did slow down the stitching.  I would stitch on it again (not that often) but it would need to be another small design close to, or smaller than the Witches Brew.  As far as the Anchor floss, I found it to be comparable to DMC and Sullivans.  The only downside is considering how to store the spools if I decided to invest in adding more to my floss collection.  Overall, it was a fun challenge and I'm happy I was able to participate!

Happy Stitching!