This is that very first piece:
I managed to stitch it in two weeks flat. I didn't know anyone to give me advice. No one to say "start with something small, something without fractionals". LOL. Didn't seem to be too much of a problem though. I was HOOKED!
Two strands on 14ct aida. Quarter and three-quarter stitches. Back stitch and I think there might even have been some blending!
Not bad going for my first ever stitch!
Mum and Dad had it framed for me, for my 21st. I realised a couple of years ago that it was starting to spot. It obviously hadn't been framed by a needlework specialist. I've washed it several times now and I think most of the marks are out. Don't really know what to do with it now... It's not one that I'd hang on my wall but I might make it into a cushion. It certainly holds a lot of sentimental value for me.
My Sister, by the way, took that other kit home. Started. Stitched maybe a square inch...maybe... and then gave up. I ended up finishing it a few years later for her 21st birthday. It now hangs proudly on her wall. As far as I know she loves it now as much as she did then. She's done a bit of stitch crossing herself now and understands exactly how much work (and love) goes into these pieces.
Probably wasn't such a bad thing that it didn't end up being my first stitch. It was a lot more complex than the other one. By the time I did this, I'd already stitched a couple of other large pieces. One on aida, one on linen. Sadly, I don't have photos of either. I think my Dad might have some somewhere, I must ask him to hunt them out for me. Both were for friends for their 21st birthdays. One was a flute, the other a treble clef. Yes, they are both musical and indeed, that is how we met.
The next "Big Piece" I started was 2011's big UFO finish - Universal Language. It was a long time in the finishing but it was started when I'd only been stitching for a couple of years. I've since discovered another UFO started just before UL... it's more than likely destined to remain a UFO as it was one I chose for myself. I might finish it, if I get around to adding it to my rotation. It was always intended to hang in my music room. It would look good next to UL... perhaps I can find the motivation to finish it after all!
I stopped stitching for a couple of years after I moved to Australia. I was a poor student, then a poor newly-wed. I finally re-discovered my needle when my sister announced she was having a baby! Woo Hoo! So many fun things out there to stitch for babies!
I don't have a photo of the actual blanket I stitched for nephew #1 but I'm hoping Sis will take one for me when she gets a chance. It's been well loved by two nephews now and held up well! It was my first venture into the world of Waste Canvas. Was a major headache to get started. Stitched up fine and was then the cause of some rather choice language as I tried to get all the waste threads out! *TIP* Dampen the stitching with a cloth. Works a treat. Wish I'd known the first time.
So this is a photo of the stitched model from the Leisure Arts "Teddy Bear Treasury." Designed by Ginny Fraser. It's called "Bears and Blocks"
Now I think about it, it was the first time I'd used a scroll frame. . .
Stitched in 2002. Can't believe that little man will be 10 next year...
My next undertaking was also for #1 nephew. In case you haven't realised already, I love being aunty - almost as much as I love being mum. I decided to make a wall hanging in time for the impending first birthday. I'm not much good with deadlines but I seem to start projects with deadlines all the time.
At the time I stitched this, my MIL was making quilts. I was helping her out with those and figured if I could tackle her BAP quilts, then I was surely up to one little wall hanging. LOL
This used a series of quickie transport motifs from a Cross Stitch Crazy magazine. Used 28 ct, white monaco, DMC floss and primary coloured drill fabric. I didn't quite finish in time for birthday #1 but it was done for Christmas, exactly one month later.
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