Maybe that title should be "finishing" all the things. In a curious turn of events (which I will wait to share because of a certain surprise later this summer), I went looking for a very old counted cross stitch UFO - like from circa 1990. It took some digging, but I found it, and (incredibly) I also found the pattern. After a trip to Hobby Lobby for DMC floss I am stitching. This is something I am doing while we watch sports - the Tour de France, baseball, and coming up, the Olympics. Counting stitches is not an easy feat for this math-challenged gal and sometimes I watch more French countryside and cycling breakaways than I stitch, but I am getting a tiny bit done.
I have absolutely zero memory of working on this project 30 years ago. I do not recall deciding to start it; prepping for it, stitching the bit shown, or why I stopped. Puzzling...
A couple days ago, I unrolled it from the frame it has lived on for 30 years, and you see the issue now before me - discolored Aida cloth. It could just be dust and dirt; I hope cleaning will be possible.
In the little bit I have done this week, I can tell you that it is not easy starting back up on a project that is so old. I have worked on those shoes at the foot of the cradle, and that is some precision counting going on there! I rather look forward to a big ol' section of brown teddy bear to jump-start my mojo.
Don't worry about my becoming completely engrossed in cross stitch. Quilting is still my #1 interest. I tell you what - I can start more projects than can ever be finished. I can't help myself! Why, just a few nights ago, I was upstairs cutting out 2.5" squares for another quilt. I love it! You'll get to see soon enough.
Starting? Finishing?
Maybe 'Starting All The Things' was the correct title for this post, after all. Finishing a few UFOs will be nice, too. *wink*
Happy Quilting, Friends!
This will be lovely when finished. I've never gotten into counted cross stitching but my mother did. After she died, I brought one of her projects home that she had framed herself. She hadn't covered it with glass. I took the old frame and sticky board off the needlework and then soaked it in Oxyclean for several days. I think I replaced the oxyclean with new a couple of times. The grunge soaked out completely and looked clean. After rinsing, I rolled it in bath towels to get the excess water out then carefully laid it on a sheet to dry. Then I pressed it with a hot iron. After having it professionally framed, it hangs in our bedroom now. Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic advice, Gretchen!! Thank you so much for your very precise helpfulness! I needed all those details! 🥰
DeleteThis is fantastic advice, Gretchen!! Thank you so much for your very precise helpfulness! I needed all those details! 🥰
DeleteI started cross stitching in 1983. In 2003 I discovered quilting. I had put away a huge cross stitch project when I started quilting and a month ago decided to begin to finish it. Thankfully I only have 1/4 left to do. Now to frame all the cross stitch projects that are finished put I have never had framed.
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