Thursday, November 30, 2006

Cross stitch furever

If you love cats and want to cross stitch you must have heard of Kats by Kelly. A little black cat or two pops up in naughty places, like the kitchen sink or a file cabinet drawer. Or destruct and perform mayhem like furbabies do.

I admit that I own 'Kitchen Aide' with kitty sitting in the middle of dishes in the sink. I've lost track of its location in my house and I haven' t done the work yet, but it can't be too bad because we're talking about working mostly in black thread.

I have bought my first real cross stitch patterns over Ebay recently. A pattern shouldn't be confused with a kit because it is simply the pattern with a picture of what it will be, no floss or any other extras.

My purchases came from England from star_charts. I think they will all be beautiful in the year 2030. I say that because the finished product will be HUGE, as in 25"x20" in at least one case. I will need a lifetime supply of gift certificates to my local craft store, just to purchase the floss. But I am okay with that, since I knew I was going to have to do that. The only thing I'm not sure of is how to read the chart. I'm wondering if I'm supposed to take the many (13) pages and lay them all together to 'see' it.

My most favorite among the three is 'Scarlet O'Hara.' Tons of gorgeous burgundy, my fave, in her flowing dress (the costumes are one of my favorite things in 'Gone With the Wind') whilst she sits on the famous red steps. Then there's a huge pug cross stitch chart which seems perfect to someday hang on our wall as pug is our life. I also got a Christmas door chart which looks just like the in-laws front door. I was planning on killing myself to get it done for next Christmas, but as you can guess from the post below, I now pretty much don't give a cr*p anymore. It takes me eons to do the tiny 'Stitch n Hangs' that are about as small as a kit will come and I'm definitely not going into overdrive for the ungratefuls.

4 comments:

Tracy said...

Oh how fun! I love the looks of cross stitching, I just do not like to do them myself. I enjoy things that I can see instant accomplishment...lol. I would love to see your cross stitchs! Maybe you can take some pics of them and show them on your blog? About your mil well it is really unfair what she said to you, and I do not blame you one bit for not wanting to do the gift baskets. The joy has been ruined. Try to remember for you though that your idea was a wonderful one! You had a loving idea, and well she will now miss out on it. Her problem not yours. :) Talk with you soon my friend! :) Sorry I missed you yesterday. I am off to do some shopping today in the city, and then off to my class.... Hopefully I wont wear myself out...

Raine said...

are your relatives strapped for money maybe? just curious....if so it might be understandable what was said.... as far as the cross stitching goes -do it for your own pleasure in your own time in your own way:)

'Tart said...

Strapped for money? No. They live in a million dollar house, have a couple of cars, bought mutual funds for all three grandkids. Inside of home is impeccable, kitchen is beautiful and spotless, perfect lawn care. I don't care about that, hence I didn't mention it. So if the next suggestion, they're rich because they (the Mom) is cheap, there might just be something to that.

Thank you about the cross stitch. It's done exactly that way, slow, cause that's all I can handle.
:)

Obsidian Kitten said...

ooooh, i love x-stitch! i go thru spells of it, this year i've been on more of a knitting kick, though

watch for the floss to go on sale at the craft store--i don't kow if it ever gets as chep as 7/$1 anymore but maybe 4 or 5 for a dollar? then you can stock up for a project (yes, it is a pain getting all the colors you need for a big chart, but a good thing to do in an OCD-focussed mood)

you can get a floss color chart with a check-off list to keep track of the colors you've bought--this is VERY handy!

also there are card-like floss organizers to hold and label the colors for a big project--you can also make your own out of cardboard or cardstock, just use a hole punch and then label each color by name/floss number and pattern symbol

i usually make copies of the pattern, then i can use a highlighter to cross off the parts i've done and keep track of my place (rly handy when i get bored and move onto another project for awhile)--with a pattern as big as you have you could probably just work on one part (page or piece) at a time as long as you have a sense of where you are and how it fits on your fabric

hope this helps!