I thank my mother every time I pick up my needle and thread and start working on a cross stitch project. I Love to Cross Stitch. She taught me at an early age to do needle crafts. We started learning embroidery stitches. As I progressed she taught me more complicated stitches.
She would make Christmas gifts for all of the nieces and nephews and to accomplish this she worked on them all year long. What she kept a secret from me was she was making the same thing for me! I remember how frustrated she would get with me when I put a knot in my thread then pulled it thru the material where it did not need to go. Oh my! She was extremely patient with me!
Fast forward several years
Once I finally got the knac of working with a needle and thread we started seeing pictures that were entirely made of cross stitches. We started with the patterns stamped onto the fabric and we just followed the pattern on the material. As usual, these projects were made as gifts so they are all with our loved ones. Our go-to projects would be sewing tee-towels or aprons. Most of these gifts went to our female relatives.
I finally graduated from high school and college and I was on my own. This is where I was introduced to counted cross stitch. This is a project that starts with a piece of even-count fabric and a chart. You find the middle of the fabric and locate the middle of the chart and go stitch with the colors that are called for. Again, most of my projects ended up as gifts to friends and family. My enjoyment came from making the project.
There are lots of ways tisplay your projects. Of course you can put the end product in a picture frame and onto the wall it goes. Pretty soon if you are like me you have run out of wall space!
Another way to display your project is to “decorate your duds” and put the pattern onto a shirt or sweatshirt. This way everytime you wear this project you get so many compliments and possibly even requests for the pattern! Now if only I could find where I put that pattern! This is a denim shirt that I put an eagle on the back. I am so proud to wear this.
Living on my own and loving my crafts
Over the years I have subscribed to magazines that feature craft projects. I have also signed up for craft catalogues, such as “Annie’s Attic”, “Herschneers” and “The Stitchery”. I still get these catalogues even though I can order from them only occasionally. Imagine my excitement when I noticed I could send in a photo and they would make the chart and give me the embroyery floss colors that I would need.
I was quick to send in a photo of my son when he was around 5 years old and he was “swimming” in a pool. I could hardly wait to get that chart. Well, that turned out to be a very complicated project but with a ruler, magnifying glass and yellow high-lighter to mark off the stitches as I have done them I was so proud to complete it. That, my friends, did not go to anyone but me!!! It is on my wall for me to admire it every time I pass it. That brings back good memories. This is one time I did not have to prompt him to smile!
I still love to Cross Stitch
I have lots of ideas in my head for what I would like to do with cross stitch projects. Wouldn’t ababy quilt be precious? In my head I see nursery room figures in the middle of a “9-patch” quilt. Of course this might be the quilt for the “grandmother”! Might not be able to give that away.
I have seen in a magazine a Christmas tree skirt with the “12 Days of Christmas” theme on it. I copied those patterns but have moved around so much that I do not know where they are and have no idea where to even start looking. Should have done that when I first saw it.
Maybe when I “retire” I will have the time to find all of these projects and start them. Who knows, maybe by then my son will have given me a grandchild that will motivate me to get started! Anyway, I will do what I can when I can and love every minuite of it.
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