Wednesday, March 30, 2005

SBQ Week 4

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question," is: How has your stitching evolved since you first started stitching?

I have been stitching for roughly 12 years. I started cross stitching when I was pregnant with my first child. I started out with 2 small projects of sailboats. The finished size was maybe 2x3 and that is being on the generous side. Unfortunately, I do not have either one of the sailboats as they were blown away in a tornado. However, I do remember what they looked like. They were very simple patterns and it took me forever or what seemed like forever to finish. One glimpse at the projects and you could tell that I was a beginner. The tension was very uneven and the stitches weren't lying all in the same direction. We won't even discuss what the backs of them looked like. All of those mistakes and I was still proud of them.

Twelve years later and hundreds of patterns stitched I still occasionally make my mistakes but I usually catch them quickly or if it is not too bad I will adjust my stitching around the mistake. In my experiences non-stitchers can't tell when you have made a mistake but the fact that I know makes me be a perfectionist with my projects. I firmly believe no matter how long I stitch I will always be learning some new technique. I guess that is why I love stitching because I am always learning something new.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Week 3 of SBQ

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question," is: What are your thoughts on craft and/or needlework shows? Have
you been to one or are you planning on going to one this year?

I have been to the Arts and Crafts fair in Rogers, Arkansas for the life of me I can not remember the name of the fair. I actually have a few different opinions on craft fairs. From the crafter point of view it is the greatest. I love being able to see all the different kinds of crafts. At this particular fair they tend to have a lot of homemade foods to sample and buy. I usually end up spending way to much and my husband complaining of all the bags to carry.

When the fair was going on it meant a lot of out of town people coming to the fair also. Which means at least double the traffic. I am not a patient driver. I am the type of person who doesn't like to go for "Sunday Drives" and just drive. When I get in the car I have a destination and want to get there as quickly and go about my business. However when the fair was going on it meant sightseers holding up traffic and causing complete chaos. A 10 minute drive turns into an hour ordeal. I must be an avid crafter to deal with the hair pulling traffic to get some awesome stuff.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Resupply Hazards

The Celestial pattern that I am currently stitching is taking a little longer than anticipated. It was Spring Break last week for my three kids so getting five minutes of peace and quiet was a miracle itself. Never fear they go back to school tomorrow and I plan on having a quiet day at the house stitching away with some television to listen. (yes I listen to T.V.) Right now I am half done with the cross stitching on The Celestial pattern. Overall it is not a hard pattern but with the distractions of the kids I have been doing a lot of ripping out and restitching again. I can't wait to get it done and frame it. We are in the middle of redecorating our bedroom. We have painted it "Muddy Water" with white on the trim.

As for Snow White I did finally go to Wal-Mart to get my supply of floss. They did not have my colors I needed. It wasn't much of a surprise to see that they did not have it in stock. This just means I have to go out to the craft store. I love going there just not getting there. It is a little arts and crafts store off of a state highway. So, when you are turning off into the driveway traffic is coming towards you at 55 mph. You can bet that it will be a semi truck that is barreling down on you! However when you turn into the driveway you have to watch out for the "small" pothole that is there. It swallows up my whole Mitsubishi! Leaving the store is just as bad. In order for me to go home I have to make a left handed turn and cross traffic. Keep in mind that it is 55 mph in this area so when you do decide to go for it and push the pedal down you get to sit there and spin out on a gravel driveway until the tires grab. I do all this for a 39 cent item. ( wal-mart sells them for a quarter!). Who would have thought that crafts could be harmful?

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question," is: On *average*, how many hours a week (7 days) do you think that you spend cross-stitching?

Stitching is something that I am good at and I am pretty good at it. Since it is something that I like to do I tend to stitch pretty regularly. I stitch just about everyday but the times vary. Sometimes I only stitch for 45 minutes( waiting in car pool line) and there are other days that I will stitch for 6 hours straight. I have been known to stay up till three o'clock in the morning stitching and not wanting to go to bed. On the average I would say I stitch about 3 hours a day everyday. A rough guess would be that I spend at least 21 hours stitching!

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK"S DAY TO ALL

Sunday, March 13, 2005

The Bride


This is a project that has a special meaning for me. I started this project 3 years ago when my best friend(referred to as R.) told me she was getting married. Since I was making this for R. I was taking my time not to mess up. It took me about 6 months to finish the complete stitching. When I had the project R. had just moved to Germany with her new husband. I plan on giving it to her the next time we visit each other. My friend is a cross stitcher so I know she will appreciate it.

This was a hard project for me. It used a lot of the metallic floss. I love how it makes the piece stand out. It was done on 14 count oatmeal aida cloth. It's finished size is 15 1/2 inches wide and 20 inches tall.

Here's Snow White

After a couple of days of hunting through CD's I found my software for my camera. Yeah! This is my Snow White project that I have been working on the past week. I am making it for my neighbor's little girl. When it is finished it will be a wall hanging. This is a pretty easy project to stitch. All I have left to do on the stitching is finishing the dress and the backstitching.

Friday, March 11, 2005

Snow White Stalled

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question," is: Do you have a favorite designer (or designers)? If so, who is it and why is he or she your favorite?

I don't really have a favorite designer that I prefer to stitch. When I select a pattern to stitch I choose it based on what the patterns theme is and how the colors compliment each other. I do have some designers that I do like and have done more than one pattern of theirs. A few of my favorites are Vermillion Stitchery, Precious Moments, and Classic Cross Stitch.

I have set aside my Snow White project for a little while. I ran out of DMC 746. I really don't want to go to Wal Mart for a 25 cent item that they may or may not have and I don't want to deal with the traffic going out to the craft store here in town. So instead of going out there I started working on my Celestial pattern. So far it is going pretty smoothly. I am working with several shades of blue (DMC 794-797).

As always I am thinking about another project to do. I haven't come up with anything yet that just stands out and says "Stitch Me". Guess I will keep searching until I do find one.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Welcome to Crafter's Creations

Welcome! I have started this blog mainly to keep track of my progress of my projects. I will talk about 2 kinds of crafts that I like to do. They are cross stitch and crochet. I do a lot more stitching than I do crocheting. I have not done any stitching for a while so for now and until I can get myself in the groove for crocheting.

My current cross stitching project that I am doing is a pattern of Snow White from the Disney Princess Collection. I have been stitching on it for a week. I am about 3/4 done with the stitching. I have about 1/4 of the dress to finish and the backstitching (yuck) to do. I am planning on making it into a wall hanging for my neighbor's daughter. I would like to find some fabric with the Snow White theme but I am not having any luck so far. As a back up plan I am thinking about using a blue material with a pink or yellow ribbon.

My next project that I will start tomorrow is a Celestial theme. I am planning on framing this and hanging it my bedroom. I have a celestial themed comforter that it will match it perfectly. I am planning on using 14 count white Aida cloth. The finished size should be about 10.5x10.5 in.

My style of stitching is a not a normal one. I do but don't work in a rotation. I generally work on a project until I get to the backstitching and embellishing. Backstitching is my least favorite thing to do in stitching. I usually have about 3 projects going at one time.