Stitch From Stash and The Budget Experiment Part 2

Month: March
Spent: $5.25
Earn: $8.00

This month I unfortunately didn't manage a zero spend. A very good friend of mine expressed an interest in learning to cross stitch, so I offered to teach her. I decided to pick up one to two supplies I didn't have in my stash to suit the chosen project.

However I did manage to earn some funds for a couple of finishes from my stash that I made. I have only taken earned funds for two of the three finishes, as the Lickle Ted project was one I had started before January and as it is small I decided to just leave it out.

Here are my projects for March:

Sweet Treats - Cupcake of the Month - The World of Cross Stitching Issue 192

Swirly Sheep - Christy Schmitz - http://www.just-crossstitch.com/featured_pattern.php

Lickle Ted - Christmas Stitch Kit - The World of Cross Stitching

HAED - Bridge of Wings

I also started a new mini project, a free Somebunny to Love design from DMC. I just thought it was so cute. The chart can be found here: DMC Somebunny to Love Free Chart

Somebunny to Love - DMC Free Chart -
 http://www.dmccreative.co.uk/Inspiration/Projects/Cross-Stitch-Inspiration/Dmc-SBTL.aspx?technique=cross+stitched

My attempts at controlling my spending are on going and I am continuing to try new techniques. I am still using the reward system, if you missed that post you can read it here: Stitch from stash and the Experiment to Spend Less. This is continuing to assist me in cutting much of my unnecessary spending. The last few weeks haven't seen much added to the reward jar, as I have needed to purchase some supplies for a craft class I am taking.

The new technique I have added this month is a food budget. I know that probably sounds incredibly obvious to many of you but I have never really paid much attention to a food budget. In the past I often used my credit card to buy groceries and as such would often overspend. Now I have allowed myself a certain amount, which I withdraw in cash on payday. This amount must be sufficient to cover grocery costs for the week. Any money left over at the end of the week goes toward the budget limit for the following one.

I have forbidden myself from using the credit card for grocery shops. This is working well for me so far and has led to smaller grocery bills and less food waste.

I would love to hear any thoughts you have on my new attempt to curtail my spending in the comments section.

Beating the Stitching Blues

Well I think I may have beaten back those cross stitching blues and coaxed my mojo back for a little while.

When none of my current projects were cooperating with me, or maybe me with them, I decided to would stitch something nice and quick. The project I settle on is one I have stitched before but this time I use different thread and 14ct Aida instead of evenweave.

Swirly Sheep - Christy Schmitz - http://www.just-crossstitch.com/featured_pattern.php

Here it is all finished up as an ornament. I went with a green swirl fabric for the backing. I used DMC 4065 varigated thread.

Click here for the other version of the Swirly Sheep 

Backing fabric

This finished help to spur me on to finish off my lunch time Lickle Ted project which just needed the back stitching. I put the last stitches into him today and so here he is aswell.

Lickle Ted - Christmas Stitch Kit - The World of Cross Stitching

I am having so much fun with these small charts that I have moved onto a new one, however I have no pictures of that one yet.

So lets hope that this change of pace will help to keep me on track and that I will soon be working towards the finish on Elegance of the Orient.

Edit: Sorry about the thread show through behind the bear in the Lickle Ted mini. This happened due to the way I took the photograph and can not be seen in real life unless it's held up to a light source.

The Lickle Ted I Can Bring to Work

I am currently still working on my gridding tutorial but things have been very busy here of late and I am getting small bits done when I have some time. I do try to get some stitching in each day, usually on my lunch break at work, and this free chart is perfect for that.

This is a Christmas design I had started during the first Mega Mini Month Madness but didn't get finished before the end of October. I bring this to work with me as it is a nice small project that is easy to carry around and I get to see some progress even in such a short amount of time.

Lickle Ted - Christmas Stitch Kit - The World of Cross Stitching

This will be one of those projects where I will probably wish I had ditched the supplied aida for evenweave as it has the partial back stitching.

If you missed my post on the terrors of mixing aida and partial back stitching check it out: Back Stitching on Aida and Why Sometimes it's Torturous

I am hoping that I will finish this one next week and I will have a new mini start to show off to you all. I haven't managed to cook anymore new recipes but I have lots on my Pinterest board Recipes I Want to Try. Check it out to see what crazy culinary adventures I will be landing myself in some time in the future or use the link on the upper right to follow me as I Pin enough projects and ideas to keep me occupied forever.

Back Stitching on Aida and Why Sometimes it's Torturous

When I first started out cross stitching, I really disliked back stitching. I found it extremely time consuming and often very difficult. Over the years I have found ways of making this aspect of cross stitching some what easier. (I will be doing a post on some of the methods I use to make my back stitching more enjoyable and also better looking in a later post.) However some charts have complicated back stitching and using Aida makes the process close to nightmarish.

Why some back stitching more difficult on aida

This issues used to be a bigger problem for me when I had an unjustified fear of deviating from the recommendations on a chart in any way. Now it most often arises when using free card kits that come with magazines. The Margaret Sherry Mouse, pictured below, and the Lickle Ted design that is my current lunch time project are two such examples.

Margaret Sherry Mouse Card Kit

These two kits, and all other free kits that I have seen, include Aida for stitching on. They are the perfect size for the pattern so I use this piece rather than cutting something from my stash. Aida is a great fabric to work with as it is a nice and stiff, which makes it easy to stitch in hand. Each square on the fabric represents a stitch and I find it can be a bit more relaxing than evenweave as I don't need to concentrate on my stitch placement as much.

Then I get to the back stitching and this is when I wish I had gone to my stash. Both of these projects have small back stitches that may not start or end in a hole in the fabric. In fact they can appear out of anywhere within the stitch square. For instance if you look at the picture below, this is a close up of the ear of the mouse framed above.

In the circled section you can see that the chart called for the backstitching to come up about half way between the two top holes, piercing the fabric, and go down in the centre of the aida square, again piercing the fabric. Not only is this difficult to do, as it can be difficult to push the needle through the fabric, but it can also be hard to get the placement just right. I have often had to rip out stitching because it was askew.
 
Back stitching is a good thing

It must be pointed out that in both of these charts it is this type of backstitching that gives the piece its charm. These smaller backstitches are often used in projects where the subject has fur or is fluffy. The chicks in my recent Somebunny to Love project are another example of this type of back stitching and I think the effect is very sweet. While this type of stitching is difficult it gives some really pretty results.

Somebunny to Love - The World of Cross Stitching Issue 179

Not all back stitching on aida is difficult, in fact some of it is down right pleasant when nearly all the stitches go from one hole on one fabric square to the opposite one either diagonally, vertically or horizontally. This sweet mini project by Joan Elliott is a perfect example of this.

Ultimate Joan Elliott Collection - Thanks You Cards

How working on evenweave differs

When working on medium/large piece, that has a lot of this small back stitching, I will usually use evenweave. It makes the piece significantly easier to do. tHis is because with evenweave you stitch over 2 strands of fabric. (This can make it a slightly more difficult fabric to work with overall and something I would not recommend to an absolute beginner.) Working over 2 for cross stitch means, you come up through one hole on the fabric, skip the next one diagonally and go down through the following hole. When a chart calls for small back stitches it means that instead of having to pierce the fabric, as you do with aida, you can just use the pre-existing holes.

The above image shows a small back stitch which came up through the hole on the left and down through the very next hole to the right. In aida the same stitch would mean having to pierce the fabric between the two holes in the fabric. Working on evenweave makes the whole process easier, less time consuming, less tiresome on my hands and leads to less ripping out.

This does not mean that I never use aida for these types of projects. The Lickle Ted project I am currently working on has small back stitching yet I am still using the enclosed aida as it is only a small project. However below are two projects for which, I really wish I had used evenweave. Though I think they still look great on the aida.

Margaret Sherry - Hedgehog - Summer Fun Booklet

Lickle Ted with Star  - The World of Cross Stitching Issue 167

I hope that this post has been enjoyable and that you found it useful. This was inspired by a question I recently received regarding a statement I made about back stitching on evenweave.

I would love to know your thoughts and if you have any other tips for working difficult back stitch on projects please leave a comment below.

I am still working on getting the images together for my gridding tutorial, hopefully you will see that in the next week.

Finally - kind of embarrassing

Last Christmas I gave a gift of a Lickle Ted cross stitch I did. I had to take it back though because I needed to properly finish off the edges and wash, iron and frame him. However having had problems with my machine it was only recently I was able to do the edges.

I have now finished ironing it and have mounted it on mount boards and put it in a frame. I love it, I think he is so adorable but I have to admit I am really embarrassed it has taken me so long.

The recipient is very understanding about the situation and I am delighted that I can now give it to her. Here is a pic of him all framed up. Isn't he just the cutest?

Lickle Ted with Star - The World of Cross Stitching Issue 167

My Unreasonable Stand-ards

Stitching The Night Away is having their second blog hop and it is all about using a stitching stand.

'Do you use a stand when you stitch? If so, tell us about it and share pictures if you've got them. If not, would you like to try using a stand? Do you have any tips or tricks around using a stand versus not using a stand?'

Well I have a floor stand which I was using for some of my larger pieces and I have to say I really enjoyed using it. However when we moved I dismantled it to store it away all tidy and when I get home in the evenings I just don't have to energy to put it together to use it. I don't want to have to leave it assembled all the time as it makes the house look too cluttered.

The stand I have is one used for the scroll frames that you sew or tape the piece onto. I would love to get a stand for my q-snap frame but it is just too expensive.

I have thought about getting a lap stand for doing some of the smaller pieces but my couch is quite soft and therefore I'm not too sure how well it would work.

I use my q-snap frame quite often but with some of the larger pieces like The Dreamer I find it extremely unwieldy. I also find that I need to use a frame close to the size of the piece as a lot of extra material flopping around gets on my nerves.

In short I like working on my floor stand but it can take up lots of space and be a pain to assemble and dismantle.

However having now read the other blogs in the hop, there are a few interesting looking lap stands I may look into.


Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop
Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by clicking here

Recently been working on - also testing out my photography

This is the completed version of Lickle Ted. I love this little guy I think he is so cute. I gave him as a Christmas gift but hung onto it so I could finish off the edges, wash and iron him.

Lickle Ted with Star

Still must also add in some white french knots for the eyes.

Spent the night trying to re-organise my unmounted stamps. I love Joanna Sheen stamps and I have a large number of sets. Mounted them on EZ mount foam and put them on laminated sheets of card and put them in folders. Still not even half way through my collection.

Unmounted stamp organisation

Here is my Oriental Elegance by Dimensions Gold. Have been working on this quite a bit. I really like the way this one is turning out, however without the back stitching I always think the face looks a little weird. It will be fine once the back stitching goes in. This one is for my mother.

Dimensions Gold - Oriental Elegance

Oh the agonising

Well it has been a while since I posted and I apologise. Life has been very hectic and is becoming increasingly stressful.
I have been doing some cross stitching though. I have been working a lot on my Lickle Ted pattern and I am almost finished him, just need to add a little more backstitching and he will be ready to be sent to a new home. Not sure where yet. I will post a picture once he is complete.

I  have also been agonising (here is where the title comes in) about my HAED's I am currently stitching 3 on 28ct 2x1 tent stitch and one on 25ct 2x1 tent stitch. However I keep looking at forums, blogs and the HAED BB and keep seeing ones I really like in tent and others where I prefer full x stitches both 1x1 and 2x1 on both 25 and 28ct.

I did lots of testing when I started and decided on the tent however I am wondering if I should do one using full x stitches and see how it turns out. This may just be a way for me to talk myself into a new start however :)

Christmas presents

I started working on one of the many Christmas presents I have to make this year. Every year I say I will make my gifts but never seem to get around to it.

This year I am determined to make the majority of my gifts to family and friends. To that end I started this on Saturday. This is from The World of Cross Stitching Issue 167 magazine.

I just love this image, there is something so cute and sweet about him releasing the star. I haven't decided who will be getting this one, but there is a good chance I will be making a second one for myself. This is my progress so far.