Now that we are officially in February this marks the end of
my first craft month. But before I announce my next craft task I need to update
you on how January went. There just isn’t enough hours in a month to take a craft by the horns and make something spectacular. Then
again an end result doesn’t necessarily have to be large scale. Like the
majority of people I have a full time job and try and juggle lots of other
things on top, but I don’t want this to deter me from crafting. So even if I
don’t make something large or particularly fancy I don’t care, for me I have
still accomplished a new skill and maybe even a new finished product.
My Cath Kidston cross stitch is now completed and all I have
to do is remove the soluble material and sew up the bag. Although it is small
scale I am really happy with the result. On the whole this cross stitch has
been simple to do, it is a craft you can do in front of the TV but you still do
need to have some wits tuned in to ensure you count correctly......which I learned the hard way.
The one thing I have learnt with cross stitch is that it is
important to have a good light source. I usually do mine late evening, the
light in my rooms are not so great so sometimes I found it quite challenging to
see the holes in the soluble fabric properly. That aside with a desk lamp I
reckon you would have no issues.
Here is the finished version of my Cath Kidston cross
stitch. Truth be told the second set of flowers on the left are supposed to be identical to those on the right. Not only did I manage to lose my thread, I counted wrong too, hence the free styling. Bet you didn't even notice til I just said!
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| Cross stitch finished but tacking thread still on |
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| Finished!!! |
Being presented with a blank canvas and no pattern can be
quite daunting! So simple was the key!
I started off dabbling with some small simple hearts and then
decided to take a section of Cath Kidston’s design, change the colour way and
amend the design a bit. Small simple designs were what I wanted to create.
Happy with the results I decided that I wanted to create a
design which would be all colour. I came up with the idea of stitching a bow
and colouring in the space around it. This I did with no previous inspiration
unlike the hearts. I tried to sketch out my idea on squared paper but it was
hard for me to visualise , stitched so I decided just to take the plunge and
start with the centre of the bow and work outwards. It is the most basic shape
but I think the design really stands out due to the colour palette.
Here is my work in progress:
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| Work in progress |
Feeling pretty happy with my designs I decided that I didn’t
just want to leave them on the fabric to eventually gather dust in a
drawer. I’d seen many people do mini cross stitch designs and make them into
buttons, so sweet and versatile. Being a fan of buttons and using self covering
buttons to make jewellery I naturally started to head down that vein.
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| Making a button using self covering buttons. |
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| Finished floral button, I love it! |
I decided that I wanted to do the same with my bow design
and mounted it onto a larger self covering button.
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| Original bow design button |
For me the floral and bow cross stitch designs really came
to life when made into a finished project. I am so pleased with it, the
question is shall it remain a button or be used to make a set of earrings or a
ring.......
I guess you will just have to wait and see............
If you are a cross stitch fan get in touch and share your
handiwork. You can either leave your comment below or post a photo of your work
on my Facebook Page – Camilla-Erika Jewellery and Accessories or on Twitter@CamillaErika 1
