The latest issue of Collection hits the UK shops today - and so does Cross Stitcher 296 by the way: just a wee reminder for those of you who wanted to stitch the little bird cage keyring ;) So finally I can show you some pics of my wonky apples (I hope that`s not slang for anything!). But just in case it is, here`s what I`m talking about:
It was an interesting experiment in pencil sketch style stitching - and not the easiest thing to do on evenweave, with hardly any reference points... basically, just apples floating in mid-air, lol.
The `wonky backstitch` in itself was quite challenging; the cross stitched apples were slightly simpler, as here at least I could use the cross stitches to help me navigate - but the 4 `empty` ones required a lot more concentration. So to start with, I enlarged the chart for one of them, and with different coloured pens, I marked the points on the grid where two lines met. Once I had the steps on paper, it was just a case of following all four lines, one at a time, in a `left 4, down 1`, etc. kind of way.
This is my `work station` - excuse the mess, I was working on Olivia at the same time too. ;) There`s my enlarged apple (again, I`m hoping that it`s not slang for boobs or similar!), and next to it is the first finished one, which I then used to calculate where the other 8 should go. And here they all are:
I think that little paperwork to begin with was well worth it: once I knew what I was doing, it grew quite quickly. The whole project took only 24 hours, so it`s a nice idea for a last-minute birthday, Mothers` Day or even housewarming present. Or the individual apples could be used as cards or coasters... the list is endless. Here`s my favourite, the one I call `apple on the washing machine` - happy stitching, folks!
A nice and fruity design,can't wait for the finish, Sunny Greetings from New Orleans, Alice
ReplyDeleteHello, Laura,
ReplyDeleteI did not realize it took that much work! In fact, when I saw your first pic, I thought, "Are they making her stitch some apples and sketch with a pencil the others now?" :) Then I realized it was in fact the BS of the "empty" apple... Congratulations on the wonderful finish!
At some point, when this issue of Collection shows up at our stores, I will try to get it. :) Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you, ladies, for the kind words - hehe, next time I might just suggest a permanent marker, how come nobody`s thought of that??? Pmsl :D
ReplyDeleteI like the sketched apples but I don't think I'd enjoy stitching them!
ReplyDeleteHaha, `enjoy` is not a word I`d use, either... It was one of those projects that had it been for myself, it would`ve got buried deep under my Olivia charts. But because it was a commission, I chose the `let`s finish this asap` approach, even though I could only work on it when the Wee Man wasn`t home as I didn`t want him to hear my full arsenal of English and Hungarian curse words... ;)
Delete