April Smalls: 'Merica

Hello to you all!  Here we are for a proper Small SAL post at a proper Smalls SAL time.   I rummaged through my Drawer of Wonder and chose this little kit to work up.  I did not notice it was double-sided even though it says it in plain English right on the front of the package.  Luckily even double-sided it is quite small sooooo...

click for info!

Of course this kit was found in a thrift store, this time by my mother.  I thought perhaps I could cheat on the French knots with little glass beads but alas, they turned out just a tad bit too large.  I don't hate French knots but this plastic canvas was so tough to get the needle through with just stitching.  Then to go on after with the knots... eh, I persevered.  100 little knots later, I had a completed American flag.

Klondike, don't eat that

Boy, they knew what they were doing with this kit!  Each length of floss was just enough to finish one line of a stripe.  The plastic canvas was cut to size which led to a terrifying second flag until I knew it would fit!  The kit also came with the tiny dowel and stand so it could be displayed upright.  And the front and back were mirrored images so it can look correct no matter which way the wind blows.

little LEGO dude, don't eat that

This is actually my first Americana anything if you can believe that.  I'll set it on the little shelf beside the door all by its lonesome self (and the ever-present candy for guests and a husband coming/going) during all the flag-y holidays.   Yay!

Technical Details

• "Stitch 'N Hang kit #2001: American Flag
• Three-over-one on white 14-count plastic canvas
• Approximately 8 hours stitching.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★
This is obviously not for the Smalls SAL as it is very much not small (although they certainly had a lot of "small" issues).  I took Final Fantasy III and VIII back to the framer to address some of problems.  She straightened out III and VIII got a new cutout design entirely. In case you've forgotten the speech bubble:

before, plus bonus VII

after - the difference

I am still not happy with the workmanship of this framer and unfortunately I do not think I will be going back to her.  There was not the attention to detail that I guess I was expecting.  III never should have been presented crooked although to be fair, when they are viewed at a flat angle, it is not noticeable.  But wouldn't a framer set them upright?  Or notice the fabric is warped?  I mean it's not like cross-stitch fabric doesn't have "lines" to make sure things are even...  I can still tell it's a bit crooked in the "fixed" version. Is this something only a stitcher (particularly the one who did the work) would notice?  I will say this (again) though: The fabric for III was horrible and could have very well contributed to this drama.

VIII... I'm not sure how I feel about it though it certainly looks better than before.  It was not re-stretched so there is an outline of the previous cutout mats' shape on the fabric.  There is some sort of water damage on the red mat, under the glass.  The red mat was not supposed to have the little "flairs" at the corners.  Apparently the mat cutter available could not do the curve all the way?  She did not discuss this with me and instead just left it (this is the second time I felt like I was "supposed" to like it so she wouldn't have to do anything else).  I did not want to argue the point so I just went with "they're fine" to be done with it.  They may grow on me as I do not hate them, just the surprise that they were.  The water staining and the outlines aren't acceptable.  That doesn't inspire confidence on how the actual stitching was handled.

All-in-all, kind of an underwhelming experience especially for projects that I get SO OVERLY EXCITED over.   Maybe these pieces are just too weird in the cross-stitch world to be easily framed.  I have saved the information and will keep future finished stitches until I can do the 200 miles (~320km) drive to my old framer.  I will probably bring these two with me and see if she can do anything to fix them.  I am incredibly patient, but on the flipside, incredibly picky.  Or maybe my pickiness is justified this time.

Okay, I've complained enough hah~ Tune in next time for another edition of Ishkabibble Babble! :D