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

March GG: Special Edition - "Toads!? I hate toads! Don't turn me into one!"

Hi!  Hello, howdy, hi!!  I don't usually post so soon after a previous post but this is the last day to link up for GG so it had to happen!  I've been kind of silent this month due to my husband and I running away for an anniversary vacation.  And then after we got back, I got sick!  I am feeling much better by now, but still have a nagging cough.  But who cares about that!  It's time for exclamation points!  And there are probably more exclamation points than really necessary in this post!  Can you guess what that means?(!)  If you're a regular reader, you probably know!  !!!!!!!!!!  I was thinking that some shoehorning would be required for this month's Gifted Gorgeousness but as you'll see, it worked out in the end...

click for more info

EXCLAMATION POINTS YAAAAAAAAAY!

an accurate representation of my life

This post has been too long in coming.  Way too long. I was so afraid of his face haha.

I can't believe I started this back in 2014!  It's been through a lot with me and me with it.  It was plagued with frogs (I eventually grew up and fixed them).  I hated the fabric (though admittedly this became less of an issue once I got it in proper Q-snaps instead my old frame set up).  I will give myself a pass for one year because admittedly last year was a bit on the dramatic side.  But still, even three years would be far too long for such a piece!  But it's done, Done, DONE! !!!!!!!!

better lighting required

His face terrified me for the longest time, not only because it was a face and faces are hard enough but also because it happened to line up with a color change.  Poor Luneth, he got stabbed in face an awful lot before I was happy ahaha.  The swords were another perplexity.  I am thinking one is the Brave Sword (a regular in Final Fantasy games) and the other is the onion knight sword from the original FFIII.  I had to figure out a way to make them sword-like with both cross stitching and the backstitching.

Boy, did it need a bath after four years on the stand(s)!  There was no way I was going to chance the floss without a scrap to dunk first!  Luckily, it was safe.  And good thing too; I actually wound up washing it twice as it was just that filthy (I guess four years on the stand will do that.).

bath #1

And I've found a framer up in our new location who was able to match the style of FFVII.  I took both this and FFVIII in to have them both done at once! !!! I'm so excited! I'll have THREE done!!  eeeeeeee I also got a free upgrade to museum glass which is great!  It was a bit expensive to do both at once but it has become our 5th anniversary present (there's that GG requirement)!  5th is wood, right?  The frame is wood!  The pattern was on paper, which was once wood pulp, right?!  Totally fits!  I'll shoehorn anything. :D

horrible fabric

She had to sew additional fabric on III to make it work. Part of it was my fault for using too small of a piece, but if it hadn't frayed so badly or had been cut straight, I think it would've worked out okay.  Because I had the paperwork from FFVII, she was able to make sense of the numbers and get the exact frame and black mat.  I took my husband with me because I trust his judgement with colors and he (looked like he) had fun picking out the color mats!  Then the details with the mats...  I think that took a good portion of our time trying to gauge distances and the fancy cutouts, whew! 

Technical Details

• Chart designed with KG-Chart with a whopping five colors including black.
  
• 1-over-1 on white 22 count (hardanger). Black 2-over-1.
  
• Finished size: 11" x 14" (26.5cm x 35cm), ~10,000 stitches.
• Started: March 3, 2014, Finished: February 28, 2018. 
• 100+ hours including design time.

A silly little bonus: It felt so nice returning the game case to its proper shelf with the other games ahaha!  I had kept it with the project for these past four years as a reference point.

Lessons Learned

• NEVER USE REGENCY HARDANGER EVER AGAIN.
• Fix mistakes promptly.
• Q-snaps are pretty awesome.
• Four years is a lot of funk/dust/cat hair.

a trio of frames

A know issue is the cutout at the bottom of VIII is not correct and the framer acknowledged this when I picked them up, however it will take a while to fix it as she had some life events of her own happen and I am quite patient.  However, I'm not sure the fixed cut will look good either.  The whole piece has a feeling of a speech bubble which I cannot UNsee.  Another small issue is that III is not straight, but this was not noticeable until it was up on the wall with VII and she immediately said she'd fix that.   I'll be taking both back in sometime next week for her to remedy and to discuss options for VIII.  I may wind up picking out about an inch or so of the longest swoop in order to have a flat bottom.  I am open to fancy cutout suggestions for VIII!

#5

And in case I'm being too cheeky with my shoehorns lately, I did make a small start on the next MH3U glyph for the Husband Cube!  I must've been in a picky mood this month as I had a hard time making this guy's chart.  That tail!  *grumbles incoherently*  At least an annoying tail in chart form is fitting for the actual monster in game.  Beaver slap, anyone?

totally looks like a thing

Okay!  This post was really long!  Excitement!  Easter Blog Hops!  Really late for GG!  And then I got a surprise in my email that I am Blogger of the Week this week!  WOO!  We even bought "fancy" furniture today!  I am so pleased with March! :D

MMMM #3

Aloha, everyone! I think I've fixed the comments issue. And gave my blog a Halloweeniesh sort of theme.

This will be a short post because I am simply too tired to do more than be a zombie. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise since I'm sure I ramble too much anyway. ;)

finally framed!

blinding flash

Please ignore the dismal excuse for a ribbon. It's one of those skills I feel I'll never master.

my first square!

This photo was shot at an angle; I swear it's square! It's not "finished" because I haven't learned how to do edging and didn't want to try on it after the countless efforts it took me to get this far. I think I will make another square of the same size and make it into a large potholder because I've never heard of a yarn dishcloth before (that's what the pattern called it).

new stitch floss toss!

This will be the next (two) project(s) for MMMM. I'm not quite sure about the colors but I didn't have the listed ones in stash and getting new stash requires a lengthy trip. I think they will work out. I hope.

And before I forget! CraftySasha is having a really fun pattern giveaway, found here. I suggest you head over there and join in the fun (and admire the super cute paperclip army)!

Until next time~ But now, I'm going to go crash in some soft-cushioned thing.

Family Mailbox: Finish!

First off, welcome new followers~ I think I followed everyone who had a blog linked in their profile section but if I didn't, comment and yell at me! :D

Wow, I managed to finish it with tons of time to spare! Exciting and Amazing! I took possibly too many pictures as I progressed through it, but it's fun to watch a stitch grow.

Here's where I was last time back on November 20th (oh, the shame!):

Needs more mail!

And here is the progress march through time:

French Knots!

More French Knots!

FRENCH KNOTS.

All Stitching: Complete!

Framed and Everything!

That was a long scroll, haha. I was too lazy to make a table to organize the images and blogger's "compose" section was making a royal mess of the arrangement. So, I just coded them straight down.

I apologize for the "rosey175" box in the last two pictures -- I put our names on the mailbox! :) It was quite a fun little stitch and I suppose the post doesn't look too bad now that the piece is complete. I like to do French knots but I think I might need more practice -- the poor wreath looks a little squished, haha. I did wind up having to frog a section of backstitching (compare the first French knot picture with the one right before it) and add in some stitches I apparently forgot!

The kit also came with a little press-for-music circle (what the heck are those things called!) but as this was a thrift store find and from the early '90s... well, the battery doesn't work. I don't know what song it played nor how to (or if it's possible) to replace the battery. So it will just be another little decoration to come out at Christmas time!

Technical Details

• "Family Mailbox" kit by an unknown manufacturer. If anyone had/has this kit and would be willing to share more info, please let me know!
  
• 2 over 1 on 14-count white Aida.
  
• Framed size: 5" x 6.5" (12,7cm x 16,5cm)
• Started: November 16th, 2012, Finished: December 18th, 2012. Unknown hours.

At last but not least, I have a new start that I can't show! It'll be a Christmas present assuming I can get it done. I didn't realize the new project would be such a fiddly little chart to stitch -- so many quarter stitches on very hard to split fabric! But other than that, it's a really interesting design and I have the wonderful conviction that that recipient will just be amazed that such a thing ever existed. :D

Until next time, have super productive fingers! Only a few more days until Christmas~

FFVII Framed

I will try to spare you the exclamation points that are punctuating the excitement in my head, haha. Jo, I didn't cry, LOL!

But here it is, in all it's professionally framed glory. Don't mind the cardboard on the corners; I'm currently at my mother's house and I wanted to leave them on to transport it back to my house.

She did a good job though, and it really is super close to what I had in mind. It isn't exactly what I was envisioning but she doesn't live inside my brain so I can't fault her for not knowing what goes on in there. Half the time, I don't even know. I think I'll have to learn framing fo' sho because it was a splurge to have it done. And when I consider there are still at the very least, 15 more to stitch and get framed...

BUT YAY LOOK AT IT EEEEEEEEE.

Okay, okay, I'll get my TUSAL up soon, and I hope your fingers are having a fabulously productive IHSW! I'll actually have pictures for it myself but I had to get this post up before I exploded with exclamation points!!

Soul Pumpkin, Framed!

Hello, hello, hello! I hope y'all have had a great week! I must first brag about the absolutely amazing weather we currently have. After weeks and weeks and weeks of horrid 110+ F (43+ C)temperatures and no rain, we got hit with the remnants of Hurricane Isaac one weekend and then a passing cold front the next (which brought somewhat terrible storms), we are a magnificent 70F (20C) and I LOVE IT. Everything is so green after the rain and I can have the A/C off and windows open all day and night...! Ah, bliss!

Okay, I'll stop rubbing it in as I know some of you are still suffering with the heat. Meteorological autumn began September 1st and I wholeheartedly welcome it!

I'd like to share a giveaway hosted by Melody on The Stitching Life! She's doing this for HaED appreciation week and the prize is a chart from HaED and you have until midnight on September 11th. I have never stitched a HaED chart before (they look so daunting, lol) but I chose a Storykeep Blossoms-Law because I could always use more bookmarks, haha. Plus I love the colors!

I don't know where my brain has been lately with taking WIP shots but FFVII is soclosetofinished! If I just ignored the house one day this week, I could get it done and squeal like a little girl and post terribly small cell phone pictures that no one can distinguish any happenings from! I'm quite excited, haha.

I did manage to get another small piece framed though! It's not a world-class framing by any stretch but by golly, it's washed (and didn't bleed!!!), ironed, and in a frame! I finished it last year before Halloween (see post here) and was so sure I'd get it done up... I should know better than to make promises with myself! Anyway, here it is framed:

Soul Pumpkin!

Please ignore the black floss visible through the fabric. It was a whole year ago and I was young and naive. :) The frame itself is just a simple black one picked up in the dollar store. Sometimes the simplest things work best!

And because it was Oreo's turn to be silly:

Mine?

I picked up a very lovely and soft afghan at a local thrift store and had spread it out on my living room floor to examine it closely... and Oreo found it to be the most fascinating new kitty tent. She loves being under all blankets so I guess I shouldn't be surprised!

Until the next time, enjoy your new week and may your fingers be productive!

Framed, Fo' Realz!

Hello, hello! First of all, welcome to my new followers! It's so exciting to pop online (at a local library this time) and see more lovely stitchers! I am alive somewhatish and have some news! After the tragedy of the last post, I went on a desperate search for a way to fix that horrifying mistake.

My fabric is not PINK~!

I read up on lemon juice, salt, oxyclean, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and a whole other plethora of crazy advice and scandalized criticism (how dare I be so dirty my projects need washed?!). I like natural solutions so I decided to try the lemon juice and salt combo first. Yeah... That didn't go over so well. I think it actually made it worse! Aaaaaaa, I felt like I was going crazy! So frustrating that I dug out something I knew would work, and something that I can hear screams of horror from the stitching community -- bleach. Yes. I used bleach on my project. I tried it out on a corner of the project just to make sure no crazy shenanigans would happen and once I was convinced the fabric wouldn't dissolve or turn neon green, I got a trusty lil' Q-tip, dipped it water, then the bleach (so it wouldn't be quite so deadly) and suuuuuper carefully tapped around the area of disaster. I left it on for approximately 2 minutes before I started rinsing.

I rinsed. And I rinsed. When I was sure it was all rinsed away, I rinsed some more. Victory! I had no more pink fabric blob! A small casualty was a portion of offending floss against the stained area but as it is covered by a bead, not noticeable.

Goodbye, pink! :D

50 years from now there will probably be a terrible yellowed spot or a hole (Heaven forbid!) but perhaps the stitchers of the future will have discovered a restorative draught for pieces of the ancient past!

After it was ironed and dry, I set to work figuring out how to get it framed. I've never laced a project before (lolol, what project of mine has ever been framed, laaa~) but decided to give it a try. I used leftover bits of floss in random colors (I know something stronger would've been better but it is a small piece and I used what I had available). I think I did a fairly neat job given it was my first attempt. I had a lot of fun with clothespins and figuring out straight lines, ahaha.

Framed, and in sunlight!

Mandatory angle shot!

Who says stitching is a relaxing hobby, LOL!

Plus, just because he is so cute and I have no idea how on earth he finds this weirdo position comfortable, have a Peanut! He's sound asleep. With his head resting on his back right leg.

Kitty Yoga?

Thanks for stoppin' by! :D I'm so happy to have a framed project, who knows, it might kick my butt in gear and get everything else finished and framed (hah!). I forgot to take a picture of my TUSAL jar before coming to the library so that will have to be some other time (this weekend?).

A... Frame?! And TUSAL!

Hello, wonderful world~ There is actually a picture of stitching this time; don't y'all pass out at once! ;) I'm also including the July TUSAL (wat. it is still July thankyouverymuch.). Not much went in there as I went on a vacation and forgot to bring my travel stitch box (*cry*)!

Yet another C&H book! :D

I think I may have found a frame for a finish! It's (of course) a thrift store find and I thought it might be suitable for Miss Christmas Moth. It was found at the same thrift store the kit was picked up which is kind of amazing! Sorry for these horrible cell phone images but I was way too excited to wait for the weekend, haha. Don't mind the sticker gunk on the frame or the wrinkles on the stitches or the crookedlyness of it -- this was the "does it work?" test. I think it looks kinda nice in this frame (or am I decoratively challenged?) so yay!

The scrolls are cutout, not shiny!

I'm so pleased to have found a frame but now I have the problem of washing, mounting, centering, etc. I've never done anything like this before so any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for looking! Yay, frame, yaaaaay~

Edited on August 05, 2012!