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sing the above title as a spoiler, I am intrigued with gridding the Aida cloth for more intricate or harder cross stitch patterns. I have done some research and have seen a half a dozen variations. They range from pre-counted cloth to DIY gridding with either thread (which was pooh-poohed on a couple of websites), light wire, or fishing line. If you have used gridding on a regular basis, no matter the technique, I would love to hear about your experiences and suggestions. For both professional and personal reasons…
My sister and I have been cross stitching for over 20 years off and on and haven’t done any gridding. Okay, I may have tried doing it with a single floss, marking 10 spaces but the results were not good! I ended up frogging it and forgetting it. The Tardis project would probably be the “poster child” for gridding. And if you look closely, you can see where I'm having to frog the black... I have marked page edges and corners with threads but it is only quasi-gridded. Websites have assured me that I would make less errors and be done in two-thirds the time. Sounds like snake oil to me. Kidding!!! However, if you are like me, when you are unsure, you just kind of leave it. Right?
Now for something different, last Saturday I spent some time at Golden Needle for its annual Super Bowl sale. It was a great turnout! As always, I met some really nice women with vast and deep knowledge. And, as an added bonus, I found these “twin pointed quick stitch” needles!! If you read the BloomingDaisiesCrafts blog posted on January29, you may remember the helpful tip (to help avoid the thread twisting that occurs as you stitch, put your needle in one way and bring it back up reversed—meaning to push the eye end up from the bottom.) I also mentioned that I might be looking to purchase these very needles! I am doing some R&D with them on the Tardis project. If you are interested, I know that Golden Needle ships! The store also carries them in various sizes. If the needles aren’t listed online, give Lisa a call. She can do a phone order and mail them out to you!
In the race to get projects done prior to the end of 2020, I have mentioned the cross stitch projects that I was able to finish. But, I also succeeded in completing the two quilts I had been working on. I am very pleased with the results and hope that the recipients are too!
First, Grandbaby Six’s baby quilt turned out so pretty. Her mom picked out the colors and I was able to find the cutest fabrics that fit the palette! One of the best finds was a print with mother and baby animals. I used it as the backing and chose a delicate “all-over” stitch pattern. It is a timeless combination.
For Brittany and her husband’s king-size quilt, we chose a pattern geared toward my son-in-law’s Native American ancestry using bold colors and then I had it quilted with swimming dolphins because my daughter has always loved dolphins! I think it is the perfect balance for this couple. While I didn’t actually mail out the quilt until the end of January 2021, I count it as a win. Having had the material in my closet for months (okay, closer to three years) makes it all the more sweeter to check it off the list.
Speaking of completing tasks, just yesterday, I completed the revamping of the Animal Needle Minders. I reviewed pictures, corrected spelling errors, and fixed inconsistencies in the policies. The Animals folder has the fewest Needle Minders and was a great choice to cut my teeth on. Now to decide on where to next!