Monday, April 2, 2018

No more blues....at least for a little while!

No more feeling the blues for me.......the love birds are finished!!!

So, the burning question is did I add the border or not? Well I appreciated all your comments and I have to say that I agreed with both sides.... fine without and fine with. In the end, after much deliberation I decided that it looked a bit unfinished without the border and seemed to need something to anchor or frame the design (I guess the designer really did know best!) so I reluctantly picked up the blue threads yet again and stitched the border.....


Although I would say that the design does need a border, I'm not sure if the border style is exactly in keeping the main part of the design. Anyhoo, it's done and looks fine and there's no way, I'm unpicking it and doing any more blues for a looooong time! 


So here are the details of this kit and my thoughts on it (These are just my opinions and I haven't been asked to do this by the company)....

The kit is by Plaid Bucilla and called 'Love You Always'. Finished size is 8 x 10 inches and stitched on 14 count aida. Whole cross stitch, half cross stitch, back stitch/long stitch and french knots are used in this design. Kit comes with a black and white printed chart, fabric, threads and a needle.

Here's some pros and cons of the kit...

Pros.

Lots of threads (I didn't run out of any colour!)
Very large black and white printed chart....and when I say large, I mean large......(Great for those of us who's eye sight isn't as good as it once was! 😄 )


Cons.

Not quite enough fabric. I like to have more fabric  to allow for stretching the finished design and framing.
The chart is super large as you can see from the photo....it's almost too large and is quite awkward for stitching and holding the chart.
Threads didn't come pre-sorted......those blues are killers!

So now I just have to decide how to finish this piece and not abandon it in the pile of shame.

Here's my next little start, it's the free kit from this months' World Of Cross Stitching magazine. The appeal for this little design wasn't the fact that it was a quick stitch.....it's because there are no blues at all in the design! Yayy!


Also in this months magazine are my little mug cosy designs.....


 World of Cross Stitching magazine
Immediate Media Co.


Didn't they stitch up beautifully?  I was really tempted to stitch some of these when I was designing them, but didn't get round to doing them (isn't that always the way!) but seeing them again, I think they might be added to my ever increasing to-stitch list.  

Here's a picture of my little mock-up that I made to check out the sizes when I was originally working on them.  I keep this kind of thing in case there is ever a problem with the deign when the magazines are making up the finished article.The designs are done so far in advance that it's often hard to remember small details that you were thinking at the time you were working on them so keeping this mock up helps......


 ....I didn't have time to do much stitching so all I did was the back stitch detail!  And a little tip for anyone who might be thinking of making these, I used one of those coloured elastic hair ties instead of a regular piece of elastic as the size was right and the colour matched the felt perfectly!

  
Also in the magazine is my Blackwork alphabet ......


Traditional Blackwork with a modern pop of colour....so versatile! 

And one last thing....

World Craft Week this year is  April 16th - 22nd. You can find all the details and download your free crafting magazine here.  This year it's supporting Bliss, the leading charity for premature and sick babies in the UK. There are some really cute projects in the magazine - I'm sharing because it's for a great cause and we all need some more projects to do, don't we?!!!!


Thanks again for all your opinions on whether or not to do the border in the Love Birds design....and for all your comments in general....much appreciated.

Until next time....happy stitching!


Rhona

12 comments:

Justine said...

Congratulations on having your blue project finished! I think the border really suits it. I like those mug warmers, could do with those eight now in the UK!

Katie said...

I think you picked the right choice because it looks beautiful finished off. I agree with you...it needed something and the border did just that. Great new start. I don't blame you for staying away from blues for now. Beautiful pieces in the magazine.

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

AHHHH--your bluebirds are sooo beautiful--and I am so proud of you for stitching with it--just love love love it--but I can also understand--
not wanting to look at 'blue' for a bit!!!
pretty rose too--
enjoy, di

Unknown said...

Congrats on your finished birds they are so cute. I bet it's nice to get away from all the blues and start stitching with other colors.

Mini said...

Congrats on finishing Blue birds, I'm glad you decided to go with the border.
Nice new start.

Congrats on being published(again). These designs are perfect for cup cozies.
Is there a way we can buy your designs thru other than magazines?

Preeti said...

Congrats on the bluebirds finish! :) It looks beautiful! I can understand your consistent blue color stitching. I was so bored by seeing brown shades in my dimensions kitty project that I took a break and stitched a flower design. Your new designs are very pretty:)

Kay said...

You must be so thrilled that it is finished, it does look lovely. I have a sip that I put away a while ago that I need to continue that is just all shades of white and cream, It is a duck by Plyyanna Pickering and will look fabulous when done but drives me nuts while doing it. x

Carol said...

Such pretty birds! That is a lot of stitching with mostly one color, but, luckily, blue is such a nice color :)

Your new designs look great! Congratulations!

Helen Philipps said...

Well done on stitching all that blue! It looks beautiful and you are an amazing stitcher! I love the mug cosies you designed, they are cute and useful too. Xox

FlashinScissors said...

Congratulations on finishing your bluebirds, and I think you did the right thing adding the border, it all looks very pretty!
Wow, congratulations too, on being published! I just bought that magazine yesterday and on seeing the designer name I wondered if it could be you!
I love the mug cozies, especially the tea and coffee ones.
I was about to start the rose kit yesterday, but wasn’t sure whether I like it enough, but seeing yours I’m inspired to carry on.
Barbara xx

Catherine said...

Congratulations on finishing your birds! They do look pretty, though the border looks a little 'formal' for me, it does finish it off nicely.
And a huge congratulations on getting published! What a great achievement, so exciting for you.

Wendy said...

it looks lovely! I like the frame, I think it's in keeping