Stacked Teacups: Starting

There are few things as exciting as starting a new project, and today after more than three months I was able to do just that! If you follow my blog, you'll realize that I'm a serious project monogamist: I can't have more than one WIP lying around at a time, or I will break into a cold sweat thinking of all the work left to be done. So I throw myself heart and soul into whichever project I'm stitching at the moment, and and get a lot of satisfaction from seeing it grow. 

So here is what was happening this morning in my messy crafting room: 

A lot of measuring, taping of fabric borders, and reading the instructions of how to follow a kit (yes, this is my first kit ever. I love the convenience of it, let me tell you!). Eventually, I was able to tuck everything neatly into my work tin box:

And I went ahead and took myself out to the terrace to stitch in the sun. There was definitely a learning curve when sorting the thread, making sure it didn't tangle, getting it out of the organizer, etc. But it was all fun.

I was soon stitching away and having a blast. I should also mention that this is my first time using 18 count Aida, so the stitches were definitely fuller. It's good because it makes the job easier, I just hope it doesn't make me lazy!

And that's it for now. See you on our one week report!

Indian Artistry: Finished!

I am very, very happy to announce that I have finished Indian Artistry! What began 13 weeks ago ended yesterday at 10:30 pm, on an easy chair by my crafting shelf, watching Gilmore Girls. I am so, so stoked! It is the biggest piece I have every worked on, and I am absolutely in love with it. I don't have much else to say right now, so I'll leave you with some pictures.

WIP Pictures:

Review: Chinese Q-Snap

I got Happy Mail today! It's always great to open your mailbox and see a small little something inside, isn't it?

Today I'm happy to report I finally received my q-snap knockoff from AliExpress, and I was super excited to see if it compared with the real thing. I ordered an 8x8 inch frame, and here is how it came packaged:

It was all very neat and satisfying really! The plastic is very soft to the touch, and putting it together was (wait for it...) a snap! I'm hilarious. The frame is quite light, and the size is pretty much perfect for what I want.

Putting it together was a snap!

I had made a grime guard for it before it arrived, and thankfully it fit.

I also made a matching project bag and they look adorable together

I went ahead and put some fabric on the frame, and clamped it shut: the tension was perfect, it all seemed to be working just fine. However, there is one MAJOR FLAW in the q-snap: there are sharp bits of plastic in the clamps, so unfortunately when I slid the clamps off of the frame the fabric caught and snagged a little. Major fail!

Thankfully, I had some thin felt on hand and it was easy enough to use it as a buffer between the clamps and the fabric, as shown:

And at the end of the day, you can't even see the felt once you put a grime guard over it. Not that it bothers me much to be honest!

So, my opinion? 4 starts out of 5. The frame was cheap, it's very nice to the touch, it's light, it holds the tension perfectly, it does exactly what it's supposed to do for a fraction of the price of the original q-snap. However, just be careful to put some felt under the clamps. You'll protect your fabric and your stitches too!

Indian Artistry: Week 12

I wanted to share with you all my progress so far, exactly three months into this piece. This is my longest project ever, and I'm pretty stoked to have gotten this far! The piece is called Indian Artistry and it is designed by Joan Elliott. She is my favorite designer in the cross stitching world, because her pieces are so very evocative of whatever she wants to capture, and she's big into Asian and Native American cultures. Also, her pieces stitch up like a dream: there are enough colors to keep things interesting, but there isn't much confetti, if any. The pieces just flow. I find that when I'm stitching them I get into the rhythm of things and escape into a dream world. Wonderful stuff.

This particular project has been a journey down memory lane for me. It's from the late 90s I believe, which is when I lived as a child in the USA. My parents took us kids on several road trips around the Southwest, and we saw so many interesting places, like the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Sedona, Mesa Verde, etc. All these places were incredible in their natural beauty, but what made them so incredibly special to me was the Native American culture around it. I remember looking at books on Navajo crafts and history, and seeing the their pottery and basket weaving and sand paintings, and I just felt so in awe at the beauty they could create with such simple materials.

So, I really wanted to stitch up a piece that would bring to life that Native American culture, that would remind me of what it felt to be a child and discover all these beautiful things. This piece was love at first sight, and I have spent three wonderful months stitching it up. Almost done now... Only two pots left! In a way I can't wait for it to be finished so I can display it in my home, but I'm also sorry to be nearing the end. It has been an emotional journey, after all.