Thread, Beads, and Dyes: Oh My!

You guys. My mother has been visiting us this last week, so it's been very busy and we've been doing all the things, and I've hardly had any time to stitch at all, but just look at what she brought me!

In case it's not clear, you are looking at a truckload of thread and beads of all colors, shapes and sizes. I know right?!

Apparently, she found all this on several trips to a dollar-store equivalent that opened up in her town, and she figured that since I've been cross stitching so much lately I could use these extra goodies, so each time she went she got me something different. I mean... Wow! Mothers are the best, aren't they?

I'm spoiled rotten. End of story.

And then, as if this massive haul wasn't enough, I went and did it! I spent a morning walking through town and I managed to find the clothes dye that Spanish FlossTube is raving about! I was so excited to see them all stacked together that I took a picture:

And then proceeded to buy the shades that I thought would be most useful. I'm super excited to try them out! I got these five to start, because I thought they were a good solid option:

And then another day I found these other dyes, which seem to be another Spanish brand I didn't know about, La Nave: 

The price was more than reasonable, so I went ahead and got some more colors, which I thought would compliment the ones I already had. 

And then, of course, I had to get some Aida cloth to start experimenting on!

I got white and cream, but I'll probably experiment only on the white Aida. The cream one I got just because it's so pretty!

I can't wait to start trying these dyes out! I'm seriously excited and have tons of ideas running around in my head. You'll probably see quite a few fabric-dyeing posts here. Brace yourselves.

So yeah, not a lot of stitching happening this week, but there has been a serious supply-mania going on! Between my mom and I, we've brought in the biggest haul EVER. But that's part of the fun, so I'm not complaining!

A Tribute to my Grandma

I want to tell you a story.

Ten years ago in October, my grandmother passed away, taking with her one of the brightest lights of my life. She was one of the people who has loved me most fiercely and unconditionally in this world, and I will always have a hole in my heart where she used to be. I inherited many things from her, from my main personality traits to my talent with textile crafts. You see, my grandmother was an expert seamstress and lace maker, and she made a living out of it since she was a very young girl. In fact, she fought her way into a seamstress apprenticeship in post Civil War Spain. But that's another story.

My grandma with her first sewing machine

From time to time my grandmother used to commission cross-stitched pieces, and fifteen years ago, when I was just a teenager, I walked into her home to lay my eyes upon my first Mirabilia: the Spring Queen.

I loved it on the spot! I had never seen such an intricate, beautiful cross stitched piece. It blew me away and I couldn't praise it enough. I don't have any recollection that my grandmother ever registered this information. I suppose she smiled in that gentle way of hers and started making plans in her mind, but I never knew.

When she died, she left behind a lot of treasures. That particular Mirabilia now hangs in my grandfather's house, and even though I love it, I don't know to whom it will eventually go. But every time I walk past it, I stare at it and remember my grandmother and all the things that connect me to her, and the happy memories are right there intertwined with the sadness of losing her.

Today my mother called me over, because she had unearthed three bed covers that my grandmother had made, which apparently had Mirabilia designs cross-stitched in the middle of her own lace work. Naturally, I was very excited to see them!

My grandmother had made three different bed covers: one for herself, one for my mother, and the last one that she never got to finish was for me. My mother clarified that the cross stitched design was finished, but that the lace wasn't. She put the folded-up bundle in my hands and let me unwind it myself, and I want to show you what it was:

When I saw this, I think I literally stopped breathing for a moment. I felt like my grandmother was right there in the room with me, like she'd reached out and touched my face with her hand. Like she was speaking to me.

She knew. She remembered. She had wanted to surprise me with a design that she knew I loved. She had even stitched my name on it! 

I was completely overwhelmed. There was a needle still threaded by her own hand somewhere along the top of the bed cover. There was a sample of the beautifully intricate lace that she had made to eventually put on the covers.

And there was more: a folded up note. 

Here, in her shaky hand, my grandmother has written the cover measurements (3.30 by 2.50 meters) and the date she started working on the fringe: the 12th of June, 2009. 

That's when I really teared up, because that was only one month before we found out she had aggressive pancreatic cancer. My grandma never finished this bed cover because she died only four months after starting it. 

I really don't know what to say here. I feel like I have been given an incredible gift that speaks across the years and the time passed. I feel like my grandma is right here with me, and I just feel so lucky to have been loved by her.

I don't know what I will do with this gift, exactly, but I want to do it justice. It is partly stained with age, and I have no skill with lace (and don't think I will pick it up any time soon), so I don't really see myself using this as a bed cover. I wouldn't dare actually, with two playful young cats around the place, I'd be terrified that they would ruin it. If I can bring myself to it, I will cut out the cross-stitched design and frame it somewhere that I can see it every single day, probably in my bedroom, and think of my grandma every time I look at it. Then I can use the evenweave for another project that also reminds me of her, and the lace as a wall hanging. I'm not sure yet. All I know is that I want to do it justice.

That's all for today. I feel like even if this gift was stored away for ten years, I received it at just the right time, when I would most love and appreciate it. 

To my grandma, all I have to say is: Gracias abuela. Te quiero. 

Thank you grandma. I love you.

Cross stitching in Spain (on a budget!)

For a couple of months now I've been feeling a slight disconnect when watching FlossTube from the US and UK. I love watching these channels, but as a Spaniard living in southern Spain, sometimes I don't feel as identified with these FlossTubers, because their access to patterns and kits seems to be a lot easier than over here, and I feel a bit at a loss as to how go around getting patterns I like. So I've been trying to find my own way of doing things, and I've been watching Spanish FlossTube to see how people cross stitch over here. The following is a summary of what I've gathered so far.

The sad truth is that we have a weaker economy than in the rest of Europe, and to add insult to injury, cross stitch supplies such as DMC thread, Linen, and Mill Hills Beads are not only rare, but extremely expensive. As for Kreinik thread and hand dyed fabrics, the one embroidery shop in my town doesn't carry them. Add to that the shipping costs it might take to get that specific pattern or kit or fabric that you really want, and we're in trouble. In short, cross stitching can be an expensive hobby here (there is a reason why Andromeda was a gift!)

So with that in mind, here is what I've learned from Spanish FlossTubers, about how normal people get around to making beautiful patterns without breaking the bank:

Beads

As it turns out, when stitching Mirabilia patterns, not everyone goes for the traditional Mill Hills beads. Instead, many people are using beads that they find at our version of the "dollar stores". I went to Tedi today and found a few beads:

Beads from Tedi

And I'm lucky, because I used to be really into beading some years ago, so I have a lot of beads lying around the place!

Some of these beads are from my local embroidery shop, others are from China, and others were gifts from friends. They might not be "top notch" quality, but guys, when you compare them to Mill Hills... There's just not enough of a difference in my mind to justify spending the extra expense, see for yourselves:

Mill Hills Beads vs Chinese beads

I have just about every color of those Chinese beads available, and their size and the way they shine are almost identical to Mill Hills. I think you can accomplish a pretty similar effect on a cross stitch piece if you really wanted to! And if you're like me and want to save some money while still enjoying this hobby, I think it's a pretty good option.

Fabric

The one tiny embroidery shop in my town carries exactly two types of Aida: white and ivory, 14 count. If you want another count or linen or hand dyed, you better look online and be ready to pay the steep shipping prices. 

So what do people do? They hand dye their own fabrics. But using our local brands, which are inexpensive and work just as well as the more expensive American brands (for the longest time, I thought I couldn't afford to hand dye my own fabric! Thank you, Spanish FlossTube!)

We have this sweet little brand of hand dye named Iberia that has been around since my grandmother's time and has been used by people since then. I just hadn't thought about using it for Aida, but duh! Of course I can! 

This video from Paloma y Punto was the one that made me realize that we have this hand dye brand here, and it was nice to see the results! So I'll be trying it out at some stage and posting the results here.

Chinese Kits

Now this is a thorny one, I know. I mentioned Chinese Kits on Reddit once and several people went berserk about copyright issues and whatnot, which I can totally understand. But honestly, like many of the Spanish and Russian FlossTubers out there say... I have no issue buying them if I have no easy, affordable access to the originals. As I have tried to convey, I have no physical access to most patterns or kits, although Spanish Amazon does carry a few, thankfully. There is also the option of ordering from Sewandso.co.uk or 123stitch.com of course, if you can pay the shipping costs. So yeah, I understand why some people just give up and go for the Chinese Kits.

So I've gone ahead and bought a few. These are kits that I haven't been able to find anywhere else other than AliExpress, so if you know the artists, designers, or original brands, please do let me know and I'll at least credit them on here:

(Since buying this kit, I have learned that 
the name of the designer is Ekaterina Babok,
 and the supplier is Luca-S, a Moldovan company)

The one exception was this pattern by Dimensions, Baby Bluejays, which I think has been discontinued because I can't find it anywhere other than secondhand sellers on Amazon from the US, and I seem to remember there being an issue there... Either they didn't ship it to Spain or the prices were insane. So I went ahead and got the knockoff:

And I won't deny it: I'm extremely happy to have gotten these kits at a price I can afford! It's very liberating.

So that's all for now. I don't know how it'll go with these kits, whether they'll be any good, but for now I do like the quality of the items. I'll post it all here anyway so you'll know the result of my experiment! For now I'm just happy to be learning how to be more frugal in my cross stitch spending, as it makes it a lot more realistic and enjoyable for me. 

Thanks for reading and happy stitching everyone! :)

Wreath of All Seasons: Week 2.5

It's high time I talked about Wreath of All Seasons, so here we are: 

As you can see, a lot has changed. I've finished the hydrangea, yay! And another dragonfly has appeared at the top. And most notably, I have gridded the fabric! Gasp! 

I have never ever ever gridded fabric before, because I was always scared that the ink might not go away, that I'd mess it up, etc. But I quickly realized that this project is deceptively big and complex, and that I was never going to finish it unless I got some help from modern cross stitching tools. So, I took a big breath and went for it. And I'm so glad! I'm having so much fun just jumping around the project now, stitching wherever takes my fancy. 

This has also become my "outdoor project", because white aida is just so easy to stitch on that I don't need an extra light, and the weather is just so beautiful here in southern Spain. So this is my new favorite stitching spot:

My stitching chair

The view

So that's where the stitching magic happens! It's a wonderful spot and I'm so happy to be able to chill there and stitch while listening to the birds. A really special project, being worked in a very special place.

Andromeda: Week 4

Andromeda's really coming along now! I seem to have fallen into pace with her and we are making excellent progress:

I didn't fix her hand because I just didn't have the heart to frog it and redo it again, so I made it up as I went along and I think it has come out quite well. You might not be able to see it in the picture very clearly, but the width of her palm is a lot narrower than in the pattern. I mean... so she's clasping her robe more tightly than she's supposed to. Big deal, right? That's what I'm telling myself :)

So after that hurdle, I just stitched away at her robe and here we are. I really do think that both Joan Elliott and Mirabilia/Nora Corbett are excellent designers, because they really know what they're doing. I feel like they understand cross stitch, and I totally get in "the zone" when stitching their patterns. It also helps to have documentaries and shows running in the background, of course! Andromeda's robe here will forever remind me of the Tudors and Jane Austen, two documentaries I was watching while I stitched.

I'll leave you some WIP pictures and my two constant companions and fur babies, Quijote and Sancho:

Until next time, thank you as always for your comments, they bring a smile to my face every time I see them :)

Andromeda

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who left a comment on my last entry: it was so encouraging, and I really appreciated it! So thank you.

I thought it was around time that I showed you how Andromeda is doing, so here she is:

What jumps out at me is that she has a face! I mean, how awesome is that? Woop!! I also love, love, love the gradient in her skin. The way that Nora Corbett has designed those subtle color gradients, the play of shadow and light, is absolutely exquisite. I'm mesmerized. 

The only thing that's putting a dampener on my enjoyment of this piece (apart from the linen!!) is that somehow, I've made a mistake on the hand. The count is all wrong, and I'm missing like two squares of space all around the area, all the way down that section... I'm sure I can mask it easily, but right now I just don't understand what the problem is so it's a bit frustrating.

Anyways, more updates to come, happy stitching everyone and thanks for checking in :)

Wreath of All Seasons, and a diagnosis

Stitching this pattern is bringing me such joy! It's simple enough to be enjoyable, but varied enough to keep it interesting. Here's my progress so far:

It's coming out so much better than anticipated. I hadn't really known if I'd enjoy stitching this one, but my, what a pleasure. It's like I'm exploring and discovering a little world of leaves, flowers and dragonflies stitch by stitch. A little gem.

I know I don't post anything personal on here, but in this case I think it's too important to dismiss. You see, last Wednesday we finally got to the bottom of the condition that's been limiting so many aspects of my life for the last six years, and it's such a relief to know its name: fibromyalgia. I have found an amazingly kind, compassionate doctor, and a very supportive association one town over from where I live, so for the first time in years, I feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm optimistic everything will work out.

I hope everyone's been having some good stitching this week! Until next time, happy stitching :)

Andromeda's lessons

I just thought I'd do a little update on where Andromeda is so far:

As you can see, I have chosen to stitch her skin 2 over 2, instead of 1 over 1 like some of those beautiful Mirabilia finishes going around the internet, because even though I absolutely admire and applaud the stitchers who can do that, I do not have the patience to do something that intricate.

In fact, Andromeda is teaching me quite a few things. She has taught me that I should be striving for enjoying the stitching process, not the result. She has taught me that even though I love the finished result on linen, I don't particularly enjoy stitching on linen. And she has taught me that even when I feel like my stitches are all twisted and awful (like on her skin! The thread just kept twisting!) it's better for my sanity and the project itself if I relax and keep going. Because at the end of the day, no one is ever going to look at the stitches as closely as I do, or even care.

I also broke down and started using a hoop again. Part of the "enjoy the process" lesson, I guess. Ironically enough, my hand felt very stiff stitching in hand, and switching to my favorite hoop really helped. So I really enjoyed that.