Last year I didn’t finish any of my cross stitch goals but I made a lot of progress on everything. So I moved my projects over to this year and added new ones. Because I’m crazy and I am loving my stitching right now.
Mama’s Bukid – Cross Stitch Priority Project #1
Mama’s Bukid
12/24/2019
My goal for December was to finish 2.5 columns and I only got halfway. So I do not think I’ll be finishing this in February as I had intended. I am struggling hard with finishing this project. Part of it was that December had a lot of events and family and friend time. All of it was wonderful and time well spent but my cross stitch time was hurt. And I am totally unmotivated with this project. I have had to force myself to work on this. It is really hard but it’s so close to finishing that I can’t stop, it’s just taking me longer.
Gamer Nouveau – Cross Stitch Project priority #2
My goal for 2019 was to finish 6 pages but I only got 2.5 pages done. I will work on this one week a month until Bukid is done and then I can work on this two weeks a month. I hope that this year I will be able to get 6 pages done. There are a ton of pages and I do want to get this done sooner rather than later. I started using a new app called Pattern Keeper and it has changed my stitchy life. It has taken a lot of the struggles I’ve had working on full coverage pieces. I’m currently at 20% completed on this project.
And because I like big projects (or BAPs – Big A$$ Projects), the new cross stitch project – priority #3 is a HAED (Heaven And Earth Design) which is a full coverage piece also. Here’s my current spot:
And here’s what it will grow up to be:
Each of those gridlines marks a page and I’m still only on page 2. I do not have a goal for this year other than working on it each month.
I’m also working on a smaller project: A kiss for Snowman
This is only about 6″ square but I’m not enjoying this project at all. I only work on it when I’m travelling. On my personal retreats I may take this with me to do some stitching. Hopefully, this will be done soon and I can start a new small project. I am currently in love with full coverage projects and I’ve got another one started but I rarely work on it. I do have a lot of projects kitted up and I plan to start another 2 or 3 over the course of this year. But, the 4 projects shown above are my top priority projects for now.
Happy new year!
Melanie
I am very impressed with HAED, all your pieces are so intense, that’s the only word I can come up with. I was wondering about your approach to sewing them. I haven’t done cross stitch in a long while, but I used to start in the middle and work out-wards, color by color. Finishing each color, cutting and burying each thread, yours seems to be more of a tapestry making approach (?). Do you know of any tutorials? Thanks, your projects are gorgeous.
I have a lot to say here and I’ll do a longer post responding in further detail. But to quickly respond – I learned how to cross stitch the same way, start in the middle and work out. For HAEDs and other full coverage pieces, I start on the upper left corner and work my way through. I use the “parking” method and pin stitch to start and waste away (??) to end. I have looked at a ton of tutorials but I’m currently mostly following Karen at The Needlebugg’s method. That’s her youtube channel. I also use an app called Pattern Maker and that helps tremendously.
Very ambitious goals for this year. Good luck!
Thank you!
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