Cross Stitch JournalWelcome to Life's Hills & Valleys Cross Stitch Journal!
It took eight months for me complete this project and I must say that it was worth all the time I spent on it. I started out keeping a weekly journal of my progress but later found that there were weeks where I wasn't progressing at all. I cut back on my journal entries towards to end of my project.
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Monday, January 4 - Sunday, January 10
With the busy season of Christmas and New Years over I am anxious to start on another cross stitch project. On Monday I go through my large collection of cross stitch leaflets and magazines. I have many projects that I would like to do someday so it is not easy for me to pick one. Being that it is January and I'm pretty well fed up with winter; I decide that I need something that would cheer me up a bit and remind me that spring is on it's way.
By Tuesday my mind is made up; I will do "Elegance of Spring" from the Marty Bell collection. I bought the leaflet on-line several years ago from the Jeanette Crews Designs website. I now need to decide on the fabric. My local craft store does not carry a large variety of cross stitch fabric so on Wednesday I had to drive some distance to a favorite shop that specializes in needlework.
The picture on the front of the leaflet was stitched on a 14 count Fiddler's Blue Aida fabric. I decide to do mine on a 28 count even weave which was hand dyed light blue and has a bit of shading.
On Thursday I check out my floss collection to make sure I have all that I need for the project. Over the years I have purchased every color that DMC puts out. 
I have devised my own storage system for the floss by putting the skeins in white envelopes that are labeled with color name, number and a small floss sample on the outside. I file the envelopes in numerical order in plastic containers as you can see in the photo. I pull out the envelopes of floss that I need for my project and transfer them into another container that is labeled "Project".
Looking at the picture on the front of the leaflet the lady's gown appears blue but as I pull the floss I notice that the colors are in shades of gray.
This is somewhat of a disappointment to me but nevertheless I decide to go ahead with the project.
I had everything ready to start stitching but other things in life take over. On Thursday evening my eighty nine year old father is rushed to hospital due to heart failure. I spend the entire night at the hospital with my mother and siblings. By morning we get the good news that our father has made it through the crisis but would require surgery to have a pace maker implanted. My weekend is entirely dedicated to my family.
Monday, January 11 - Sunday, January 24
During these two weeks I spent a lot of time going back and forth to the hospital. Family is a priority so there was no time for cross stitching.
Monday, January 25 - Sunday, January 31
After a couple of very hectic weeks things have settled down. My father has recovered from his medical ordeal and is back home. We are all very grateful that things have turned out well. I am finally able to devote a few hours a day to some serious stitching.
Monday, February 1 - Sunday, February 7
I tried to do at least a couple of hours of stitching a day this week but found it difficult having to contend with a cold. My head hurts and my eyes are not focusing all that well.
Monday, February 8 - Sunday February 14
I continue to stitch and am anxious to see more color rather than all those dull grays in the gown.
Monday February 15 - Sunday, February 21
I am pleased with my progress; I finally get to the lady's face and could see her come to life. It was a relief to be able to work with some other colors. By the end of the week I am stitching the hat.
Monday, February 22 - Sunday, February 28
Like the pervious week I am stitching every spare minute that I can find during my very busy days. I have made real progress. I have completed the hat and all the back stitching for the head and upper part of the gown. I am now back to stitching the lower part of the gown. I come across a mistake where I stitched over three threads in the fabric instead of two. It must have happened when my eyes weren't focusing too well during the week that I had my cold. My mistake snowballed so I finish the week unstitching a large portion of the gown's skirt.
Monday, March 1 - Sunday, March 7
I did not stitch as much as I would have liked. The weather has been unbelievably nice for this time of year. I needed to be outside and enjoy it before we get another blast of winter; we always do in this part of western Canada. I did manage to re-stitch the part of the gown that I had unstitched. I completed the umbrella and started on one of the poppies. Hopefully we will see more of the flowers next week.
Monday, March 8 - Sunday, March 14
I managed to get in about eighteen hours of stitching this week. There is more of the skirt to do but I know it will be beautiful once it is done. The poppies are slowing coming into bloom. I can just see them swaying in the gentle spring breeze. The first day of Spring will be here next week so hopefully the poppies will all be in bloom by then. SPRING - what a wonderful time of year.
Monday, March 15 - Sunday, March 21
Had quite a time stitching and unstitching during the week. My counting just did not seem to be right, especially with the poppies on the left side. I still have to do more unstitching. Hope I will make better progress next week.
Monday, March 22 - Sunday, March 28
Once I got on track with my counting I was back in business again. I did manage to give the poppies stems which was done with a simple stem stitch. I also did the back stitching on the umbrella. I know that chart instructions always tell us to do the back stitching after all the stitching is completed. I prefer to do the back stitching as I go along. I am always careful to mark on my chart where I've left off with the back stitching.
Monday, March 29 - Sunday, April 4
I was back to working on the gown this week however I did not get much done with it being Easter week. There were so many other things that I had to do. The weather has been great too so I can't be spending all my time indoors. I am pleased with how the project is going. It will be at least another month before it is completed.
Monday, April 5 - Sunday, April 11
The gown is starting to take shape and it is very beautiful. I did not get as much stitching done as I had planned. The stitching is going smoothly; I have not had any more setbacks as far as having to unstitch. I do however have another very busy week coming up so I don't think the gown will get done anytime soon. I do hope on finding at least a couple of hours a day to stitch. For me cross stitching is very relaxing; a great way to wind down after a busy day.
Monday, April 12 - Sunday, April 18
I knew that I was going to have a busy week so there wasn't much time spent on my stitching. I managed to get in about two hours of stitching the entire week. Not enough to be noticeable in a photo.
Monday, April 19 - Sunday, April 25
I felt that I had to put in some extra hours into my stitching this week to make up for lost time. The weather was on my side in that it turned cooler and rained so I had an excuse to stay indoors more. We were in need of moisture for our grass and trees so the rain was a benefit to all. My project is coming along without any hitches but I am beginning to think that it is taking a lot longer then I expected. It is looking lovely though and I'm getting anxious to get the project finished and framed. I've already got a spot in my house picked where it will hang.
Monday, April 26 - Sunday, May 2
I never seem to get as much done by the end of the week as I had planned but I am really pleased with the way this project is shaping up. Cross stitching is just one of the many things that I do to keep busy. Being retired I try to discipline myself to devote several hours a week on each of the projects that I am working on. At the moment I'm also doing some scrap booking, reading a novel long with going out for my daily walk and keeping up with household chores. Soon there will be the gardening to do so my time for cross stitching will be more limited.
Monday, May 3 - Sunday, May 9
Another week in which I did not get enough stitching done to warrant posting a picture. It was a week in which other things in life took precedence. Out of town visitors and a milestone birthday party for a family member.
Monday, May 10 - Sunday, May 16
I was hoping to get more done than I had. Spring is a beautiful season but it is also a very busy season. There are so many other things to do that cross stitching gets put at the bottom of the list. The weather has been great this last week too so I had to get outside and enjoy nature at its best. As you see I did manage to get some stitching done. This coming week I hope to complete the right side of the project. My aim is to compete the project by the end of this month.
Monday, May 17 - Sunday., May 23
There just wasn't any time spent on cross stitching this week - so many other things to do.
Monday, May 24 - Sunday, May 30
Another week in which there was no time to do any cross stitching - I'll see how next week goes.
Monday, May 31 - Sunday, June 6
I finally got some time to sit down and do some cross stitching. Not sure when I'm going to finish this project now. Summer is always so busy with traveling, visiting, gardening and just being outdoors in the sunshine. We've been getting a bit more rain in the last few days so that's the only reason I got to work on my project. I love the warm weather and sunshine so I try to be outdoors whenever we get it. I'm almost finished the right hand side of the project. I need to get the stems of the poppies done before I start working on the other side. Hopefully I will have a spare hour or two to work on it this coming week.
Monday, June 7 - Sunday, June 27
It is summer time and in the last three weeks I've been so busy with other things that sitting down to cross stitch was impossible. I did manage to get a bit done but it is too little to show up in a photo. I'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.
Monday, June 28 - Sunday, July 18
With all the family activities that I needed to attend these last few weeks I still managed to work on my cross stitch. We have been getting a lot of rain so that kept me in the house. I wasn't able to go out into the garden to tend to my flowers so I tended to my cross stitching instead. The next month is going to be another busy time for me with my son's wedding coming up and a short holiday to the west coast. I'm really getting anxious to have this project completed.
August 23, 2010
It's been a while since my last entry but I can finally say that I'm finished this project. This has been the longest that I ever spent working on a single project. I really did enjoy working on it but with so many other things going on in my life I just wasn't able to work on it everyday. I am very happy about the way it turned out; it looks beautiful.
I continue with this project's journey as I get it ready for framing.
Getting "Elegance of Spring" Ready for Framing
After many hours of stitching the fabric is bound to get a bit soiled no matter how careful a person is about washing their hands before handling the project.
I wash the piece in lukewarm water with a mild dish washing liquid. After swishing it gently I allow it to soak for about fifteen minutes.
I remove it from the soapy water and gently squeeze it before placing it in cold water. I make sure all the soap is removed. I then place the piece between the folds of a white towel and roll it up squeezing out any excess water.
Once most of the water is absorbed, I place the piece face down on a fresh white towel. With the iron set at medium heat I iron it using a pressing motion until it is totally dry. I use the steam setting to remove a couple of the stubborn creases.
When the cross stitch piece is dry it is now ready to be stretched. I stretch it on a piece of 13 x 20 acid free 1/8 inch thick foam core using stainless pins to pin it down. I bought a full sheet of foam core from a local Michael's Craft Store and cut it down to the size I need.
"Elegance of Spring" is now stretched and ready for framing.
I will be posting a picture of this project once it's matted and framed.
Be sure to visit my Picture Framing page and read my article on Stretching and Framing Completed Cross Stitch Projects.
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Elsie
