You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Starting Up’ category.
The floss is carded…Let the ‘squaring’ begin!
The task: Mark off 100, 1″x1″ squares on the fabric.
The Plan.
It was suggested that we mark off the boxes (1″x1″ squares) with a pencil line or a washable pen. BUT…To get a pencil mark on this 40ct. and get it on there relatively straight and workable seems a bit difficult. I can see and locate the grain line, but to get the ruler to line up throughout the weave for a thin pencil line just seemed nearly impossible. The width/thickness of the washable pen seems thicker than one column of weave for this fabric as well. So…what to do?
Plan B.
Since my fabric is evenweave and I can rely its “40 squares per inch”, then I can … ahem…COUNT the threads. Yay.
Armed with a size 28 needle and one strand of floss, I have started to backstitch the squares by stitching over 2 threads and making the ‘square’ 20×20 backstitches. All in white.
White on white.
Why, you ask?
I’m asking too. My reasoning was logical.
Outline it in white so that when I actually start stitching the squares, I can create any outline to STITCH OVER the white. I have no intention of leaving the framing of each square this “white on white”…
The white won’t interfere with the project stitching… I can stitch over it and it will be ‘invisible’… The markings won’t wash or rub off… It’s visible…
I started in the center. The intention now is to stitch 4 outlines to create 4 blocks, then start filling in the squares. 😉
One down…only 99 to go! I’m sensing the birth of new countdown song soon…similar to the hundred-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall…*giggle*
Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun! –
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
This morning, simply by ‘chance’, I opened an email from a cross stitch/embroidery group and learned about a stitch-a-long that involves 100, 1in. blocks, each depicting a ‘blessings’.
Now, blessings have been keeping me afloat lately. Not exactly the blessings…but the RECOGNITION of those blessings. And that journey started when a fellow plurker asked for people to join her with “Simple Abundance” journey. I have been reading through that book and trying to keep up with that here… Simple Abundance ~ Curiosities808. Well…I couldn’t help but wonder if the message of the Universe was to PAY ATTENTION to the coinciding messages here…and get to stitching!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My thoughts? Well…this is what went through my head…
“100 blocks! OMG!”
“1in. blocks! OMG!”
“Blessings…Simple Abundance…wow…”
“Hey, this could be a lot of fun”
“Another large project…it will never get finished…”
“But, wow…that could be a lot of fun…”
FUN WON!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I looked at the link provided in the email. (here it is, …don’t forget to come back here after you take a peek…) Counting My Blessings and after looking…and thinking…and wondering…and dreaming…
I started digging. Digging DEEP into the supply bucket of fabrics. The whole while I was wondering how much detail I could pack into a teeny tiny itty bitty 1″x1″ fabric area.
And then I found it.
40 ct. fabric.
Yes.
40 ct.
Only problem…I only had a 5″x5″ square of it…and I will need at LEAST a 10″x10″ to stitch in 100 squares of wonderfully thoughtful blessings.
So, needless to say, my wonderful hubby, who
a. knows how much I love to start projects
b. knows how important it is for us to ‘count our blessings’
c. is always and ever supportive of any creative project
volunteered right away with ideas and solutions! Off we went to the Local Needlework Shop, Fiddlesticks! Where I was able to get a piece of 40ct. large enough to start my layout of 100, 1″x1″ squares to stitch 100 blessings!
(See the 40ct. fabric…sooooo tiny)
Now you’ve seen the stash…I am off to card up the threads, mark in the squares, and get set to GO!
Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun! –
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you’d like to sign up to join the stitching fun, follow the links and info on Amy’s Counting My Blessings blog.
I’ll be happy to add you to my links as well, so send me an email
curiosities808@gmail.com
or leave a comment here if you are planning to stitch along with the 100 blessings blocks!
Curiosities808~Counting My Blessings 