cross stitch

I got on a cross-stitch kick!

The embarrassing thing about cross-stitch is how long it can take you to do something pretty small and it’s challenging due to the teensy stitching.

I was browsing Etsy, as one does, and came across a cross-stitch pattern for this chicken pattern, which looked easy and fun to make. It was on sale so I snatched it up, but mostly because an inside joke I have with my spouse is that whenever one of us says, “Guess what?” the other person responds, “Chicken butt.”

The best part was I had all of the materials already in my drawers. I was able to do a really decent match for the called upon colors and I think it turned out great. This took me roughly eight hours total, so I had it finished within a couple of days. I ultimately ended up framing it, which meant I had to go and pick out a frame, steam the fabric, and fit it in there. Worth it!

Feeling a high from the completion of a WIP so quickly, I turned to a cross-stitch pattern I began literally years ago and hadn’t finished due to the tedium of doing the border. I decided to pick it up, dust it off, and finish the border, now that I was on a roll. I am so glad I did because I had this pattern custom designed just for me. At one point I was going to put it in my cube at work but now I work from my home, so I get to look at it as a healthy reminder. (●’◡’●) I need to get a shadow box for it, but for now, this is how it looks. If you’re looking for a custom design, try The Pin and Needle.

Lastly, a friend of mine who has been known to throw around the fact that home is no place for wearing pants inspired me to cobble together my own design for her, based on alphabets and stitch pattern components I had on hand. I cut another square of Aida fabric and got to work. I did the lettering first and decided on what to put between/around it second. When I found the silly looking panda (who is pantsless), I thought it was absolutely perfect. And voila, a purple pantsless panda emerged! I also steamed and framed this one and am super stoked to give it to my friend as a gift. (Fonts and filigree courtesy of Subversive Cross Stitch.)

Once I completed three projects back to back over the course of a week, I had finally scratched the itch and I have turned my attention back to knitting and crochet. Until the next time, friends.

This scarf took me three months to completely finish, including blocking. Scarves are one of those things that seem easy, and for the most part, they are. But when you get over halfway through and you just want to be finished already, getting to the end can seem like an eternity. Also, I’ve noticed this is more the case with Tunisian crochet scarfs than traditional crochet where you merely turn and keep going.

In any case, I was working a lot of hours between January and April, so it didn’t really take me three months as much as I had to put it down and motivate to pick it back up again on numerous occasions.

All that aside, I absolutely love the look of this scarf! The pattern is from bhooked. It may look intimidating, but it’s just two Tunisian stitches: the knit stitch and the cross stitch. I also followed her lead and did the same colorway as the designer did. I’m not usually a super bright colorway person, but there’s just something about those colors. I didn’t have a specific person in mind when I set out to make it, either — I just knew it needed to get made.

When I first began trying my hand at Tunisian crochet, I was unsure if I would get the hang of it. But I caught on pretty quickly, and like many others who have become addicted to it, it fulfills that yearning to create something denser and less loopy. I have dipped a toe — A TOE — in the learning-to-knit pool, and so far, it hasn’t taken. I’m going to keep at it but my hands just don’t want to cooperate with where I’m supposed to put my fingers to keep tension, the movements, etc. (I am working on learning Continental knitting, as it’s an easier transition from crochet and it is more efficient, which is right up my alley.) When I get frustrated at my clumsiness with knitting needles, I toss them aside and pick up my hooks again, feeling right at home.

I digress.

This scarf is super long, warm, cozy, and bright. It would make a wonderful autumn-into-winter scarf. Mine turned out pretty wide at 6-7″. I also used bhooked’s method for wet blocking. Blocking is a pain but it does work! My ends didn’t uncurl completely but it’s not terrible. It just gives the scarf that little extra handmade look.

For blocking, I used some rubber/foam interlocking mats, T-pins, and sprayed down the scarf with water from a spray bottle I had. I let it dry for a couple of days before unpinning, which was the most tedious part of the whole process.

I haven’t decided whether to list it in the shop or just keep it in my gifts pile. But I’m excited for the day to come when it goes to an ecstatic new owner!

Edit: added to the shop!