I did not make this one. I got the kit and then discovered it was wool. Very allergic to wool. I once attended a wool/quilting demonstration, didn't touch a thing, sat in the back of the room, and was covered in hives by the end. So a friend very kindly made it for me.
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| The same lady that made the first one, made this second one for me. This time it wasn't wool. But the count on the cloth was too high, weave too small, for me. If you know me well, you will realize the irony. The illustration needs a box of saltine crackers perched on the edge of the tub. My bath tub reading was definitely enabling of my obesity. I no longer read in the tub. I also no longer eat saltine crackers. I now only listen to audible books, in the car, and I do not eat in the car (unless I am stopped for an actual packed meal, on the road). And if you are feeling like I took advantage of this friend, do not. Many a time she brought me a mess of a quilt to straighten. The worst one I can recall is before she understood about bias. She ended up with the straight of the grain on the inside and the bias on the outside of every block in a quilt. By the time she brought it to me to put on the borders, there was many inches (like 6-8") difference between one side of the quilt length and the other. Ditto with width. A real mess. And it was expensive fabric and a commissioned piece for someone else. I did get it all to work/straighten/square. But it was a heck of a job. |
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| I bought this one at GoodWill, took it out of a really terrible frame, hand washed, re-blocked, had it framed in a style I liked. I have found lots of good handwork pieces over the years at resale shops. I have re-framed and given as gifts also (great baby ones with no name for example). This is setting on a shelf at the end of our bed, if you are wondering about the odd angle of the picture. |
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| This is another GoodWill find. I think I have actually bought several of these other the years. It was either a class or group project or just very popular that I have found multiples. |
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| The poster in this same grouping was also a GoodWill find. The little print hearts I have had for many years, they are block printing. This grouping is in the other half of middle's room where the extra girls sleep when they are here. |
My mother, made this one for me -
She also made this one for me -
My mother made two of these, one for each girl -
Those were in the days where it was sort of all I could do to keep her supplied with projects because that is what kept her doing well emotionally. I think this might have been when she stopped working and was home with her husband full time (in the midst of the amputation years). I found patterns, I got all the stuff, I had them framed when she was done. If you have ever tried to keep someone supplied, you will identify. She was home all the time, it was what she did beside taking care of him. She went through projects very quickly. She did lots of cross stitch, embroidered baby blankets, etc. Currently she is crocheting baby blankets for one of the NIC units (neonatal intensive care) in town.
If you know what you are looking at, you will realize, all the rest of these, made by me, are on very large weave/small count cloth (it sounds backwards to say it, but it is small count cloth, meaning there are few counts per inch because the weave is so big).
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| I tried in the day, with the shutter closed. |
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| I tried at night. Every piece in this post is under glass, I had a lot of reflections, but none as bad as this one. |
I have not made anything like any of these needle work pieces in many years. Cross Stitch was after my quilting years. I did not eat when I cross stitched (stains the piece very badly). So it was actually a very good activity for me in the evenings. I have known a lot of weight loss people who successfully took up knitting as a non-food evening activity.
I stopped because I started having hand and wrist issues. I was on the way to having carpel tunnel problems. I slept in a brace for a while, to teach myself to keep my wrist straight while I slept. And then I have been mostly fine ever since.
My thought process was literally - it is more important for my wrists and hands to be able to hold free weights or to hold the weight of my body in a plank or side plank, than it is to hold a needle. Weight bearing work and resistance work is SUPER important for all of us, younger years and as we age.
I also thought - I do not want surgery.
And - exactly how many pieces of needle work does one house actually need?
This one was made my middle, long ago, on super big weave cloth.
