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A Good Marriage – FO

This isn’t my final report on A Good Marriage. I’ll do one last report when I get it framed and it’s fully finished but I am so very happy with it.

It looks crooked but it’s a late night picture and I was trying to stand at an angle so my shadow wouldn’t be cast over half the picture. No shadow but a bit of distortion from the angle.

It isn’t perfect. It’s my first piece done on linen (32 count). I struggled at first with placement and figuring out how many spaces to leave between the words. I could, of course, count them on the chart but counting them on the fabric was confusing – two squares on the linen counted as one square and I wasted a lot of time counting and recounting and still didn’t get it all right. The last three rows, I was getting better with figuring it all out but I thought those words were too squished together but nothing I could do about it. It bothered me a bit that there was a comma at the end of the next to last row but no period at the end of the last row (or any other rows). But, I did it like the chart said to do it and it’s done and I love it.

One more thing – I used the called for colors. It doesn’t say two skeins are needed but I ran out of one color completely and didn’t have enough of another color to do another row if I had tried. Near the end, I was counting letters to make sure I used the floss that had the least remaining on the shortest rows. And, I added an extra color because I felt certain I was going to run out. I used DMC 924, which is a deep grayish blue. It’s on the row that says Remember to say I Love You every day, Forgive & Forget and the very last row. Without adding that extra color, I would for sure have not had enough with just one skein of the other colors.

One more thing, the little house in the third row from the bottom – the chart shows the windows and door stitched in a dark color but I think it looks better with those left unstitched.

Here’s a question for all you stitchers. I know that on most samplers, the stitcher puts her initials and the date and often, the creator of the original sampler’s initials are included also. On this piece (and all other pieces), should I put my initials and date or not include that? I don’t think I see that on most other pieces that have been stitched.

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Comments

  1. I always put my initials and the year on finished pieces – usually very small on the bottom somewhere.

  2. It’s like putting a label on the back of a quilt. I don’t always do that either. Very nice finish. I love cross-stitch on linen.

  4. Congratulations! It looks beautiful! I like how the sentiments all sort of run together, then the comma, which really sets off that a Good Marriage begins with oneself. Your own initials and the date are the important notes, I think.

  6. I do label cross stitch. I do my first name in lower case letters and the year. I use the smallest possible “font” I can as I don’t want my label to stand out.

    Great job!!!!

    • Hi Judy! Haven’t been on in a while so congrats on new home happy for you all! Love it! Love that Addie has her room! Special times! Love the new finish Marriage great job!!! So good to see Boots and Rita together too! Stay healthy and regards to Vince as he takes care of Texas home!

  9. I used to always put my initials and the year at the bottom of every piece I finished, except for ornaments where there just wasn’t room. If there WAS room, I would include it! This piece turned out beautiful!

  10. i stitch my nickname or initials, in lower case, and the year using one strand of a thread that closely matches the fabric – i don’t want it to shout LOOK AT ME, but i DO want it to be there

    • I very much like this idea! I have some pieces that I made, and three that my sister made 30-40 years ago, and the initials and year are obtrusive. I’ve since put that info on the back after framing. I may try your strategy in the future. Thanks for sharing it!

  11. Judy, I don’t cross stitch (I am NOT following you there, I say to myself everyday) but I do think you should add your ID to this beautiful work of art.

  12. Your initials and date are important to add to this beautiful stitchery. It will become a treasure for Chad , Nicole and Addie. Also, if it bothers you add a period at the end. It is the only compound sentence.

  13. Definitely put your initials and the year on it. All the pieces I did years ago, my initials and date were there – something I learned from my mother (she always had initials/date on her needlework projects).

    A Good Marriage came out GREAT!

  15. When I used to cross stitch I would put my initials and the year. Small font and single strand of floss. I used to enter my cross stitch into the state fair and it was one of the things they looked for on the piece. I hated to do it in the beginning but now it is really nice to look back and see it and know when the piece was actually finished.

  17. Yay! You finished it! That looks wonderful! I’m also in the camp with putting your name or initials and the date. Some of my pieces I didn’t date and now wonder when I did them. The ones I did date, it’s good to think about what was going on in my life at the time.

  18. I have always found cross stitching so satisfying. You start with a blank canvas ( or linen), and look what you have created. Don’t artists always sign their work?

  19. Really nice! I’ll bet Vince will be surprised when he gets there and sees it hanging on the wall!

  20. It is wonderful! Can’t wait to see it framed. If I give my stitching away I might remember to sign the back but I have yet to stitch my initials in. Maybe I’ll do that on my next finish. Thanks for the extra floss tip.

  21. I also stitch my initials and year. I use all lower case initials (because I can make them only two stitches high in backstitching with a single strand) so it’s not real obvious but it’s there.

  22. Very nice! When i was cross-stitching I only put initials and year on pieces that had it incorporated into the pattern. I did often write name name/year on the back of the framed piece

  23. 1. It is lovely and makes me want to do this one too!
    2. I think the comma is there for emphasis. You could always add a period at the very end if you wanted to!
    3. Most of mine I have stitched initials and year on. And I like that. I know some people write on the back of the framing. But now I have seen something that I really want to adopt – I saw it on a flosstube – maybe Vonna somebody? And on the back of the framed piece she puts a pocket – remember how the library books used to have a pocket and card inside for when the books were checked out? Same idea. But on the card she puts the details – title and designer of the piece, type of fabric, maybe type of threads, when started and when finished. I like that idea!

  24. I love it! It is beautiful! I think you could put your initials and the date at the center of the bottom.

  26. Beautiful finish Judy! Yes, include your initials & date completed! Years from now you will especially enjoy seeing when you completed this project!

  27. I’m amazed at how fast you did it. Great job. I’m looking forward to when it is completely finished.

  28. Yay, it looks GREAT! I can’t wait to do this one myself, so thank you for the warning about being short of floss.

  29. I always put my initials on my X stitched pieces…lower case, right hand below the design in a way that it was not really obvious. I worked out a little design using all 3 and it became my “signature”. I put the last two numerals of the year too. I also finish finished several pieces with fabric, log cabin style! A particular favorite refers to my fisherman husband and ‘his best catch ever’! Your ‘good marriage’ is beautiful in every way!

  30. It looks very nice. I am trying to not to cave to doing this one. I have plenty of unfinished quilts to keep me busy, but I also have a daughter getting married in May. Hmmm, what a dilemma!

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