It was in February, 2021 that I started working on Farmhouse Christmas. It was probably mid-November, 2020 that I picked cross stitching back up again. I probably should have had a bit more practice and mentoring before starting such a big project.
I do remember having so much trouble with spacing and counting to figure out where to start the next stitch when I was leaving some spaces. At one point, I started using thin sewing thread and filling in the “empty” spots. If I needed to leave three spaces, I’d make three “waste” stitches, then take them out after I got going correctly.
I started stitching early this morning while the house was quiet and got a bit more done on the house block. I thought I should go ahead and stitch the borders around the next three blocks because that makes the interior stitching on those blocks easier. I looked at the chart and was supposed to have left 3 spaces between blocks. I left 3.5 stitches. Why? Accident? Because I thought they needed more space? I’m not 100% sure but I think I did it accidentally between the first and second blocks and by the time I saw it, I wasn’t going to rip everything out.
But, that means the outer border isn’t going to match up and in the end, will be two spaces off. I was thinking I would make the center section of straight stitching longer. It’s supposed to be 13 stitches. I’ll just make it 15 and that will compensate for the extra half stitch on each side but . . it won’t because 1/2 + 1/2 = 1. Hmmm . . how was I going to handle this?
Somehow, with my limited cross stitching knowledge at the time, I must have figured it out.
I’m not sure if you can see it but on the fourth stitch over from the left in that horizontal grouping, instead of skipping one hole, I skipped two holes and that got everything back on track. I’ll need to do that again probably in the next stitch I make there, and in the three remaining center sections as I go around the border. I was pleased with myself for having come up with that idea and it isn’t noticeable at all.
That also meant that, since I try to start all my stitches in a hole where the vertical thread has just passed over horizontal thread, the center block on the first row, the stitches start in the hole where the vertical thread has just gone under the horizontal thread. I supposed in the middle row, it will be the first and third blocks that start that way.
Not a big deal. Probably won’t ever happen again but considering what a newbie I was when I started this project, I’m smiling at myself and my efforts.
Jean says
That was a good fix. I have had to do that sort of thing many times over the years. Make a note to yourself to keep with your piece in case you set it down again for a time, so you don’t have to figure out what you did again!
Nancy says
Judy, is your linen gray? On my monitor it looks gray and I really like it. Good job figuring out that border!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
The color is Portobello and it’s more of a taupe color than gray.
vivoaks says
My poor brain was twisting around, trying to figure out what you were doing, but I guess it really doesn’t matter! As long as YOU know, it doesn’t matter a bit that I have no clue what you’re talking about! Hahaha!! Enjoy! 🙂
Cindy F says
That was a great fix! I’m plugging along with Love of Nature and just have the border to finish. Last night while looking at my stitch and then looking at the cover of the book I realized I had made a couple of the tiny hearts sprinkled about in the wrong color! Some were supposed to be cream and I made them in the Bluecoat Red. I noticed the person that stitched the model left out two of those hearts so only had one heart in the cream color. I might leave it in or change it…haven’t fully decided just yet.