Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Cirque des Carreaux - update #9 (finish!)

Finished up Cirque des Carreaux last Friday and held off on posting because I thought I could get a better picture but... nah. No matter what I try, this thread color just doesn't want to show up nicely on camera. (Epiphany silk by Carrie's Creations - much prettier than what you see on her website, even!)


It got a bit tedious toward the end but I decided to suck it up and power through. A lot of times, I sit there wondering what part to work on next, or which bit will be easiest, etc, and that's pointless. Just pick up the needle and stitch! Trying to mentally wiggle out of a tedious part isn't going to do anything but make the project take longer as a whole. :p

Speaking of which... I'm now working on an obligation project. Cue the groans. I know, I know... I'm approaching it in the same way. A little bit every day will get it done.

So, I'm working on this Dimensions kit, Flight of Freedom:


Totally not my style, but it's for my FIL who has helped us out tremendously with all sorts of things recently. He asked my wife to make this aaaaaages ago, so I've decided to try and surprise him with it for Christmas or something. Not sure how long this will take, especially since it's a bit of a slog to work through. Thankfully, most of the background is half cross stitch, so that part goes relatively fast.

The most annoying part is that I replaced the kit aida with evenweave instead of linen, and holy crap do I hate stitching on evenweave. Whatever fabric type I chose is woven really tightly and the sound of the thread scraping through the holes as I stitch is... ugh. *shiver* But I'm not going to change it at this point because I don't want to be wasteful and the fabric is just the right color to get the proper blending effect with the background, so eh. I'll deal with it.

No pic yet as I haven't done much. Next time!

And I definitely need to pick up another WIP to work alongside of this one, because if I work on this exclusively I'll never want to stitch again. :p

8 comments:

  1. Depending on your size of evenweave, you ma be using too many strands of floss/thread. The sound could also be the needle going through which mean you need a smaller needle. Just a couple of ideas to think about.

    JHM

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  2. It's 32ct evenwweave, stitching with 2 strands in most areas (up to 3 for some of the half stitches) and with the same needle I'd use for the same count of linen. I think it's just a natural consequence of being used to the thinner fibers and larger holes of linen. This evenweave seems especially closed to me, though... I wish I could remember what kind it was, but since I bought it in person at an LNS, I don't have a record of exactly what I chose.

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  3. Well first of all, congrats on finishing Cirque Des Carreaux! It is absolutely beautiful!! Are you going to have it framed and displayed? Or was it purely for the fun of stitching it? ;)
    Flight of Freedom is very patriotic but looks really nice.
    Looks like it's going a fun project to be working on. Sorry to read about the fabric, I hope things get better as you go along.
    I totally agree, you need another project on the side to keep you going... might make it something you really really really like :D

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'd love to get it framed eventually, but costs and hassle and all that. For now, it goes in the pile of everything else that's waiting for frames. I guess that means I stitch for the fun of it and getting to display pieces is a nice bonus later on. :)

      I think Flight of Freedom will be a fun project in general, since the half stitches make everything go quickly. The fabric isn't my favorite but it's perfect for the design and maybe it will get easier as I get used to it.

      The hard part is choosing a WIP to stitch along with it!

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  4. Love your finish....it's gorgeous! The thread colour looks very pretty on your picture so I'm curious to know just what it looks like in real life! Your new project looks lovely too, but it's hard working on something that's not your style. Wishing you luck to get through it :)

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  5. Congratulations on your awesome finish! You should definitely have it framed, it's just stunning and far too nice to languish away in a box somewhere.

    Sorry to hear you're not enjoying the piece for your FIL but it would make such a good surprise for him. Couldn't you and your wife stitch a bit each to share the pain?!

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  6. Congratulations on the Happy Dance for Cirque des Carreaux, it's absolutely gorgeous and needs to be framed and on display!
    I would have the opposite advice to JHM and say try a large needle so it opens the holes up a little bit more. That project really is a labour of love!

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