bk_forever | Bee Cross Stitch

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: My Desk

I finished another set of small designs for cards, this time some bees and honey. The two small ones were stitched on 14 count and and the four larger ones on 16 count, because that was all I had that was easily accessible. Most of my fabric is stored in a big old chest that currently has a lot of stuff piled on top it and I didn't feel like moving it all to get at my stash of 14 count.

This last one I plan to post pics of as it progresses. On the left you can see the design as it should look when it's done, and on the right... Well, I've started it, the first part of the cross stitch border is done!

This is tougher than the other designs I've been stitching lately. It's bigger for a start, but as I want it for a card (possibly), I'm making it smaller by stitching on 20 count fabric - that is, 20 squares per inch - with one strand of thread. I cut and prepared the fabric for this and another large design years ago but never got around to stitching them. The design is 96 stitches each way, and will measure 12 x 12 cm when it's done. I'll be stitching other things while I work on this because I need good daylight to see the holes... o_O

Wish me luck!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lexxiescott

I love the little Queen bee, but they’re all awesome!!!!

From:

bk_forever

Thank you! That one was the hardest to stitch because of all the little flowers, but it's the prettiest. I liked stitching the flower and honeycomb one best.

The next set I'm working on is also a bit fiddly...

From:

lexxiescott

Your turn for a fiddly little project, huh? Is that the rose one at the bottom or something more complex?

The honeycomb one looks like it would be fun to work with. :-) I think it’s the little smile that really made me laugh and smile with the queen bee.

From:

bk_forever

I think Queenie Bee looks a bit smug, lol!

Well, the rose is certainly fiddly, but I'm also doing another set of four designs for cards that have a lot of colours with only a few stitches in each one in places, which means frequent changes of thread... At least the bee ones had some large blocks of colour.

I have a whole stack of magazines with designs I'm itching to stitch. I wish I hadn't picked this set now =(

From:

lexxiescott

She definitely knows something. :)

Oh heavens. That's one of the single most annoying things with any sort of project. The one time I undertook a project like that, I had like six needles going at once so i didn't have to keep threading and unthreading. It was a nightmare, so I feel you.

From:

bk_forever

I only use one needle so... o_O

I've done the second part of the rose's cross-stitch border, it's looking good, now just the backstitch inner order before I start on the rose itself, but that's for next Sunday if I have time to stitch during the auction - there's 52 re-listed items next week so...

I got the Silver Leaf Jasper this week. Did you bid on anything?

From:

lexxiescott

Oh heavens, that makes it ten times worse. *hugs*

Wow, that's a lot of relisted items. I'll have to go take a look and see if there's anything I care enough to bid on. I got two of the three fluorites (the octohedron and the clear/purple rough) and also managed to get one of the merlinite geodes. The late listing one.

That was a nice silver leaf! That's a nice grab. :)

From:

bk_forever

Oooh, well done you! I wondered if you'd go after the rough Fluorite, that was a really nice one.

The Silver Leaf was such a dark one, almost like a Silver Sheen Obsidian, so I gave in to temptation.

Next week... The Opalised Moss Agate is a nice one, but I'll have to see.

I've got loads more needles available, but I don't have anywhere to park them so just using one keeps me from getting confused. Some of the colours are so similar to each other it would be easy to use the wrong one...

From:

lexxiescott

It’s a lovely piece, and I have none that are that clear. I like the little raspberry stripes, too. I thought the geode was too good to pass up. I’d like to get a white one someday, but it usually seems like a battle on them.

I used to work sitting on an old battered sofa that Mum didn’t mind me sticking needles in while I was working. Good luck with the project. It does sound like it’ll be pretty when it’s done.

From:

bk_forever

You'll get one eventually, I'm sure =)

We used to have a sofa like that, but then mum bought a sofa and chair with wicker frames and the arm rest part of that is so soft it would just suck needles in if I tried that. I don't stitch downstairs anyway - the light is better in my room.

I'm hoping they all will be =)

From:

lexxiescott

Sofas that eat needles are not good. >.< Sometimes I don't wonder if we have aliens in our houses and we don't even know it. We did have an old soft sofa that ended up being a dog bed when our Great Dane was aging. The one I loved and miss was in four sections, so Rem and I could each have two sections to play with because they were all loose. I generally used my second section as a footrest. :)

Oh yeah. You need good light to be able to stitch!!

From:

bk_forever

That sounds like a very versatile sofa!

Wouldn't surprise m if some furnishings were alien in disguise, observing human behaviour. I wrote a fic once about Ianto's new rug...

From:

lexxiescott

It was, and Mum got it specifically for the kids’ area, so she didn’t care how we treated it. I have many fond memories of that sofa.

Poor Ianto. *grins* Sometimes I wonder if he didn’t want a normal life.

From:

bk_forever

If Ianto got normality he'd be bored in no time *grins

You're so lucky you had a kids' area. We just had our poky living room, about 15 square feet.

From:

lexxiescott

*giggles* You're probably right. I just can't help but feel, sometimes, when the Hub is a mess after the latest alien disaster, he wants to be bored.

I was lucky to grow up in a larger house. Rem and I each had our rooms upstairs, along with a small bathroom, then there was what we called the middle room and also a room that had blue wallpaper and carpet that didn't really have a purpose either. Mum had that remodeled into her bathroom when I was a teenager. Then we had two rooms in the basement, and could play in my dad's workshop/furnace room/storage area as long as we were careful. My parents even let us sleep in the basement in the summer because it was so hot up in our rooms, and it was in in-ground basement. Truthfully though, we could play anywhere as long as we didn't leave a mess. :)

I got to see a turtle walking through our backyard down towards the lake!!! He was making pretty good time, too. I looked for the rabbit, but didn't see one. It is fun to get to see some of the wildlife that shows up down here.

From:

bk_forever

Ianto only wishes for boredom when there's a lot to do. When there's nothing to do and he really is bored, it drives him crazy.

Sounds like a fantastic place to grow up in! I'm left wondering how four or us managed to fit in this tiny house for so long. These days it feels too small for me on my own.

Oh, that's so cool! I adore turtles! You really do get some interesting wildlife in Florida =D

I've done some more stitching on the first of the set of four fiddly designs - the magazine cheerfully states 2 to 5 hours for each one. Over the past three days I've spent about 6 hours working on the first one and I'm only halfway. There are 15 different colours! I think I might do one then do something else before I start the next one, or they'll drive me round the bend. *headdesk*

From:

lexxiescott

I'm quite sure Jack can always suggest things to do. *Grins* I forgot to tell you that one of the food shows I watch featured half an hour on food in Cardiff. I got really happy whenever they showed Torchwood and the quay.

It's amazing how people adjust to their surroundings. I also think houses shrink as we grow, however, so that has to play in there somewhere. It was a good place to grow up, though. Lots of good memories from that house.

We really do. :) I love winter down here because we get all the birds that come from the north so we get to see all sorts of fun colors and species.

That sounds exhausting, and whoever wrote those directions obviously didn't stitch them. I think doing something in between sounds like a good plan, if only so you don't go spare.

From:

bk_forever

Heee! That sounds like fun, learning all the things the Torchwood Team eat when they're not at work!

Houses definitely shrink as you grow, but I never got all that big anyway. Mostly I think it's all the clutter... I never had so much stuff when dad was still here.

W get some migratory birds passing through, but it's mostly ducks and geese so they just fly over. It must be fun seeing so many birds as they had south.

I'm not a novice stitcher, I just don't see how anyone can stitch one of these in a mere 5 hours. And I used the wrong colour in one place >.

From:

lexxiescott

It was remarkable, especially all the different way they use lamb. I think my favorite was the Welsh rarebit though. The sheer amount of care the chef put into making it was amazing.

True, clutter has a way of taking out way more space than should be logical. I don't wonder if clutter doesn't create some sort of gravitational field of its own that we can't sense.

Totally is. I saw a male cardinal a few days ago. They're so red. It's amazing that color appears in nature like that.

Uniquess for your piece then. But yeah, I know what you mean. I had to go back and rip out three hours worth of stitches one time. Honestly, I'm not sure how anyone can stitch something in five hours. It seems more than a little fishy to me.

Life is mostly attitude and timing - Jerry Jeff Walker

Bee Cross Stitch - and a WiP

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