bk_forever | Bee Cross Stitch

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Bee Cross Stitch - and a WiP

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!

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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!!

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...

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.

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.

*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.

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*

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.

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 >.

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.

Yeah, Welsh Rarebit is more than just cheese on toast!

I seriously need to do something about the clutter in here, but I'm still chopping up the ivy from two weeks ago. The bin is full to go out tomorrow, but there's still ivy left...

I don't think we have any native birds that red over here. Bulfinches, the males at least, have nice pink tummies, and there are robins but their tummies are more orangey red.

Thy're only little designs, 49 stitches each way, and I've used a different colour in a few places where I couldn't be bothered to change for just two stitches. Just got the backstitch do do on the first one now.

The coloured blackwork designs I did a bit back, I spent half my time unpicking because of making mistakes. I posted pics of them as well as the elves and fairies Christmas set I finished before that.

Definitely. The chef they filmed used like four types of cheese and bread so thick that it honestly could have been a meal itself. I was hungry just watching her cook. :)

Maybe garden clutter in the good weather and indoor clutter in the bad? I know what you mean though, there's always so many projects that it seems more than impossible to do anything.

I'll try and get a picture next time I see one. They like the garden at work. We have a nice sized lake, ducks, catfish, koi, and a bunch of other critters hanging around.

I saw the Christmas set and the other ones you posted up. I wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything when you posted this most recent set. :)

Sounds so good... I love simple cheese on toast though.

It's too hot outside to do anything at the moment, so I'm starting to do a bit of indoor sorting. I get too hot doing anything though, so... I'm roasting, but there are clouds in the sky... I'm hoping for rain.

That would be cool. Why is that the wildlife in other countries always seems more exotic?

Yay, glad you saw them. I'm quite pleased with them!

I finished the first of the fiddly designs yesterday, and it looks so pretty. I've started the second one, but I'm trying it differently. I figured if I tried doing the leaves first, one colour at a time, running the thread across the back instead of starting and stopping all the time, it might not be so frustrating. So far so good. The next one I might try doing the flowers first.

I have to be careful with cooked cheese. Sometimes the “bad” protein I’m allergic to will show up. I just had pasta and cheese for dinner though.

I’ll hope for rain too. Wish I could send you some of ours. I can hear thunder grumbling outside again. I know what you mean about too hot to do anything. I always think melting would be the better option.

Maybe because no matter how exotic what we grow up with is, it’s common for us to see it, so we’re used to it and can’t always see what others do.

I normally managed to bunch the fabric at least once running the thread, but it’s definitely easier than starting and stopping and changing threads all the time. I’ll look forward to seeing them when you have them done. :-)

That's sad. Cheese on toast is one of life's little luxuries when it's cold out.

Still no rain, just more heat. I've had enough. There's a breeze today but it's not helping much.

The designs are small enough that I can avoid bunching. Normally I don't like running the thread across the back unless it's going to get stitched over, because it tends to show through, but I'll just have to put with that this time for ease of stitching.

Me sending you anything from down here wouldn't help you any right now. We're at about 89F with 88% humidity. Summer is definitely here. >.<

I think if these go on cards, it'll be a bit harder to see the running over the back. Definitely sounds like it'll be easier on you no matter what. *nods*

That is serious heat! We're around 80, so a bit cooler than you, but still too hot.

I'm actually enjoying stitching the second one, so my new strategy is working ;) Most of the threads at the back should get at least partly covered with stitching. Shouldn't be too noticeable.

It is, and this still isn't as hot as it could be for down here. I'm just glad I don't have to be outside in my uniform right now.

That's awesome news :) I'm glad the stitches running across the back will be mostly covered. Plus, maybe when you mount it, it'll be hidden depending on the back color you use. :)

I'll just keep hoping your weather doesn't get too hot, especially when you're working.

Each one is still taking quite a while to stitch, but I'll get there. Finished the border on the rose yesterday, but the designs I want to stitch are piling up - I'm going through all my magazines and I keep finding ones with the fabric tucked inside already cut and prepared for certain designs... I'm looking for suitable designs for my sister and Collin, both of whom turn 60 on their next birthdays. o_O

We need bosses with a sense of humor so we could do the "I'm melting" routine from the Wizard of Oz. *grins* We had to do parking enforcement this morning because of new hire orientation - Rich turned away 42 and Dennis got around 20 - so they were outside for hours. Fortunately in the early part of the day, but at 1330 when Rich left, he was dreading the walk his wife was going to be dragging him on.

And the thunder rolls. Loudly.

On one hand it's good you're prepared and have marked out the ones you liked and want to attempt, but it's probably getting a bit overwhelming. You should do a garden something for Collin. *giggles* Seriously, I know you'll find something that will work for them. I'm sure it's in there somewhere.

It's a shame your bosses seemed to have had their sense of humour surgically removed =(

No one needs to be walking anywhere in those temperatures.

Oh, I've got boxes filled with fabric cut and prepared for stitching, but I'm surprised by how many pieces are inside magazines that were in storage for 6 years! Several are for designs I was going to stitch for mum =(

I'm thinking Collin might be wrong, he might not be 60 until next year - he gets mixed up with his age sometimes - but I know I have a nice cowboy and cowgirl design that might work well. We used to dress up in our western gear and go out to country clubs. If I change the hair colour... I'll find something floral for my sister, probably. I think she's had enough elephants.

I think that it's a requirement to become a boss. No sense of humor at all. >.<

Rich's wife, Lisa, is obsessed with losing weight and drags him along on a minimum 5 mile walk no matter what the weather. So I'm quite sure that she dragged him out into the heat tonight.

Aw, that's sad. :(

That sounds like a cute one. :) Cowboys are always good no matter what. Flowers are good, too, although I think elephants are more fun. Maybe and elephant holding flowers? *giggles* I think the heat is getting to me. I'm getting silly.

Bosses are bosses because they're not smart enough to do the jobs their employees do. True fact.

While losing weight is an admirable goal, thee must be better ways of getting exercise in hot weather than taking long walks out in the heat...

Yeah, I stitched some lovely ones for her, and she loved them, but there were so many more I planned to do. We just thought the stuff would only be in storage for a few months...

Cowboys are my weakness, as the song goes!

If I had a chart for an elephant with flowers I might do it, but I haven't seen one. I've got one with an elephant blowing bubbles... I don't think it's quite good enough for a 60th birthday card though.

Very true, and also the reason for this icon. :-)

I told Rich you agreed with him about the walks in the heat and he started laughing before agreeing with the both of us. I honestly don’t know how Rich manages it. The heat would be the death of me. It almost is some days anyway. Rich often jokes that Lisa is just after the insurance.

That’s how it always goes with any sort of repair and storage. I’m glad so many of your magazines survived storage. Did I ever tell you I framed the little pug card you made me for my birthday a few years ago? It’s on one of my movie shelves in my bedroom.

Mine too - at least for four certain cowboys. I love my Riders. :-)

I wonder if google would have something if you just can’t find anything you really like for her?

Poor Rich, I feel for him!

Thankfully I put all my magazines in plastic bags before boxing them up so they came through okay. Don't know what I would've done otherwise! I have hundreds, and still a big stack to go through. I'm sure I'll find something I like. Trouble is, most I've looked at and considered possibles have got fractional stitches, which I don't do. I have trouble seeing them on the charts and on my stitching so I lose my place and get in a mess.

Disaster struck with my cross stitching tonight! I'd just started the third of the designs when I dropped my yogurt... It went all over part of my stitching, the magazine, my desk, and my trousers *headdesk. I cleaned it off the magazine as best I could and I'm hoping that won't go moldy. I rinsed my trousers but they need washing and I don't have anything else dark to wash. Also rinsed my stitching but I'm not sure I got all the yogurt out of it, so I had to cut another piece of fabric and start again. Wasted over an hour of stitching time! =(

I do, too.

I'm glad the plastic didn't leak on you. That would have been horrible! I know what you mean about having trouble seeing stitches. I can't do a counted cross-stitch at all, my count is always off and ends up a bit like a Dali painting. *sighs*

Oh for...and yogurt to boot. >.< It's probably safer in the long run to start it over so you don't end up with mold or worse showing up later on, but that sucks. Is this one of the fiddly designs that you've been battling with?

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