Cross Stitch: 60th Birthday Card

[bk_forever]

A little later than intended, thanks to life getting in the way, but here at last are the pics of the 60th birthday card I made for my friend. Unfortunately, it went a bit wonky when I stuck it to the card because it's quite large. I used one strand of thread on 18 count fabric, so the stitched piece is a little over 6 inches tall by about 3 1/3 wide.

There should be more to the border, another shade filling in most of the gaps, but I liked the simpler version so I left it at that.




Thankfully, the card was much appreciated, a good thing sing it took me over a month
to stitch because it was hard to see what I was doing under artificial light.

Comments

[lexxiescott]

Aw, I think it turned out awesome! I’m with you, I like the simple version even not having seen the other version. And the card color itself makes the leaves and stem pop. I’m so glad he likes it.

[bk_forever]

Thank you! I thought the green was just right to set off the other colours.

He likes orchids so it was ideal.

[lexxiescott]

It totally was :) You did awesome, as always!!

[bk_forever]

Thank you! *bows*

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

Very pretty!

[bk_forever]

Thank you, I was quite pleased with it!

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

Beautiful! So glad to hear it was appreciated too!

[bk_forever]

Thank you! It was one of my harder stitching projects, not helped by having to stitch by artificial light. It's so much easier in daylight, but that's in short supply here in November.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

How creative.:)

[bk_forever]

Thank you! It was a labour of love, the design is gorgeous, but very fiddly.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I thought it looked quite intricate. I'm not that skilled. I dabbled abit when I was younger.

[bk_forever]

The side borders were easy, once I'd done one repeat I didn't have to look at the pattern, but the flowers were difficult because there are five colours in them, four of them quite similar in artificial light.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

All the same, I just don't have the nac or the discipline.*claps for you*

[bk_forever]

Thank you! *bows*

I hate sewing, I was never good at it, but for some reason cross stitch is different, perhaps because the holes are already there and I just have to follow a chart =)

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

Guidelines are very handy. It sounds like you are having fun doing so.:)

[bk_forever]

I am, it's a great hobby, and I hope I can make more time for it next year =)

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I should really get into sewing again. I just find doing creative stuff alittle daunting.:(

My brother made a pencil case once.

Anyway, all the best with it.:)

[bk_forever]

Well, if it's something you like then have a try, if it's not, don't bother. Life is too short to waste it on things you don't enjoy.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I tried to do an aptitude test online. I just have to accept my limitations and focus on my priorities. I'm trying to catch up on lost opportunities from the past.*sigh*

[bk_forever]

Don't let yourself get bogged down with lost or missed opportunities; leave them in the past, there's no point looking back all the time because you'll wind up missing any new opportunities that come along. Make this the year you let go of the past and focus on the future. That's what I'm trying to do. It won't be easy, but who knows what might happen?

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

Yes, sometimes things don't go as planned or people don't turn out to be who you thought they were. I'm going to use those life experiences to my advantage so that I don't make the same mistakes again.:)

[bk_forever]

Wise move, just don't let the past drag you down.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

*two thumbs up*

[bk_forever]

*grins*

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

:)

[too-beauty.livejournal.com]

WOW! Beautiful!
you are quite a fabulous artisan!

[bk_forever]

I don't know about that, it's just following a pattern, but it turned out nice.

Thank you!

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

It's gorgeous. Well done you!
I do love crossstitch. It made me go and pull out some unfinished ones of my own and start up again, whilst I'm on a bit of a hiatus from writing (or at least my brain wants to be it seems). I can't find the one with the orcas though. I'm sure I never finished it but it's gone walkabout. I found a barely started one with dolphins that's less fiddly than most of them which is probably why I abandoned it. I did notice however that the black thread has torn off the card and wasn't in the bag with the rest of the kit, so I've stolen some from what I think is a finished thread card. At least it's black so it's easy to buy more if I can't locate the bundle that went missing. I'm sure I must've stashed the other half of my crossstitch stuff somewhere else. There's a bunch I recall now that weren't in the sewing bag. Hmmm....

[bk_forever]

Thank you!

And ya, I inspired you to get your stitching out! I hope you'll post pics when you get something finished!

I really hate when threads - or projects - go walkabout. I spent ages the other evening trying to locate all the threads I needs for some small bird designs I want to stitch, and some owl designs. Black is at least a colour you can borrow from elsewhere and replace later. It's not like you get different shades of black thread.

Hopefully you'll find the ones that have wandered off. I wonder if I'll have time for stitching before the New Year... I'm still trying to boost my word count a little more because I haven't dropped below 1k a day all year and I'm so close to the finish line...

I've only signed up for 200k next year, although I'll probably write more than that. I want more time for stitching and reading though, I'm way behind!

Merry Christmas!

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to cut back my pledge for next year down to 350k. I've really struggled these past few months with inspiration and energy. Less pressure might be a good thing and let me work on longer projects. That or the two week Christmas break is what I need to re-energise. Reading and other projects want a bit of time and my current writing schedule doesn't allow for that.
Merry Christmas to you! I hope you have a wonderful day. *hugs*

[bk_forever]

I can understand that, I've been struggling for inspiration myself and I haven't been happy with some of what I've written. We both need to reduce the pressure we put on ourselves. Just because we're lowering our pledges doesn't mean we can't write more if inspiration and enthusiasm hits, but too much pressure can turn a pleasure into a chore. I want to catch up on reading your fics, and to of milady_dragon's dragon-verse stories, among other things. I miss having time to read.

I'll be having a very quiet day, mostly alone, but that's okay. I can do whatever I want.

Enjoy your break!

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

Ditto to all of the above! Just mum and dad this year and no additional drop in guests later in the day so I want to keep working on my last torchwood_fest fic once I'm too stuffed to move.
Off to finish making my teetotaller fruit punch. Ham glaze is done, pork's in the oven with the veg, turkey precooked in the fridge. Better start cooking the cauli.
Sleep well! :)

[bk_forever]

Sounds like a huge feast! Enjoy!

I'll be having cold tinned meat with sprouts, spuds, and parsnip. I don't cook meat often, too much of a hassle.

Good luck with finishing your fic, I just got my last one back from my beta so I have two left to post, I think.

Relax, enjoy your day, and drink some punch for me!

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

That is lovely. I have the same problem with lighting especially when working with darker cloth.

[bk_forever]

Thank you!

I haven't tried stitching on darker cloth although I have fabric cut out for some designs on dark blue fabric (so many things to stitch) but I find stitching with light colours on light fabric can be really difficult in artificial light, especially when working on high count fabric with one strand of thread. I have a daylight lamp somewhere, but I have no idea where.

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

I haven't done light on white in a long time so I suspect you are right about that too. My next project is going to be ornaments for next year so hopefully it will have good contrast.

[bk_forever]

Are you going to post photos? I love to see the results!

I have another 60th birthday card to do as soon as the evenings get a bit lighter, this time for my sister. In the meantime I've go some small birds designs on 14 count that I want to get on with. If I can tear myself away from writing!

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

I was planning to. Normally I post pictures to instagram, but I'll add a link and you can view them without having an account.

[bk_forever]

That would be great! I've never got into new fangled things like instagram, tumblr, twitter, etc. I have enough accounts to juggle already!