Good Morning
~ Friends & Folk ~
we woke to raindrops on the tin roof this morning,
{{ a sound that always tells me that it will be a great day for handwork! }}
...most folks don't welcome the rain,
but I always do.
I'll even go for a walk in it after breakfast.
{one of my 'other' favorite things to do}
I've had this idea floating around in my head for a couple of days,
and this morning I put it to paper,
and linen...
If you are a regular reader,
you'll know I've been recently talking about my 'freehand' cross stitching...
well, this is going to be a pattern for that ~
I usually stitch them on muslin or other plain cloth,
but decided that I wanted a different look for this design.
So I searched through my stash
and found a pretty cream/tan Buffalo plaid/check linen
that I had 'waiting' for just the right project...
~ this is 28 count.
I begin by sketching a design in pencil on paper,
~ then going over the sketch with a fine tip sharpie.
After that, I place my linen directly over the inked design
and trace through onto the linen using same pencil.
Being that that linen is a light color, and a 28 count ~
it is easy to see the paper pattern through...
you may want to use a light box
or sunlit window to transfer yours.
Now
here's the fun part!
after tracing the penciled design onto the linen,
just begin stitching the design by 'eye-balling' your cross stitches ~
I prefer the continental-method of cross stitching,
meaning all of my half-stitches will go to the right, before coming to the end of the row
where I will go back over and cross all of my previous stitches.
and
NO COUNTING ALLOWED :)
{{for photo purposes, I took my linen out of my hoop}}
my rows are not straight or even ~ some of my cross stitches are 2 x 3, 3 x 2, etc...
some are wide, others are short,
and I am not concerned with that at all....
I am purely stitching by happenstance
:)
ahhhh.....
freedom to be me!
wherever my needle lands is where I'll make a stitch ~
wonky?
why, yes.
unprofessional looking?
you betcha,
...and happily so.
but, when I am in the rhythm of stitching like this
it is so cathartic
so forgiving
that I can literally lose myself to daydreams
and other household distractions that conventional
counted threadwork will not allow...
yay!
... will I complete this design using all of these tiny misshapen cross stitches?
I dunno,
we'll see when we get there...
I might add some other sundry embroidery stitches to her dress,
flowers and pet bird.
I love satin & straight stitch, eyelet and algerian too ~
perhaps a few french knots too.
combining everything I love to do
~ makes me a happy girl.
Happy Wife ~ Happy Life
♥
So tell me,
what makes you happy these days??
Blessings from the Farm ~
Lori