Taking it to 3D

Not all stitching needs to be framed... infact, I prefer things that are a little more useful than and as my finishing skills needed (& still need) more practice.
Mother's day created an opportunity for this creation:

I found this pattern & instructions in a book, probably from one of the very many I buy from second hand shops. My Mum plays Bridge, so i thought it was appropriate.

Then I bought a kit from the Fox Collection as my Mum has a craft shop in Oamaru:

This was a lot finer to stitch & then then put together with the help of some of the plastic mat stuff. Attaching the roof was by far the trickiest part. But I got there in the end and it made a nice "Thanks for being Awesome" present for my Mother :)

When my awesome mother was in Canada, she picked up this kit for me... it comes from an Australian Designer - Janie Hubble and part of her "The Cat's Whiskers" Designs, which unfortunately are no longer available, there were 3 in the set & if you find one (&can afford it) I recommend getting it!

This is now one of my prized possessions, now I have something to stick my pins into, instead of using my own couch's arms.

Sometimes, I get an internet inspiration & do something little, just for fun, to give to people for being awesome:

I give blood as often as I can, & the last time I gave a few of these to the nurses, to give away or keep.

My Baseline - getting cross

I don't recall doing any stitching during high school, or University. I did pick up the crafting bug again while living in Dunedin & was given this to do:

This was quite an interesting turn to my stitching, as previously I had never sought advice, only used standard Aida, & this project while started when I got it, I didn't finish it for about 6 years.

AFTER finishing, I showed my mother, who commented it was probably meant to have been done by stitching over 2 thread (that's why it was so tricky!) & she taught me how to frame it myself.

Other than being a bit tricky (& 1/4 the size it was supposed to be) it took me so long, mostly due to becoming a mother - small children, kittens (not that i had a kitten) & threads don't mix too well.

So, with this one under my belt & being inspired by my mum in regard to gifts I started making these:

Since I did these, I was then commissioned to do this one:

Then there have been some other gifts, this first one, was an online challenge & ended up being sent to the UK through livejournal

Then I joined a group of crafty ladies through mutual friends & facebook - anyone can join the "crafty foxes" there may even be a chapter in your location. We get together - people from all crafts & skills, a theme is picked & you choose to join or not & create something for someone else in that theme. The first I did was an 'anti-valentine' theme:

 this one was for an 80's theme.

Then there have been the little gifts, where I've been particularly poor, but felt the people deserve a little something:

Pretty much all Cross Stitch... don't worry though, there has been more! Through the above items, I have moved from kits, to book patterns to my own drawings on graph paper. Or blending them all.
Most things I have managed/remembered to photograph before giving, but there are a couple of items where I didn't - 1 was a crafty fox swap & the other was a commissioned piece which went to Canada.

Finished product

Many many thanks to Janine for making this kit so my Mum could send it to me :)

I now have a fabulous book to put photos of my own stitching in (although I am hopeless at printing out any photos!)
Although relooking at other images of the same compendium/book I may have missed the diagonal stitching - oh well, every one will be different anyway. And I will probably secure the flowers a bit better.

 

Sorry, photography is not my strong suit, but i'm sure you get the idea.

Of course there are always more projects to get on to, but first I need to go back to my baseline - cross stitch, my next 'big' project is still in mental development phase, it's coming together, but needs more time.