Such Sweet Hands

Plotting a cross stitch project is really quite satisfying. Working all those sweet little x’s is also satisfying. The last time I did any cross stitch I was about 10 years old, but I remembered how nice it felt to work lots of perfect little cross stitches and I got a craving for it a bit ago. The craving intersected with a new friend’s birthday and here we have the result. Even though the birthday, craving, and motif idea happened back in February I only just sat down to work it up last week.

I now find myself wanting to make more cross stitch pieces based on themes my loved ones like. And that stripey heart motif is too precious not to use again… I’m also considering a little cross stitch memorial to the ‘87 Cabriolet that I loved so dearly and recently said farewell to.

I have a baby shower to attend later today. I don’t have a real present! I will also have to scramble to get together the dessert I promised to bring. I was going to make fudge, but discovered at midnight last night I had no evaporated milk! So today is all about getting resourceful so that my good friend gets the baby shower bits and trinkets that she deserves.

The new baby’s name will be Zoe.

The initial inspiration for this little scribble of embroidery came in the first few minutes of watching Ugly Betty (I adore Ugly Betty!!!! The show is so quirky and brightly colored that it has to bring out your crafty side. I think I may throw an Ugly Betty crafting party sometime in the nearish future). Ugly Betty wears a necklace with a proud goofy “B” on it. This jumped into my head alongside the dilemna of having nothing for this baby shower. Soon I had one of my favorite happy yarns thread into a tapestry needle and some teal craft felt in my hand. This is what came out:

The happy yarn in question is Noro’s Sakura, this stuff is like candy and it makes me tremendously happy. The Z and the E were made using a backstitch. The O was made using a section of the yarn that is wrapped with thread, too bulky to drag through fabric with a needle, but too cool looking to not use. Besides, I was freehanding this and an O shape would have taken a while to get right. So I shaped the O, pulled the ends through the felt and tied them in the back. Then I braced the O shape with orange embroidery floss. To brighten up the Z, I wove the same orange embroidery floss through the stitches. I crocheted a little circle to add to the piece, and Voila!

…. a piece of random craft felt with a name embroidered on it. As cute as I may think it is, hardly a finished item proper for a typical gift. I thought I’d give it to my friend in the form of a patch that she could attach to whatever she likes. On second thought I’ve decided to give it to her with a note saying I will make something of her choosing with it, that way she gets a choice of how this quirky little thing is used, but doesn’t have to do the work herself. She’s busy enough with being a Mom and all.

Yeah, so I have all sorts of stuff to do. And I am excited about every single one of them (well, not changing the cat litter). So I’m coasting through my day bouncing between desk work and house work when it hits again. A tinge in my fingers… a need to play with an idea in my head. But this tinge has nothing to do with a crochet hook, or even knitting needles… embroidery! I’ve had a growing re-interest in sewing lately. I had permanently written off embroidery because hand sewing hurts my hands so much. Then standing in Purl Patchwork it all came to a head… that gorgeous fabric, I must embroider sweet little pieces of gorgeous fabric! I held back from finding and purchasing any proper embroidering tools while I was in New York. I did spend some time geeking out on the new interest, reading the embroidery instruction booklet I purchased at Patchwork on the plane and recalling the feeling of the hours of hand sewing I did years ago as a costume shop intern.

I gave in, because giving in to these little whims usually helps me get more work done in the end. I grabbed a piece of scrap muslin, a spool of old cotton thread and stole a needle from a hotel sewing kit…