At the beginning of each month I will be stitching a little calendar piece, by Palkolp, in that month's birthstone colour. This idea was inspired by Jo's People's Choice SAL Birthstone posting and from her link to a website about birthstones.
February's birthstone is amethyst:
The February born shall I find
Sincerity and peace of mind
Freedom from passion and from care
If they, the amethyst will wear
Visit http://www.birthstonesbymonth.co.uk/february_c57.aspx if you would like to read little interesting snippets of information about amethysts.
Here's my little amethyst tribute, with a different beaded border to January as I've decided all 12 are going to be different:
Stitched on 16ct Azalea over-dyed aida by Sewitall.com 2 over 1
Stitch count 47 wide by 47 high
Stitch count 47 wide by 47 high
Stitched with DMC 52 and Mill Hill frosted seed beads 62042
Started - 1st February 2019
Finished - 4th February 2019
Total stitching time - 4 hours 15 minutes
But... Oh. My. Goodness! I think I found my nemesis! For such a small and simple design (whose chart is clearly gridded and has only one symbol) I had so many problems I'm sure I could have stitched it three times over in the time it took me to finish it! If you fancy a good laugh, read on...
*after stitching the top row of hearts I thought the fabric I'd chosen was a bit too dark but carried on and stitched the month before deciding it really was too dark. Time for a restart. Just over two hours wasted.
* I got to the same point again on new fabric and realised three of the four hearts were wrong, so I frogged them only to find it was the fourth heart that was wrong and not the three I'd unpicked! Duh! Another hour or more wasted frogging and restitching!
* I finally finished all the stitching and started beading the border. I must have had half a dozen attempts to get just the top right because I either started in the wrong place or miscounted. All I had to do was follow my pattern and count in increments of ones, twos and threes! Obviously too difficult on a Sunday. So more wasted time!
* when I finally got to the second side of the border, the beads didn't match up as I'd designed them, so I counted and recounted and knew that they were right... in which case I deduced the stitching had to be wrong. Yep! The hearts on both the top and bottom were one stitch too far away from the month, meaning the design was not a square as it should be. Now, I fully admit I could have left it and fudged the border, but the perfectionist in me couldn't cope with the fact this design would be a slightly different size to the others... so... out came the frogging needle again. The beads and all eight hearts were unpicked and the hearts finally restitched IN THE RIGHT PLACE! Two more hours wasted!
Finally the beading went smoothly (Monday is obviously a better day for counting to three!) the project was finished and I'm really pleased with the result. To be honest, I think the restitched hearts are in better shades than the originals so maybe all that frogging was meant to be!
Talk about people having a senior moment; I think I had a senior weekend!
But none of it frustrated me and I rolled my eyes and laughed my way through it all and at my total incompetence at being able to stitch such an easy piece correctly. When it comes to stitching March's chart I'll no doubt approach it with caution!
I hope to be able to fully-finish this little piece in time for the FFG SAL on the 10th but, given the problems it's caused me so far, I don't know if I dare touch it again!
Talking of the FFG SAL... if you're planning to participate I hope your preparations are well under way? Just under a week to go until the first link-up post goes live!
*after stitching the top row of hearts I thought the fabric I'd chosen was a bit too dark but carried on and stitched the month before deciding it really was too dark. Time for a restart. Just over two hours wasted.
* I got to the same point again on new fabric and realised three of the four hearts were wrong, so I frogged them only to find it was the fourth heart that was wrong and not the three I'd unpicked! Duh! Another hour or more wasted frogging and restitching!
* I finally finished all the stitching and started beading the border. I must have had half a dozen attempts to get just the top right because I either started in the wrong place or miscounted. All I had to do was follow my pattern and count in increments of ones, twos and threes! Obviously too difficult on a Sunday. So more wasted time!
* when I finally got to the second side of the border, the beads didn't match up as I'd designed them, so I counted and recounted and knew that they were right... in which case I deduced the stitching had to be wrong. Yep! The hearts on both the top and bottom were one stitch too far away from the month, meaning the design was not a square as it should be. Now, I fully admit I could have left it and fudged the border, but the perfectionist in me couldn't cope with the fact this design would be a slightly different size to the others... so... out came the frogging needle again. The beads and all eight hearts were unpicked and the hearts finally restitched IN THE RIGHT PLACE! Two more hours wasted!
Finally the beading went smoothly (Monday is obviously a better day for counting to three!) the project was finished and I'm really pleased with the result. To be honest, I think the restitched hearts are in better shades than the originals so maybe all that frogging was meant to be!
Talk about people having a senior moment; I think I had a senior weekend!
But none of it frustrated me and I rolled my eyes and laughed my way through it all and at my total incompetence at being able to stitch such an easy piece correctly. When it comes to stitching March's chart I'll no doubt approach it with caution!
I hope to be able to fully-finish this little piece in time for the FFG SAL on the 10th but, given the problems it's caused me so far, I don't know if I dare touch it again!
Talking of the FFG SAL... if you're planning to participate I hope your preparations are well under way? Just under a week to go until the first link-up post goes live!
Take care (especially if it involves counting up to three!)
Rachel x
Hahaha No I'm not laughing at you I'm laughing with you. I have seriously had the same issue though. Sometimes it's those "easy" pieces that I think attack us. I've been to known to say How can I stitch and HAED and this is so hard. Haha. It's very pretty though so I'm glad you stuck with it.
ReplyDeleteSuper cute! You are not alone. I've done the same more times than I would like to admit. lol Looking forward to the linky to go up for the SAL.
ReplyDeleteLOL Rachel. I have had several frog sections the last couple weeks. Must be the month. It turned out great.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Mi piace molto la cornice di perline ed il colore del filo che hai usato, lo trovo originale.
ReplyDeleteComplimenti per il blog
Oh, I can definitely empathize with you. Sometimes it seems that the easiest looking projects are the hardest. I'm glad you were able to work through your problems though.
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely so I'm glad it came out in the end. I've done the same thing and it's always with the easiest pieces! I think it's just the stitching gods have a sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteGreat.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad, I honestly think it's our planetary alignment that is causing such issues!
ReplyDeleteI guess we think we can just breeze right thru the easy charts and that is what gets us!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great to me now and even though it is not my birthstone it is my favorite and I have a few of them. Love how you are making them the same but different.
Oh no Jo that was as painful to read as it must have been to experience it. Thank goodness that's over. Well done stunner.
ReplyDeletexo Alicia
Sorry honey, I meant Rachel. Blog bingeing atm and getting myself confused.
ReplyDeletexo Alicia
Oh the saga of small projects! Love how it ended up in the end, and yes, maybe the extra effort was worth it as it's so gloriously purple now. :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes the smallest projects are giving us the biggest trouble! The final result looks great, though.
ReplyDeleteOh my. It does seem this piece challenged you. Good job stitching with it!!!!
ReplyDeleteI definitely have this issue with smaller charts! You should add "total frogging time" to the stats too! It does look lovely now though.
ReplyDelete