I sort of feel like I’m wasting away my summer and nothing’s getting done. The job still has me in “follow up” limbo which means I can’t really look for another job but they aren’t guaranteeing me this one so I feel like I’m doing nothing on that front. I’m also having trouble getting through all the books I wanted to because I lack motivation, and with all the family coming in from out of town for cousin’s wedding I haven’t really been able to do as much on my own outside of the house as I’d like to and I just feel like I’m waiting for my life to get started on everyone else’s schedules. It’s not a fantastic feeling. Every have months like that?
But all in all I really shouldn’t complain. I should be grateful for what I have and that I’m alive and all that stuff (but telling myself and doing something about it are two different things…)
Anyway, enough about me. Let’s move on to the much more interesting prospect of cross-stitches and (finally) a finish!
Ta-Da!
I have it framed too, I just didn’t take a picture of it in the frame because it takes away from the cross-stitch (which is why you’re all here anyway).
backstitch announcement
Here’s a close up of the lettering. I should probably have moved the date over a little more so it was centered under their names but I was trying to get it even with the bottom of the cake. Oh well… I really liked the letter this pattern has with it although it is a little larger for my taste. If they could have shrunk down the lower case letters by a block I would like it even more, although I could have just used linen and that would have made it smaller anyway. Something to keep in mind if I ever make it again for someone else’s wedding.
blanket stitch finish
This is what I’m most proud of with this piece from a cross stitching perspective. I normally don’t finish the edges of my projects because I’m just so excited to have finished the stitching that I want to move on to the next project, but they did a special on blanket stitch in CrossStitch Collection a couple months ago and I thought I’d see how it helped. While I didn’t think finishing the edges would do much I was amazed at the neat, professional look the blanket stitch gives the piece. You can see the full effect in my first picture where the whole design is shown. It gets rid of the frays, evens out the design, and adds that extra touch that takes it from being something I just did for scrapes into something that looks like a real gift. I may now have to go back and finish off all my cross-stitch projects after seeing the effect. While I never thought so before, it really is worth the extra time and effort.
Hope you all are having a decent week. At least we’ve made it to the middle!! Go do something crafty, read a book, accomplish more than I’m getting done… Whatever makes you happy 
