This is a progress blog of a cross stitch project I began in May 2016. I decided to make a whole side blog for it because 1) it's easier to see I'm making progress when I can compare pictures and see said progress and 2) it's easier to share with people who might be interested in following my progress without having to either send the pictures individually to each person or, god forbid, make a discord server for it.
The original image is one of breath-art's beautiful stained glass illustrations based on Lord of the Rings, please check their gallery, it's amazing:
The one I'm doing is this one, birthday party of Baggins
It's huge. It's detailed. The pattern is a nightmare. What was I thinking.
Well I was thinking I needed something to stay sane! And so I made the unhinged decision of making a 90x120cm (something like 3x4ft?) cross stitch panel. How did I decide which one I'd make? I looked up the pattern, selected the one with the least number of colors required (60 for this one), and just went ahead. Why is it this big? Well you see you can only find Aida 11 count where I lived. How did I not realize it would be this big? I didn't know anything about the fabric. I just printed the chart, calculated how much thread I'd need, bought said thread, then bought the fabric and measured it. And then started questioning my life choices, but by then I was Committed.
Did I do any research on how to work on a big cross stich project? Hell no. I still have no idea btw no one tell me how to do that. I'm just gonna rawdog this one and after I'm done, I'll have learned many lessons on how to do and not do things, and THEN I'll research and compare notes and cry and/or be smug.
Back then I didn't think of taking progress pictures, so the earliest one I have is this:
As you can see. No idea what I was doing. So much confetti stitch nightmare. Doesn't make sense.
Life happened and I abandoned it in a bag for 8 years until last August, which is when I decided fuck the confetti, I'm going to use the pattern as a loose guide and freehand the rest. Also I have the very bad habit of skipping the boring parts and going for the easier ones, even if that means working on a completely different area. And this is where we're at, as of May 3 2025 (it is so large I had to stand on a chair to get a decent pic that didn't leave anything out):
As you can see, the fabric is SUPER STAINED, because that's what 8 years of improper storage will do to you. It's one of the main reasons why I'm rushing so much to finish it because I really really REALLY want to have it cleaned because my god it's so bad, but I can't do that before I finish because it will change the fabric and the parts that are already done. Mostly I'm just trying to go as fast as possible so I can finally stick this in the washer (figuratively speaking. I know that's not how this is done)
THAT SAID. IT'S LOOKING AMAZING ISN'T IT. I FEEL LIKE A GOD.
Like I said I'm not strictly following the pattern anymore, which means there are many many mistakes/things I wish I did differently, but I'm practicing the mindset that done is better than perfect, because wanting it to be perfect is part of what led me to abandon it for such a long time. That's why I am really really hoping to finish it this year, because I want it to be finished when the 10 year anniversary comes around XD
