Magical Stitches ♥

♥ Cross Stitch, Magical Girls, Love .  A place to post my cross stitching, such as WIPS, patterns, hauls etc. Please enjoy and feel free to ask any questions! ♥ Personal/main blog: redstrawberrylane.tumblr.com

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Op-shop/Charity Shop/Tip Shop Haul

A few little kits I picked up over the past couple weeks from local second hand stores, it’s always exciting seeing if I can find any stitching goodies! :D All these are full, unused kits. 

This one my grandmother found for me, as she volunteers at a local Vinnies store occasionally. It’s quite large (note: “actual size” printed at the bottom lol) and by DMC, though the packaging and style makes me think this is probably an older kit/design. The flowers are quite lovely imo! $8 AUD, original price unknown. 

This one I found at a local tip shop. The design is quite ‘country’ and old, which I’m not usually interested in, but I am a sucker for autumn designs and something about the phrase written on it spoke to me lol. $2 AUD, original £5.75 (= $12.18 AUD) . 

These were both found at a local second hand store that uses all it’s profit to help the cats at the Hobart Cat Center. I thought the ‘Lily of the Valley Needle Case’ kit was a pretty design, and nice to see a functional object in a cross stitch kit. $4 AUD, originally $32.90 AUD. 

The ‘Stitching Sheep’ is again a country style design I wouldn’t normally be attracted to, but the adorable sheep and little squirrel sitting on top of him knitting was too cute haha. I also liked that it comes with the tiny scissor charm :) It also includes Weeks Dye Works thread, which I have heard mentioned a lot in the online stitching community but never had a chance to use. $5, originally $22 AUD.

And that’s all, for now! ;) 

It’s hard to resist kits from second hand stores, especially when the prices are so low! And it makes for fun treasure hunting~

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Current WIP Update~

First up: 6th Anniversary gift for my partner, this adorable SodaStitch couple design. I have finished the boy, and I changed his hair colour to suit my partner’s instead lol. I’ve just begun working on the girl. This is my second ever project on evenweave/linen :D Our anniversary is 25th November, so I started early in an attempt to avoid repeating my last minute all-nighter rush jobs I have faced in all my gift stitching prior to this LOL.

This WIP is what I call my ‘Giant Plum Blossom’. It is a 90cm by 45cm pre printed 11 count canvas, that I purchased from an Australian online cross stitch store run by a husband and wife who specialise in importing Chinese cross stitch kits. It is by Ailuo Household Cross Stitch, and the quality of printing, threads and canvas is AMAZING.

I absolutely fell in love with this design, I adore cherry blossoms and pastel pink so this really hit a soft spot with me haha. It is also my largest attempted project to date! Honestly I have been loving that it isn’t counted, it allows me to take a break from my counted projects and not have to worry about stuffing up etc, it’s really relaxing!

The photo below is my current progress on my PVC pipe desk frame (that was originally a large standing frame, I altered it to suit my desktop), and the pic below it is the full design from the front of the kit package. It is hard to see where I have actually stitched though, as the printed stitches are a similar (though not the same) colour to the thread. This is pretty unusual for Chinese printed canvases, normally the colours they use to print the stitches are totally different from the thread, so the canvas will look quite psychedelic until you begin stitching lol.

I’ve actually had this piece for quite a while, probably just a few weeks after I began stitching, but I haven’t been able to work on it much due to stitching birthday gifts over the past few months. Now I can get back to it though, as just this and my partner’s anniversary gift are my only two ‘active wips’. I started stitching from the bottom and I’m working my way up, I’ve only managed to complete about 10cm high so far. To me it is considered my ‘big ongoing piece’ to work on when I am getting tired of my counted stitching ^^

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I probably should have posted this finish first, as it was my first ever cross stitch project! And boy, it’s a piece of crap LOL. 

I began it when I had only just rediscovered cross stitch, and then after about a week I had learnt SO MUCH from watching Floss Tube and researching, so my technique was all over the place and half the stitches are running in different directions etc as I was learning as I went lol. It’s a hot mess, but hey, mistakes have to be made to improve!

I charted the background myself, which ended up being a huge mistake, since filling in all the pastel aqua took forever and was so tedious!! I was honestly relieved when I finished this piece haha. I’m not sure if I will bother framing it, we’ll see! 

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My most recent cross stitch finish to date, this X Files sampler I made for my partner’s 21st birthday on 19th September :D He is absolutely in love with X Files, we’ve been watching the show together for the first time and are currently up to the end of season 7. We are hoping to finish it before the new mini series comes out! I have never seen him so engrossed in a show before, everything down to the dodgy 90′s special effects, the atmosphere, acting and story line are all close to his heart.  Overall this piece was fun to stitch, but the repetitive borders did irritate me on occasion lol. The tiny ‘The Truth Is Out There’ wording at the top I had to chart myself, as I made the mistake of stitching this on 18 count aida and the stitches were too small for the originally charted letters to be backstitched, as some would have around 5 lines of backstitch within a single 18 count stitch - it wasn’t going to happen, the letters would have ended up as black blobs. If it had been done on 14 count or larger it would have been fine, but in the end I made the decision to just improvise my own letters, which turned out pretty dodgy, but at least they can be read lol. 

I also only managed to finish it at 6am on his birthday, then framed it, went to bed and woke at 8am to make him his birthday breakfast haha :p I was pretty tired but he had a fantastic birthday, and really truly loved my stitched gift. 

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This finish was my first attempt at working on fabric other than Aida. I originally tried a pattern of bird cages from a magazine, but it was almost all backstitch and I quickly realised it was simply too ambitious for my first go on evenweave. So, I went and found a basic silhouette design on Etsy, and figured it would allow me to practice finding where to make the stitches without needing to worry about colour changing or a complex design. 

It was only intended as a practice piece, but I ended up submitting it into an art exhibition run by my mother’s workplace, and it sold for $50 and paid one of my bills LOL.  Stay tuned for my next finishes!~ 

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The next finish I had is this Link cushion I made for my little brother’s 11th birthday. Again, I left it too close and I had to pull a few all-nighters to finish it, and I actually made it up into the cushion at my mother’s house at his birthday party just before giving it to him lol. He really loved it, so again, it was worth it in the end ^^  This was also my first go at making cross stitch into anything other than slapping it in a frame, which was fun and pretty simple. I’m keen to make more cushions in future~  Stay tuned for my next finish!

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Long time no update! I’ve been so busy with life, setting up my own business and stitching, that I haven’t posted in ages :(  But, I’ll update now, with a bunch of finishes! :)  This first one, I did in two nights for my step father’s birthday. He is a massive Doctor Who fan, so I thought this design would suit haha. I purchased the pattern from Etsy, and charted + added the text myself. I worked on it until 5am on his birthday morning, I was totally exhausted but he loved it so it was worth it in the end! :D  Stay tuned for my other finishes~ 

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A little more progress today on Pretty Little Tokyo, began the Tokyo tower! :)

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Cross Stitch Bucket List

The designs/themes I hope to eventually cross stitch. This list will be updated as I add things, and I’ll cross stuff off as I go: 

Birds - my cockatiels if I can find a pattern or make one. I especially love birds in cherry blossom branches~ 

Sunset or Sunrise/ Atmospheric pieces

Koi fish

MAGICAL GIRLS <3 Sailor Moon and Mercury should be next. 

Seasons - those pieces that have a panel for each season, it would be nice to do it over the span of a year and have a completed piece by the end, stitching one part per season. 

Zodiac - the whole thing, or just my sign (Pisces) and my partners (Virgo)

Disney - Lion King and Beauty & The Beast, since they are my favourite two. 

Obligatory mermaid. (It seems there’s a few ‘obligatory’/most common cross stitches, e.g tiger/lion, teddy bears, cats, mermaids, lighthouses, elephants etc)

X-Files “I Want To Believe” poster

Walking Dead - something, not sure what yet

Elephant - mother and baby. Again something common, but I love elephants~

Bookmarks - for gifts and myself, though I read mostly on my Kobo now...

Avatar: The Last Airbender - something, again not sure what yet.

Anything relating to the Water element, a water dragon, pixie, goddess or something like that. 

Fawns/deer.

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My current WIP, “Pretty Little Tokyo” by Satsuma Street Designs on Etsy. I thought this was just so colourful and adorable, and I loved that real landmarks are included in the design! This is my current progress, I’ll update as I get along with it :)

As Satsuma Street describes the design: “This cross stitch pattern of a stylized Tokyo skyline features the Tokyo Tower, the Rainbow Bridge, the Tokyo City Hall, the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, the Sky Tree, Senso-ji Temple, and Mt Fuji. Shinto gates, cherry blossoms, and a boat complete the scene.”

It is meant to be stitched on 18 count aida, but I wanted it a little bigger so am doing it on 16 count.

You can find the pattern here: https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/153651913/pretty-little-tokyo-modern-japanese

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My first ‘finish’, one of these adorable little tear drop scenes by Susan Bates in the Ultimate Cross Stitch: Oriental (which I highly recommend, it was my first cross stitch magazine and just perfect for me - all oriental designs,182 of them to boot! For just $14.95 AUD - Much better value than most cross stitch magazines). I really enjoyed stitching this, and I’m hoping to do many more of them! Stitched on 16 count aida.

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My first attempt with plastic canvas, a pastel pink Gameboy and Usagi sprite from Sailor Moon: Another Story for SNES. I have ordered some badge/pin backs from eBay to turn these into badges for my Uni bag :D They will be cut out and finished with felt backs~ There was no pattern for Usagi, I just found her sprite and whacked a grid over it, and picked the colours by eye. You can only buy 10 count plastic canvas in my city, so I’d love to order some 14 or 16 count online, since it’s hard to find designs small enough to not be too large on the 10 count. 

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My first stitch! And current WIP. Cardcaptor Sakura, chart by BuzyBobbins http://buzybobbins.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/cardcaptor-sakura-cross-stitch-design.html .  I added a background, and changed a few of the colours because when I had the threads in my hand, some of them looked off/not the right tones together. I added the background myself, which took a while to work out the spacing of the hearts! I’m currently filling in the baby blue background, and then the final step will be the white sections. I left white till last to avoid it getting dirtied by the other colours. 

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Welcome and ‘Get to know the cross stitcher’ tag!

Hi everyone! I figured the easiest way to begin this side blog dedicated to my cross stitching experiences was to start out with the ‘get to know me’ tag. This is from the YouTube cross stitch community. 

How did you start or who introduced you to cross stitch?

I began cross stitching in primary school, probably around grade 5-6. I remember only ever cross stitching from little kits, usually just a bookmark or small card sized picture. Thinking back, I don’t think I even finished a full piece! I then did not cross stitch until now, at 21 years old lol. I was actually looking at the perler bead/hama bead hobby, but after discovering it was too expensive of a hobby for me, I suddenly realised that anything I could make in perler beads I could also do in cross stitch, since they both follow the same concept of being able to create anything that is made up of pixels. Thus I began my new-found love of cross stitch! Plus, it is a cheaper hobby for me, so that’s always a bonus! 

Do you have a favorite theme or designer?

Currently, I do not have a favourite designer since I have just begun my cross stitch journey. I’ll probably update this section later when I am more experienced with different artists. In terms of theme, I really love ‘oriental’ (as an Asian Studies major at University, I really can’t stand that term, after learning about orientalism in my studies and such!) themed designs, or really any foreign designs in general. I also adore pixel art, especially characters from retro video games and Japanese animation. Magical girls are a focus for me! I hope to be able to stitch many of them, and my first cross stitch now is of Cardcaptor Sakura, which will be shown soon! 

What floss brand do you use?

Here in Tasmania, Australia, DMC is EXPENSIVE. We pay $1.50 AUD per skein. Which is currently $1.15 USD. I know in the US you can get DMC for 40 US cents or so each. In general, any and all cross stitch and crafting supplies are more expensive than other countries. Australia is not kind to the cross stitcher’s budget! So to begin my collection, since I started with no supplies at all, I bought a bulk lot of 250 different colours/skeins off eBay for $32 AUD. If I had bought that many of DMC here, I would have paid $225 AUD! I saved myself a LOT of money, and although the thread is not DMC, it is ‘generic’, to my surprise they have colour numbers that match DMC! So for now, this will do as a starting pallette, and I will build up from here. 

What is your fabric of choice?

Currently I have only worked on Aida. Honestly, linen and even-weave scare me! Once I am more confident I will have a go at those, but for now I am using 16 count Aida, and I have done a few little badges on 10 count plastic canvas. 

Do you use a needle threader or are you a "floss licker"?

Floss licker!

What kind of stitching frame do you use?

I began with two wooden hoops, and soon learnt the perils of hoop marks on the fabric. So I bought myself a 6″x 6″ Q-snap frame (the smallest size, 15 x 15 cm), which was pretty expensive at $17.50 AUD! Again, I stress the pains of Australian inflation. However, this little frame has been working wonders for me, I love how tight I can get the fabric! I have ordered a PVC pipe (the same as what Q-snaps are made of - let’s not kid ourselves, they are simply PVC pipes with a brand name and price to match slapped on top) floor stand/frame, that can be built into various combinations, for large pieces (will post photo and review when it arrives!). And I will do all small pieces in the little Q-snap. 

How many projects have you finished?

Currently, 3! All tiny! You will see them soon! 

How many completed works do you have currently displayed in your home?

None. Nothing has been framed yet, again, I am new to the hobby :) 

Do you do more stitching for gifts or keep them for yourself?

I don’t know yet! But, I can imagine I will do more for myself and my apartment. I am really excited to make gifts for others though, and I have already warned my friends and family that they should expect cross stitch related gifts for their birthdays and Christmas this year! I’ve caught the stitching bug!

What is your favorite project or finish you are most proud of?

Probably my first, my Cardcaptor Sakura. But I’m sure that will change with time, since I haven’t finished or started much yet!

What has been your least favorite or worst exp while stitching?

Currently none, I am too new to the hobby. Will update when disaster strikes!

What do you love and what do you hate about cross stitch?

I love the ability to turn thread into a picture! And to be able to stitch anything made up of pixels, and create patterns. It is such a fun hobby and I can’t wait to get further into my journey! 

Currently my biggest hate is DMC and supply prices lol. 

Have you introduced anyone else to cross stitch?

Nope! I would love to though! I have targeted one of my best friends already, next time I see her I hope to begin converting her! She has no idea what is about to hit her LOL. 

What was your first project and did you finish it, if not what was your first finish? 

Currently my Cardcaptor Sakura, since I can’t count any of the 2-3 little unfinished kits I did back in primary school. Cardcaptor Sakura is not yet finished, I’m working on the background. 

How do you store your cross stitch floss?

Bobbins and in boxes! I will post a photo of my collection. I bobbinated all 250 I own in one day, I began at 8am, sitting on my couch and I didn’t move until 10pm that night! It was hard work but worth it. I am also not convinced on ‘floss away bags’, to me they seem the exact same as ziplock/plastic sandwich or snack bags, which can be bought for much cheaper. I won’t be using them, I currently love my bobbins. I have my threads on cardboard bobbins since they are cheaper, but I am hoping to swap them all over to plastic in the future once I’ve worn in my collection a bit. 

A few extra details about myself, not included in the tag: 

I am 21, currently studying a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, Australia. I live in Hobart city with my partner of 5.5 years, he studies IT at the same Uni. We have 2 cockatiels, ‘Tofu’ and ‘Chirika’, they are our feathered babies! I am also about to complete my Nail Technology course, to become a nail technician, as my passion is Japanese nail art. 

Feel free to visit my personal blog and nail art blog, links in the side bar. 

Thanks for reading! I will also be doing the ‘Stitching Style’ tag later. I’ve been taking photos of my progress over the past two weeks, when I began stitching, so they will be uploaded over the next week.  ♥