In all truth, after that last “final stretch” all-day crafting and finishing up the dream catcher project... the next morning I discovered all the muscles in my hand were sore. I think the last minute beading really pushed me too far. It was such a weird feeling to have my fingers actually ache every time I squeezed with my thumb.
Needless to say, I took a few days off to recoup. I wasn’t quitting, I just need a break. I had--dare I say it--crafted too much.
More photos of the finished Dream Catcher Wall Art Pair. Because you bet your ass I took pics from all the angles. I was too in love with it NOT to have a photo shoot.
In case you missed the work in progress post with all the gritty details: here
Here’s a look behind the scenes of my progress on my Dream Catcher Project, and how my #YearOfStitches evolved into #YearOfCrafts.
First trip to the craft store and I came home after spending way more money than I intended (but that's always the case, isn't it?). But I had plenty of all the necessities of the project. Plus, I can never say no to another box of beads. lol
I fell in love with this etsy pattern when I saw it on pinterest. And it quickly became the aesthetic I built the rest of the piece around.
I got a lot of the cross stitch done on one of my days off (the above progress pics). The fiance was gone for the day and I had nothing better planned than to sit in my bed and cross stitch all day. It was the kind of self care I needed. :)
The colors of the DMC floss I used were: 3862 (brown), 3820 (yellow), 954 (green), 813 (blue), 553 (purple), 3801 (red--3705 was used on the dream catcher since they were out when I went back to the store to get more). And I stitched it on aida 18 count, using 3 strands of thread.
I actually don't have a lot of progress pics of the actual stitching of the middle of the dream catcher since it was a relatively easy pattern that worked up quite quickly. I could have finished it in one setting if I hadn't decided to start it right before bedtime.
I used a 3.25 mm hook and the thread was Premier Yarns--Serenity Garden Yarn in "Gems." I ended up using a 10 in diameter hoop, but I could have gone the next size up easily if I wanted a more stretched/taught finished product. But one, I was not making another trip to the craft store. And two, I didn’t want the dream catcher to completely dwarf the cross stitched piece.
Onto the feathers.
Remember back to the title of this post? The “days 12-30″? Yeah. A good chunk of those were me slowly finishing these bad boys.
I started off kind of rocky... the pattern just didn’t seem to quite work for me. I'm not sure if it was the yarn or the hook size I used, but the number of stitches just seemed too dense for me and I did not like the way the feather was turning out. So I ripped out some stitches and improvised a pattern as I went. The first feather turned out a little wonky, but they started looking nicer after that. In the end, I was happy with my adjusted pattern.
Number two already looked better. And the rest followed suit.
With those done, I turned my attention back to the dream catcher. It was time to add all those frills--the finishing touches that really made it something special, in my opinion.
With the ribbon, lace, and beads added, I was already loving it.
Now I just had to plan on how I was attaching the feathers.
Then came the beading and braiding that really added those fine details.
I don’t have any progress pics of me adding the beading/feathers to the cross stitch piece. After the above picture I was in super craft mode. Which translates to me trying to get it all done before my hands cramped up.
But I was really glad I decided to pull some of the feathers and add them to the second piece. I think, in the end, it really tied the two pieces together to make them a cohesive wall art pairing.
Anyway. This post has already gone on long enough. If you want to see more pictures/angles of the finished object, see this separate post.
All the links were included in this post, but you can also check out my #YearOfStitches Pinterest board to see all the pertaining archived links.
So I had to take a bit of a hiatus from the daily cross stitch project I started. Why, you ask? Because I had to turn my attention fully to the project I had started a few weeks before. A graduation present for my sister.
What started as a cute cross stitch pattern I saw on pinterest, turned into so much more, so very fast. I have a habit of doing that with projects. My plans are always grandiose and more often than not, I bite off more than I can chew--hence the pile of WIP’s I have. But I was determined to see this one through. (Spoiler alert: I got the whole thing done in a little over a month from when I started seriously working on it, just in time for her graduation party. I’m actually pretty proud of myself.)
So like I said. It started with a cross stitch pattern… the message was cute for a recent grad, and it had that boho-feather/dream catcher feel to it that is so my sister's taste. But then I decided I needed to add a crocheted dream catcher as a second piece of wall art to really seal the aesthetic. Then of course, why not just throw some crocheted feathers in the mix? And can’t forget the beaded accents and ribbons!
Remember how I said this went from simple to a whole project? Yeah. After the third trip to the craft store, I realized that was an understatement. But! It turned out better than I could have imagined and she loved it. (Plus, I made her parade all my hard work around her party so every guest could gush over it. And this girl loves her some artistic appreciation and praise.) So, I’d have to say in the end, it was worth it.
Want to see more work in progress pics and know all the details? Or maybe you just want to enjoy more close up pics of the finished piece?
