52 Weeks of Art: Week 7

Week 7: Cross Stitch

Welcome to week 7 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     I have been looking forward to doing cross stitch! It's sort of my thing. If you're not familiar with cross stitch, let me explain what it is. It's a series of  X's stitched onto fabric. Confused? Let me show you some photos.

     Cross stitch is typically done on Aida fabric. The fabric has a grid on it that makes it super easy to stitch little X's all over it. But you can cross stitch on just about anything, it doesn't have to been done on Aida fabric.

Check out this amazing cross stitch done on a wooden bag! I love it!

I found this amazing piece here.

I'm in love with this chair! I want one.

I found this chair and other unique cross stitch projects here.

Alright, so these are tattoos, but they are done to look like cross stitch. Pretty amazing.

I found these and others here.

     For my cross stitch project this week I wanted to do something a little extra. We're doing tiny art, so this needed to be small. So, instead of using the standard 14 count Aida fabric, I went with 20 count. What does that mean? Well, let's take a look at this photo below. Here we have Clyde stitched up on three different sizes of Aida. Far left is 6 count, middle is 14 count, and right is 20 count. You can see that the larger the count, the smaller the design. So, tiny art project = 20 count Aida. 

You can read more about Aida sizes here.

     Here's the beginning of my tiny cross stitch project! First thing I needed to do was stitch in some guide lines. I am so glad that I did that, I couldn't have finished this project without these guide lines. Well, I probably could have finished, but it would have been extremely difficult.

     Then, I gathered up all my stitching supplies and got to work... There's a lot of photos, I know.

Cut out my piece of fabric.

Stitching up my guide lines

Close up of my pattern.

And so it begins...

This is going to take a while.

Have I even done anything?

Several hours later...

Days of work here.

It looks the same!

This is my life now.

I can't even tell I've been working on this for the past 6 hours!

This is never going to end!

What was I thinking?

Sooo close to being done!

Almost there!

The final few stitches!

55 hours of work later.

Here's the backside. The Oldest thinks it looks more like the painting than the front does.

My father-in-law made this frame for me. This one turned out too big, so he made me another one.
I didn't get a picture of that one.

My father-in-law is amazing! This frame fits PERFECTLY!

And DONE!!!

     I had a real love/hate relationship with this project. I know you can't really tell from the photos, but this turned out to be just under 3" wide. So yeah, it's tiny. I really loved how it turned out, but I struggled with getting it done in a week. I don't know what I was thinking. Anyone who tells you that tiny art is easier/quicker because it's tiny is lying to you. Tiny does not equal quick and easy. Not. At. All. I look at the finished piece and I think, "wow. I did that."

Here's a picture of my holding it, just so you can see how tiny it really is. 

So tiny!

Would you like to stitch up your very own Tiny Starry Night? Here's the pattern!

    

On to rating cross stitch...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for cross stitch, my rating is: 18

Ease of use: 5

    Easy to use, even a beginner can do it! Especially if you stitch on the 6 count Aida. It just takes time. But who doesn't like stabbing something a thousand times? 

Affordability: 3

     Embroidery floss is not expensive. However, when you need to use MANY different colors, that's when it starts to add up. Each skein of floss costs $0.60 - $0.80, depending on where you get it from. Good thing though, one skein makes a lot of little X's. Aida fabric is also very affordable.

Accessibility: 5

     You can get embroidery floss and Aida fabric at any arts and crafts store. There are also several online stores where you can buy supplies. I like to buy my floss online because I get distracted by all the pretty colors and want to buy some of everything.

Fun to Use: 5

     I love to cross stitch. It's one of my favorite things to do. I love that stitching up a bunch of little X's turns into a picture. It's amazing. Also, it's nice stress relief - you know, all the stabbing really helps.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!