Skip to main content

The Ribbon Topiary

For my IHSW, I started the redo on the breast cancer project that I did for a friend a long time ago. I haven't given the original to her yet because I wasn't happy with it and I never got it framed. The original instructions called for linen and silk thread, and even though I was a long-time stitcher, I had never done a stitch with anything other than 14ct aida and DMC and basically couldn't afford the linen and silk thread. So I went through about 10 different pink aidas trying to find the right color and used variegated thread to make up for the silk color (and basically ended up spending more than it would have costed to get the proper stuff).

Here is the first modified version I did:
DSC02536

And here is the picture from the designer showing what it's supposed to look like:
ribbonTopiary

But the more I thought about it, the more I decided to give in and redo it. I've become a better stitcher and decided I was ready. I found the linen, but couldn't find the right count (I ended up with 30 instead of 32...that probably should have been my first clue I was doomed). I ordered the proper thread (Thread Gatherer's Silk-N-Colors Sailor's Valentine), but mistakenly ordered only one skein (which isn't near enough). The site I ordered the thread from didn't have anymore, so I ordered from another vendor, and this time ordered 3. But when they came in, the color wasn't close to similar even though they were labeled appropriately (they were just the same base pink). I emailed the vendor, but they basically just gave me the old "hand-dyed colors vary" and pretty much told me I was screwed. I understand that there is differences in dying lots, but this wasn't even close to the actual thread or the manufacturers guide picture. So I just ate the $30 cost and ordered another 3 from yet another vendor, which also turned out to be exactly like the second batch. I finally realized that it was the thread manufacturer goofing up and I was pretty much screwed.

It's really hard to tell from this picture, but the top color is the proper one and the bottom one is what the other two vendors sent...the proper color has a purple-gray streak in it and the wrong color has more of a tan-brown streak:
DSC00249

I just gave in and decided to work the project with the off-colored thread, so here is where I got to this weekend:
DSC00247

It's not that hard to stitch, but it's boring and is taking a lot longer than it should and I'm really not happy with the colors or the material (it's way too hole-y), but I'm gonna see it through. I've also done more frogging so far on this puppy than I think I ever had on anything else. My TUSAL jar has doubled in size! I'm gonna keep at it, but it may take a lot longer than I expected. I thought that since I've already done it once, it would go quicker this time...that's what I get for thinking!

Comments

kate n said…
You have done loads!
I think it looks beautiful.
Joysze said…
I love it. I actually thought that your original one is lovely as well and the colors are much more suite for breast cancer with the pinks that you've chosen.

Same goes with the restart... your colors are more vibrant that in the design. I like. :D

Samplers are a bi boring to stitch, I agree. :(

Popular posts from this blog

Happy 13th Blogoversary to the worst blogger ever!

Yep, I'm still here. This is the first time I've touched any blog in months. My focus has been in the "me" world. I have a new therapist and it's still early days, but I'm doing much better both mentally and physically. Work always sucks, so that's already a dead horse. And both pups are still hangin in there. My last post was probably the last time I stitched or at least my last Instragram post was. Maleficent still isn't framed, she's still in her ziploc baggie on the kitchen table. Bad me all around. I'm getting worse at this whole social media thing, what little I do. My job is tech burnout, so by the time I get home, the only tech I touch is my TV. The thought of creating a blog post or human communication in any way is just too much. I do have two vacations coming up, so that's exciting, right? I haven't felt like sharing, so very few people around me know about these. The first is a birthday trip to Boulder, j...

A to Z Challenge - B

PART 1 - JANE AUSTEN ALPHABET-COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BRANDON A much better hero than Edward Ferrars in my opinion PART 2 - MY DISNEY COLLECTION-BOOKS Obviously the age limit on books means very little to me: Do magazines count as books? Well, they are on the book row and they are Disney related, so there you go! There are several more shelves of these and they get more movement than anything else because their weight tends to kill bookshelves rather quickly. It helps to shuffle them around upon occasion to give the poor shelves a breather.

A to Z Reflections Post

I'm going to try not to be as wordy as previous years (but no promises). I did two challenges this year, my Jane Austen Alphabet Cross Stitch project, which is now complete: I haven't gotten it framed yet...heck, I still haven't gotten last year's framed either, so there is no telling when it will get done. Thanks to my friend Tiff for her suggestion of the blue fabric over the brown...she made the right choice I think! There is really nothing more to add on my second challenge, My Disney Collection, other than I have realized that my OCD apparently isn't strong enough to focus me in one particular direction. I like to think I have a Duck Room and a Princess/Villains room, but it's more like a Duck/Stitch/Parks room, a Mickey Bathroom, a Disney-themed kitchen, a living room filled with various objects, and a Princess and Villains bedroom. I don't think as a whole, they look so bad, it just looked a bit hoarderish when I divided them up into categori...