It’s time to participate in the April A-Z Blog Challenge. I will be blogging every day in April, with Sunday’s off.
The topic for each day will begin with the designated letter of the alphabet.This Monday’s letter is X for Counting my X’s.
When my eyes were younger I enjoyed the craft of counted cross stitch.
Counted cross stitch is a form of embroidery in which strands of colored thread are used to sew X shaped stitches onto cloth. A charted pattern is used to instruct the crafter which color threads to use and where to place the x’s. The result is a beautifully crafted artistic picture worthy of a frame.
I made this one in 1989.
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| Here is a close up. Can you see the x’s? |
Because of its intricate detail, this type of work requires concentration and excellent vision. I still have the concentration, but not the 20/20.
My creative outlet is now knitting. The starting position for knitting is this:
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Another X
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Find more X’s written by the more than 2,000 bloggers participating in the 2014 A-Z April Challenge.
Your X is certainly more relevant than mine. I just didn't have anything for X. I am trusting that something will pop into my head for Y.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the challenge. But, it’s going to be a relief to not have the alphabet running around in my head. I don’t have an idea for Y yet either.
DeleteVery clever. I can crochet badly. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks. I crochet better than I knit.
DeleteI did a bit of cross stitch as a girl, when my mother took it up. I never did anything as elaborate as your piece! When my daughter was born my best friend presented me with a piece for the nursery she'd been working on since she found out I was pregnant. It was gender neutral, since we didn't know. It was such a special gift!
ReplyDeleteKnowing the amount of time and effort that your friend put into this project, it is indeed a special gift.
DeleteThey make a lighted magnifying stand that one can use for such delicate work. But I definitely prefer knitting myself.
ReplyDeleteLiz A. from Laws of Gravity
Me too, I now prefer knitting.
DeleteYour counted cross stitch looks great; I did a little of it years ago; you are right, it is very intricate work! My sister made both my kids birth samplers with cross stitching, a labor of love I do believe! My mom was a knitter :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Birth samplers are a treasure to hold on to for sure. I made many cross stitch pictures over the years. The one pictured in this post is the only one I have left. I’m not sure what happened to the others.
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