A group of my real life girlfriends are crafters so we did an exchange that was a "Crafting Free-For-All", which means craft what you want or with your person in mind. I wanted to do a bit of both, working to what I think are my strengths.
I was overly excited when I drew my friend Ali because she loves fun and modern cross-stitch plus her family is over the moon for Disney. I was able to send her an anonymous note via the website Elfster, a great site that is free and allows for secret exchanges with ease. I've used it several times over the past few years to set up exchanges for family and friends, it's a great tool! Ali responded that she'd like something for her wall and I did some digging over patterns that she commented on in the past for cross-stitch.
I found the Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Craftiness by Satsuma Street on Etsy, loving the stark white on the black Aida and knew that was the present to make. I hadn't cross-stitched in a while but it's like riding a bike because this is the first craft that my mom taught me when I was six. Mom started me on 14 count Aida and had me do a small pumpkin. I made it into a pillow for my Barbie's Dream House for Halloween (and got Girl Scout credit in sewing). Unfortunately, I left Barbie's Dream House out in the backyard for a few days and it rained. The house survived but the pillow did not, getting moldy.
Now as I finished the cross-stitch, I realized it was an odd shape, about 9" by 10.5", meaning most frames weren't going to work but I lucked out at Joann's with this 12" x 12" Float Fame that allowed me to square up the piece and center it. But what to do with the back?? I had sins to hide from Ali, so I found this great metallic print in Joann's quilting section and used my 1/4" seam sewing skills to attach the piece of fabric to the aida. Phew, now everyone would think I was brilliant instead of queen of tangling her thread. (Seriously, I think at times it was purposely making knots so I'd cry.)
Since I had gotten great deals at Joann's on my supplies, 90% of the project came from there, I decided that Ali needed the cross-stitch pattern Pretty Little London by Satsuma Street for her own cross-stitching pleasure. Also, I went through my flannel stash for my Disney group and knew that Ali's son would need a cuddle blanket. I used the Self-Binding Baby Blanket, as demonstrated by Jenny Doan of the Missiouri Star Quilt Company.
It's a great project that only takes about an hour from start to finish and I love the finishing top-stitch that allows you to be creative. On my sewing machine, a Husqvarna Opal 650, I can top-stitch in different shapes and names or both into the blanket. This time, I opted for big circles to act as ears and Ali's son's name Max to give him something that's all his own.
Now, I can't wait for package number two to be received because that's a project that I'm eager to share.
