Monday, April 28, 2014

A-Z Challenge X is for Counting My Stitches

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.  


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:


Another X
I made these socks last year.
It may be a stretch for the letter X but with only x y and z left I can’t stop now.

Find more X’s written by the more than 2,000 bloggers participating in the  2014 A-Z April Challenge.

10 comments:

  1. 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.

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    1. I 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.

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  2. Very clever. I can crochet badly. :-)

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  3. I 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!

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    1. Knowing the amount of time and effort that your friend put into this project, it is indeed a special gift.

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  4. They make a lighted magnifying stand that one can use for such delicate work. But I definitely prefer knitting myself.

    Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

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  5. Your 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 :)

    betty

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    1. 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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