May is Done and so is Cross Stitch May-nia!

The last day of May means my May-nia journey has come to a close!  Participating in this really helped focus my work and resulted in getting a lot done.  This was my May-nia list and what I got accomplished on it.

The New Start

The month started off with a new start.  I had two incentives for making this one:  it not only represented a May-nia start but it commemorated a historic event.

It was a small piece so was easy to get done during the week before the coronation.   I also employed and got to practice a new technique for me:  "gridding" my fabric with a blue water soluble ink marker to aid in placing the design elements correctly.   I stitched on a WIP during the next week so didn't get to the finishing of this and the little mug rug I made until this week.  

Front

Back

I originally had an idea to try to finish it as a sort of thick tuffet with gold tassel trim.  However, when that didn't work out, I finished it as a simple pin keep/pillow.  It is backed with a purple panne velvet that I stabilized with t-shirt quilt interfacing and I embellished the edge with a gold rope trim.  It's a little rough but it is also my very first pillow finish.  In this case, I definitely feel that finished is better than perfect!

Oh, and I also bound the little crown mug rug that I made along with it!

The WIP

I had started this project last Fall as a companion to an earlier finish.  This is the first project I've done that required extensive color changes within a single motif and for this newbie CS-er it was definitely a real challenge!  There were many rip outs and re-starts and the finish as stitched is definitely off from the pattern in a few places.  This time, I was only semi-successful at using the gridding method again.  I guess I need more practice but at least it's also now done!

I managed to find the perfect fabric to finish the backing in the hoop frame I had purchased to display it in.  Having done this kind of finish before, it was fairly easy to complete. 

Now it hangs with its companion, ready to be enjoyed!

The "Fully Finished(s)"

The stitching for the next two projects had been finished prior to May-nia and now just needed to be "Fully Finished".  The first is another piece honoring a highlight of 2023:  this celebrates the "Year of the Rabbit" on the Chinese New Year calendar.

Front

Back

I have a stash of Asian-style prints so I was able to "shop the stash" for finishing this one.  Originally, I had in mind that I wanted to finish this like a Hands On Design pillow finish I saw at the start of the Spring.  However, the two prints that I picked to use didn't work so well combined together on the front.  So once again, I went simple and just used one print on the front and one on the back.  

I then decided to add some additional embellishment using tassels to sort of replicate a similar motif stitched into the piece.  Of course it was only after buying them that I remembered that I had looked up tutorials for making my own.  Oh well, next time!!

The last "fully finish" on the list was my "Memento of Maine" aka Helen D.'s freebie "Blueberries and Black Bears".  I'm still working on the finishing for this one:

The animals print will be the backing.

A lot of changes went into this project:  It was patterned to be stitched on 14 count Aida but I chose to use some Lori Holt 10 count Aida I had on hand because the color of it went better with the finishing fabrics I eventually found for it.  I picked up those fabrics at Fabricate during our trip last year so didn't make the final CS fabric choice until that happened.  

Although I kitted up the "called for" threads, when shopping for them I fell in love with a variegated DMC green (#4045) that I decided to add to the mix.  Then I changed where the patterned colors were used in the stitching which brought a better balance to my eye on the darker background fabric I was using.  

Also while in Maine, I had purchased the little buoy ornament with plans to use it to embellish the final piece.  I had also planned to copy an image of a lobster from a lobster bib from a restaurant we ate at, print it onto fabric and then applique it onto the piece.  

However, as I become more CS obsessed,  I am often looking around for designs of interest and happened on a cute little lobster CS piece that I figured might be an even better embellishment!  THEN I saw a little miniature lobster trap and thought "oh how cool to combine the two?!?".  This meant figuring out how to render the trap in fabrics.  So far it has proved to be a bit more challenging than expected so I am still trying to see if I can make that work.

So all in all, not bad for my first stab at May-nia!  Then tomorrow starts a new month that is bringing even more stitchy fun....