This card is from a 1988 vintage kit. I inherited from one of my mom’s friends who no longer cross stitches. Something new I am trying with this cross stitch and future ones are to track how much time they take me.

I’m sure you know the adage “when you’re having fun it doesn’t feel like work.” For me that applies to cross stitch. It’s something I enjoy, probably the longest running thing I’ve ever done. I’ve never really looked at how long it’s taken me. Honestly I was quite surprised at how long it takes to do even a smaller pattern like this.

Maybe to some this doesn’t seem small. I have done some fairly large cross stitch projects that take months of steady work which skews my perception. This is the third Christmas cross stitch card I have made. These are the first cross stitch cards I have made with no intended recipient. The concept of potentially selling these cards has been presented to me and you might be reading this because you saw the card, liked it, and have come here to read more.

This cross stitch was straightforward. Almost all of the stitches are whole stitches. Very little backstitching. Quite a few French knots (at least none in gold metallic thread).

I used the Thread Magic again, it works ok. I still had quite a bit of fraying going on. I also snagged a cool idea from Instagram with storing the leftover thread pieces in a little baby food jar. This actually comes in quite handy when working on the go. I have a built in trash receptacle with me all the time. When I’m at home sometimes I forget and start stretching super far to reach the trash can only to remember I have something much closer. Due to lack of good lighting or access to my normal camera I didn’t get a photo of my jar for this project. Hoping next time I will!

This kit came complete with the trifold card with embossed frame and envelope. I was able to easily get the card assembled. This time I did not use any backing on the cross stitch.

Stitching

Started: July 16

Finished: August 31

Stitching time: 7 hours 45 minutes

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