Aida Cloth Colors

I'm faced with a problem. I have cross stitch projects that I want to do that require colored aida cloth to really work right, and colored aida cloth is expensive.

Sure, I could dye it. I mean, I love to dye things. Check out these posts I did on the process!
Fiber-reactive dye
Acid dye
Dye Glossary

But it's cold out and aida is cotton, which means that it's a Fiber-reactive process and therefore full of odd chemicals that I don't like in my house. So I'm not doing that. I guess I could use Rit, but I just don't like the results I get from it (probably an error on my part somewhere in the process).

There is, however, another option!

Paint.

Yup. Acrylic paint and fabric medium.

Check it out here: http://craftykitsurou.com/paint-aida-cloth/

Mix the paint and the medium, paint it onto the aida, dry, heat set, and stitch!

I'm going to give it a try on one of Wild Violet's patterns when I get some time. You should check out their work on Gumroad! There are tons of super-cute patterns out there, and they are pay-what-you-want, and the charts are REALLY easy to read! I want to do Snow Much Fun and Bee by the Moon.

Cross Stitch Pincushion - Complete!

I finished it! You can check out the original post about this project here. Grandma didn't open it while we were there, so I don't know what she thinks, but I love it.

Here, take a look!

In the original post I talked about wanting to stuff it with crushed walnut shells. In the end, I packed it full of polyester stuffing to keep it light.

I'm going to make another one for myself when I get finished with Christmas projects. Mine will be on black Aida cloth with red metallic stitching ("Psst... I know who you are... Hail Sithis!").

And then I might make one for my mom on tan cloth with a variegated pink-green thread.

Seriously, these are super fun!

I found charts for all the hold shields in Skyrim and kinda want to make one with all of those. The problem there is that there are only 9 shields. I suppose I could leave the bottom five squares un-stitched and make up a little hand-print for the 10th square.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. I've got to finish my mother-in-law's gift first.

Cross Stitch Pincushion

A while back, my husband and I went to visit his grandmother. She makes the most beautiful quilt tops, and I love seeing her work. She also has an AWESOME sewing room, of which I am seriously envious.

But then I noticed her pincushion.

And I became sad.

It looks like a lump of upholstery velvet, taupe-grey in color, that has been wadded up and tied at the bottom with some scrap thread. It is shapeless, nearly colorless, and... sad.

She deserves better.

And so I have started on a cross-stitch project to make her one.

Several months ago I began looking into the little cross-stitch things called biscornu. They are adorable and I was fascinated. Essentially, they are two squares stitched together diagonally... That's the best way I can think to describe their construction.

Here. Look. Instructions and examples from The Floss Box.

So then, because my husband has far too much influence on me, I decided not to do a regular 2-square biscornu... No... I'm doing a 15-face biscornu!

Specifically this one.

It is from a Japanese craft book about French-inspired cross stitch. I got my copy from this Etsy shop as an Instant Download.

I'm doing my version in dark blue rather than red, and the official color is DMC 823. I've finished 7 of 15 tiles and have gone through an entire skein so far. Wanna see?

It's been a blast, but I can't wait to be done so that I can stuff it with crushed walnut shells and give it to her.

The best part about this project, though? It travels so well!

Costume Idea - Apothecary Embroidery

I've had an idea in my head for YEARS at this point and I just haven't gotten around to making it. I'd like to make an "apothecary" ensemble. All the plans are in my sewing room except for these.

Around the bottom hem and maybe the front-or-back-edges, I would like to embroider things from some of my fandoms.

Dark Tower - Wingdings d

Lord of the Rings - white tree

Skyrim - Thieves guild Protected

Hobby (Sewing) - Needle and thread

Batman - Batman symbol

Claymore – Clare

SAO - Yui's tear

Hobbit - Acorn

D&D - d4

Beauty and the Beast - Rose

Peter Pan - 2 stars

Star Wars - Empire emblem

Guard, Diving, PotC - Crossed Dive and Pirate flags

Hedgehog

Sherlock - Smiley

Harry Potter - Deathly Hallows

Fairy Tail – Emblem

Coffee Bean

Avatar TLA - Water Tribe

Log Horizon - ??

Hayao Miyazaki - Kodama

WoW - Warlock emblem

Black Butler - Sebby seal

Firefly - ??

The Sims – Plumbob

Supernatural – Angel Banish

Tron - ??

Violet Evergarden - ??
Stardew Valley - Junimo