Where you live I bet the leaves are turning colors and the air is crisp and getting cool. Boots and sweaters, socks and scarves are at the ready, right? Where I am, it's still hot and steamy ~ 80+ degrees. We're still wearing tank tops and sandals by necessity. Blech! Fall, please hurry up and get here soon!
Well it's October now, I don't mind showing you that I've been working in spurts on this cute cross-stitch from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery (if you're not familiar, they sell just the most adorable kawaii cross-stitch designs). I bought this pattern last October and set it aside until a month ago. I chose to stitch on natural linen ~ not Evenweave or Aida ~ and I kinda wish I hadn't. I'd forgotten that the fibers in my linen are thinner horizontally than they are vertically, which makes a square... not so much a square. I don't mind so much, but counting fibers can be a strain. I find it nothing short of a miracle when my stitches all line up. Next time I think I'll use Aida if I can find one that isn't sooo stiff. Recommendations, anyone?
When I bought this pattern last year, I mentioned that I would do a comparison of the DMC and Cosmo floss colors included on the pattern's color key. (Here's my disclaimer: I was sent an entire supply of floss from both Cosmo and DMC, and I honestly don't prefer one brand over the other. I do however think that both companies' floss is leagues better than any other brand I've tried in terms of quality. In the beginning, I was definitely inclined to love Cosmo floss more than DMC and that's simply because Cosmo is a part of Lecien Corps. and I love Lecien, but you knew that, right? I also told myself that Cosmo's colors were richer, but after having worked exclusively with the full range of DMC floss on my latest book, I've come to the conclusion that neither company has better colors ~ their colors are simply different. It's like comparing the colors offered by two different car manufacturers ~ they don't offer the same colors! FYI, Cosmo offers 443 solid colors and DMC offers 454.) So, what I've learned is that a "comparison" is useless. My pic below is just a visual guide to show you the recommended colors, side by side. Sometimes Cosmo's and DMC's color dyes get very similar, and sometimes they just don't. It's nice to know you've got choices, right?
So far in my Spooky Sampler, I've used a bit of both DMC and Cosmo floss. What's most ironic is that after fishing out all the right colors, I think I'll be going with a slightly different color palette after all. More like the colors in this pattern. Go figure. Anyway, if you're doing the Halloween Spooky Sampler this year, happy stitching my friends!
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On another note, my "Be Joyful" embroidery pattern (at the shop) has been updated so it now includes a Cosmo-DMC color key instead of just a Cosmo color chart. If you purchased the pattern before I included the DMC colors and you would like the new key, please contact me and I will email you the file. Thanks!
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1. ladies with birds, 2. Bearnard and Catherine, 3. Bythynnod gleision, 4. Untitled, 5. My colourful feelings, 6. It is growing! Or My design wall is shrinking : ) nice to have time to work on this! #nokids #loveSummerCamp, 7. granny throw for summer, 8. clothespin kids pouch, 9. Fieldcrossing Quilt, 10. navy gingham quilt., 11. First Sampler, 12. schnitzel and boo mini quilt swap progress, 13. all three completed!
xo amy