Finish work!

If I were a carpenter,

 I would be a "Finish Carpenter". 

 It is the finish work,

 the trim, 

and all the extra detail

 that goes into a piece

 that I enjoy the most . 

 It is what makes someone want to pick the item up

&

 take a closer look...

 to touch,

feel,

&

 run their fingers through a tiny, little fringe tassel...

The finish must nicely accent the piece, 

without being overwhelming.

It is a fine balance.

I like to combine different materials, 

for varying textures,

it is calming to my eye....

  

I like to mix old with new...

Or finish the piece into something useful,

a place to rest our needle or pins

is always fun.

A finish that can

become our stitching companion...

A pattern finish is always close at hand when I am to this step... 

may just be another reason that I enjoy finish work!

The end is in sight.

  An idea from a sketchpad 

is now in full color...

mission accomplished

With thy Needle & Thread,
Brenda

Stitch by Stitch ~ Row by Row...

 I am starting to close in on a finish,

 it makes me feel giddy knowing I am close to conquering the 2,727 Olive "fill-in" stitches.

I am "sewing" an autumn lawn in this piece. 

 I love the subtle variation in the Olive floss,

 perfect for a dried out October lawn,

 don't you think?

And, I couldn't resist to show that sweet little witches shoe

over in that corner!

Do you often finish a piece and wonder how many stitches were needed to complete the piece?

  This is something we designers don't typically supply in the pattern (we wouldn't want to scare you)

but,

 with modern software programs 

we do know the number of stitches.  

   When I am done charting a design,

 I print off the page that supplies me with the total stitches in a design.

I find this very useful when it comes to the next step of stitching...

When the design is completed I will have stitched 9,528 stitches.

At this point the floss colors are not always accurate.  

 Floss colors are most often determined as I stitch. 

 Once the piece is stitched,

 I will go into the program and change out the colors of flosses,

 most often to all hand-dyed threads.

After totaling the number of stitches

 I do some simple math. 

 I know how many stitches I can stitch an hour,

 and I know that I typically dedicate two hours of stitching time in the early morning hours and then two hours in the evening. 

My calculation on this piece told me that I should have it finished by this weeks end

and folks I am right on task!

   This also guides me in knowing the cost to hire the piece stitched, if I choose to to go that route.

I will be sharing 4 new Autumn & Halloween-themed cross stitch designs shortly,

stay tuned! 

With thy Needle & Thread,
Brenda