I thought I was doing well. I picked up a UFO (UnFinished Object) that I starting stitching years ago for our dining room, right after we painted it red. I put in a few hours of work into it yesterday, stitching the entire planter for the bonsai tree in the design. I even scanned it and posted the updated photo into my Works in Progress album.
BUT…
As I’m putting it away, I look at the cover photo and realize that my bonsai planter is not lined up correctly against the printed background (AT ALL) in comparison to the model shown. Could it be? Oh yes, it certainly was… all wrong. The instructions (and even the chart) say nothing anywhere at all about how the design is supposed to match up against the printed background on the aida. And trust me, if it wasn’t for that background, I would have ditched the aida and gone with an evenweave. But anyway, as a result, when I started stitching the kit years ago, I started with the fabric upside down. So now, nothing was as it should be in the placement against the printed background. And, if you were to see the finished design, you would realize that yes, it does make a difference; a HUGE difference.
So, what did I spend my time doing this morning? You guessed it… hours of ripping out all of the stitching that I’d accomplished on the piece. After that disheartening experience, I was determined not to lose momentum. But how do I start again? At this point, any markings showing the middle of the fabric are long gone. So, I studied the cover photo from the kit very carefully and decided to start with the border in the left corner of the design. I did my best to place the stitches exactly where shown in the photo. If I happen to be off, it’s probably only one stitch in any direction and will not matter in the grand scheme of the design. I’ve posted another updated photo showing the new beginnings.
I really did hate how I had done the stitching a couple of years ago. Far before I learned about loop starts and started to get a little pickier about my stitching. The flow of the stitching made no sense whatsoever and, as a result, was a real bear to pick out. But, hey, it’s done and I got a chance to start with a (nearly) clean slate. Other than the enlarged holes in the fabric where I ripped out the old stitches.
Oh, and did I mention that because the blue grey and grey colors used in the planter were only used in that portion of the design that I ran out of thread? Oh yes, indeed. Another challenge. And neither of the colors fit any known DMC color, so I had to make an educated substitution that will probably never be noticed by anyone other than me.
Ah, the various little challenges that life holds. Keeps it interesting, that’s for sure!
