Suck Up to the Teacher

I was absolutely useless - no, wait, I lie - freaking beyond useless - at embroidery when I was at high school.

We had to make a tray cloth. It really wasn't rocket science, when I think about it now, but I messed it up in ways that epic doesn't even begin to describe!

I think it all went wrong when we were instructed to "pull a thread" and then cut on that line, to get the correct size cloth.

Clearly I:

1. couldn't follow instructions
2. couldn't count threads
3. couldn't cut on the line
4. or any combination of the above

because I ended up with two teeny-tiny pieces of embroidery fabric that probably wouldn't even have been suitable to use as a Barbie blanket, let alone used for a tray cloth.

My mother was less than impressed when I arrived home from boarding school with my offering.

My teacher wasn't thrilled and my marks reflected her belief that I was better off taking maths instead of home economics.

I put my barely-started career in embroidery on hold for almost 15 years, until I saw a pattern for twin fairies and felt an overwhelming urge to go back for round two. In hindsight, I should have picked something simpler to start with but this time it all fell into place (and there were also no silly instructions to "pull a thread" so I figured my teacher was a little dodgy and I moved on with glee and happiness).

Fast forward another 18 years...

This is a picture I'm making for my teacher sister (and eventually, my student teacher daughter) who have both patiently waited for a couple of months now.

 

It's a fun and quick paid-for pattern by Ursula Michael, which uses lots of backstitching for the lettering, so progress should be speedy. But it isn't, because I keep getting distracted by other stuff.

 

 

I think I'll eventually backstitch around the heart. I'm not sure I like it the way it is right now.

 

Usually with lots of backstitched lettering there is a bit of a mess when you turn the work over. I'm a bit pedantic about the backs of cross stitched designs - I want them to look pretty too with all ends worked away neatly (preferably working yellow threads under yellow stiches - I warned you I was nuts!).

 

Here are some pics of the back so far:

 

Almost looks like Cyrillic writing!

 





I'm off to finish this quickly before the teachers in my family make me write "I must finish my cross stitch" a hundred times on the blackboard.