Sneaking out of my lurking to see if perhaps anyone here can point me in a good direction. Here's my situation: A good friend of mine recently passed from a terminal illness. The turn she took at the end was sudden and I would never have been able to afford to go see her one last time without very generous financial help from her parents -- whom I had never met prior to this! I'm unspeakably grateful to them and want to stitch them something to say "thank you", and I thought an image of cherry blossoms would be appropriate. (Their daughter and I met through a mutual love of things Japanese in nature and to the Japanese, cherry blossoms are beautiful while also representative of the impermanence of life in this world.) The problem is, I simply can NOT find the right pattern. Primarily, the things I need it to be are:
1) Not cartoon-ish or blocky. I'm looking for something delicate and refined. Something resembling woodblock print type designs could also potentially be a win.
2) SMALL. Maybe no more than about 5" in either direction? I have never seen their house and don't want to make assumptions about their available wall space. I also want it to be something they can put away without trouble, if it's too painful to think about right now.
My stitching ability is HIGH and my vision 20/20. So if there's a design that is perfect but would be too large, I wouldn't balk at stitching it over one on linen to make it the size I want. (Though I usually stitch over two on 36ct linen.) Other elements in the image in addition to the cherry blossoms would be acceptable, as long as the flowers are the main component.
If anyone has seen a pattern which would fit this description, please let me know and point me to the right store. I appreciate any suggestions.
Cherry blossom patterns...?
Moderators: rcperryls, Rose, karen4bells, Serinde, Alex
Re: Cherry blossom patterns...?
I don't know of a pattern right offhand, but I'm sure some of our other members will be able to help you. I'll offer up that if you find a public domain image that you think is perfect, it would be quite easy to convert it to a cross stitch pattern. Keep that in mind if you don't find just the right ready-made pattern.
My condolences on your friend's passing.
My condolences on your friend's passing.
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- wendywombat
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Re: Cherry blossom patterns...?
My condolences for your loss. What you wish to do is a great idea and I've found a few ideas for you.
http://www.dmccreative.co.uk/Inspiratio ... mpler.aspx" target="_blank
this is a free chart which is stitched on 14 count aida...maybe a bit chunky but could be stitched on a finer count.
http://www.sewandso.co.uk/Products/Cher ... L-032.aspx" target="_blank
this might be a better bet
I can recommend Sewandsew, they are in the UK but their postage is reasonable and their service excellent.
I also found this one
http://cross-stitching.biz/cross-stitch ... ry-sakura/" target="_blank
Hope this helps.
http://www.dmccreative.co.uk/Inspiratio ... mpler.aspx" target="_blank
this is a free chart which is stitched on 14 count aida...maybe a bit chunky but could be stitched on a finer count.
http://www.sewandso.co.uk/Products/Cher ... L-032.aspx" target="_blank
this might be a better bet
I can recommend Sewandsew, they are in the UK but their postage is reasonable and their service excellent.
I also found this one
http://cross-stitching.biz/cross-stitch ... ry-sakura/" target="_blank
Hope this helps.
Re: Cherry blossom patterns...?
I found this Riolis kit: Japanese Cherry Blossoms - Spring which is on Aida and about the right size. If you switched fabrics you could even make it smaller. Hope this helps you and your friend's parents get through this sad time.
Carole
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Re: Cherry blossom patterns...?
I found these:
http://www.artecyshop.com/index.php?mai ... a6d90e1625
https://www.etsy.com/listing/150016076/ ... ry-blossom (this person also has a smaller one but I think potentially goes into the blocky territory... https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1528816 ... pdf-cherry)
http://www.123stitch.com/item/Cross-Sti ... rn/13-1854
Not cherry blossoms, but apple blossoms (which are also pink, and maybe not what your looking for)
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/2293162 ... ref=market
http://www.artecyshop.com/index.php?mai ... a6d90e1625
https://www.etsy.com/listing/150016076/ ... ry-blossom (this person also has a smaller one but I think potentially goes into the blocky territory... https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1528816 ... pdf-cherry)
http://www.123stitch.com/item/Cross-Sti ... rn/13-1854
Not cherry blossoms, but apple blossoms (which are also pink, and maybe not what your looking for)
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/2293162 ... ref=market
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Re: Cherry blossom patterns...?
A lot of great patterns to consider here. Thank you everyone for the ideas! I admit, I had seen and was looking at the Riolis kit already. But the kanji says "spring" and I'm not sure how I feel about that, considering the situation. I do know the kanji for "cherry blossom" and was considering kitbashing the pattern to read that instead.... but the calligraphy would be hard to imitate for someone who isn't actually schooled in writing the language further than knowing kanji are written in a very specific sequence of strokes.
Has anyone ever worked with that "light effects" DMC? I looked at the description and it looks like basically Balger, slightly heavier. (Ugh! I just realized I showed my stitching age with that term...!)
Has anyone ever worked with that "light effects" DMC? I looked at the description and it looks like basically Balger, slightly heavier. (Ugh! I just realized I showed my stitching age with that term...!)
Re: Cherry blossom patterns...?
You could just eliminate the kanji altogether and let the blossoms just be offset. . . .or move the background square so it's a little more centered.
I guess I'm showing my stitching age, too. I understood the terms you used and read it without a hiccup.Drac wrote: Has anyone ever worked with that "light effects" DMC? I looked at the description and it looks like basically Balger, slightly heavier. (Ugh! I just realized I showed my stitching age with that term...!)
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Re: Cherry blossom patterns...?
I agree (and am showing my age too). I haven't used the light effects DMC, but have never heard anything good about it. In general, I find that DMC metallics are not easy to use. I prefer either Kreinik very fine #4 braid or mixing Kreinik blending filament with a strand of DMC. Depends on how much sparkle I want. Also good and fairly easy to use is Rainbow Blending Thread.Allyn wrote:You could just eliminate the kanji altogether and let the blossoms just be offset. . . .or move the background square so it's a little more centered.
I guess I'm showing my stitching age, too. I understood the terms you used and read it without a hiccup.Drac wrote: Has anyone ever worked with that "light effects" DMC? I looked at the description and it looks like basically Balger, slightly heavier. (Ugh! I just realized I showed my stitching age with that term...!)
Carole
WIPs
Star Wars Afghan:Chewbaca
HAEDs:
O Kitten Tree
Dancing with the Cat
Everything else "on hold"
2022 Finished: Star Wars Afghan: Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Finn, Rey, Poe, Han Solo,Darth Vader, BB8,Luke Skywalker
Star Wars Afghan:Chewbaca
HAEDs:
O Kitten Tree
Dancing with the Cat
Everything else "on hold"
2022 Finished: Star Wars Afghan: Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Finn, Rey, Poe, Han Solo,Darth Vader, BB8,Luke Skywalker