Nursing - Mary Cassatt *my 1st stitch-a-long*

[Tallulah]

This is my first big "HAED-like" stitch. Now I see why they are so addicting.
I'm stitching "Louise Nursing Her Child" by Mary Cassatt on 22 ct. hardanger. (Thank you XandraS for finding her for me! )


I was so excited to start something this big that I decided to try "parking". Ummmm...yeah, that is so not for me. LOL
After a major frog-fest. I finally really started.
Don't mind the fuzzy parts on the right of the pictures...that would be the scratch on my camera lens.

First day


Here's where I am at now...


It's not very exciting to look at but it's fun to stitch. The back looks not so great. How in the world do you keep a neat back on big projects? Not that it matters. Heehee. I'm having great fun. Not much time to stitch, so the going will be slow. I'm going to do a page and then switch to my WIP sampler to keep myself going.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Great start! Quite a lot of confetti stitching, it seems?

[Tallulah]

Great start! Quite a lot of confetti stitching, it seems?

Thanks!

Yes, confetti through the whole thing it looks. Not sure what I was thinking. LOL

[maggs]

Great start

[Jaki :)]

Beautiful design & your off to a good start

[meerkat]

That is a beautiful design,and good progress too

[pamelam]

Very neat! Glad you're enjoying stitching it!

[Nachstenliebe]

Lovely design!
Faith

[Like_Fine_VVine]

Congratulations on starting your first super-large piece; very good luck with it, I still haven't worked up the nerve! You're making good progress already. I'm looking forward to future updates .

[Just me]

Holy cow I don't think I will ever be good enough to stitch something that complicated. As some one who is just starting stitching I am blown away by what you are attempting.

[karen4bells]

What a beautiful design! Great start on it and I'm so glad to hear you are having so much fun stitching it!

[Kute Kitty]

That's a lovely design, and your stitches are so tiny and neat! Are you using one strand on the 22 count? How do you find it? (I've got a HAED chart in my stash which I was considering doing on 22 count hardanger, I'm so much more comfortable with a block weave fabric when working over 1, so would love to hear how it feels!)

[stitchiemom]

Fantastic start!! Don't worry about how the back looks when you get your groove the back will work itself out, especially if you are starting the confetti stitches each time instead of parking. I tried it also and do not like to do it either so the back of my work can be bulky if there are many different colors of confetti. Don't let the size intimidate you, it's still cross stitch done one stitch at a time

[Tallulah]

That's a lovely design, and your stitches are so tiny and neat! Are you using one strand on the 22 count? How do you find it? (I've got a HAED chart in my stash which I was considering doing on 22 count hardanger, I'm so much more comfortable with a block weave fabric when working over 1, so would love to hear how it feels!)

I'm using two strands. I didn't like how much white was showing through with one strand, though sometimes two strands seems too much. I'm also addicted to the loop start so I tend to use two strands whenever I can.
I love the hardanger, though. It is fun to stitch on.

I really want to like "parking". I think I might try it again and just start with one parked thread. I'm not sure what in the world I did when I started off the first time, but my threads were so twisted and crazy on the back that I had to cut the threads to get them out. I think I did something wrong. LOL
Thanks for all the encouragement!

[charmagne_capalad]

Wow, such a lovely complicated design! Great start! Looking forward for more!

[maeflowers]

Very pretty! You are giving me confidence when it comes to those huge projects... I have yet to open the plastic wrapping on my HAED. But this looks just great and I am looking forward to seeing your progress!

[3madspaniels]

This is a beautiful design. It will be great to watch it appear.

[XandraS]

I'm so glad it was a design you liked and you've made a great start.
Look forward to seeing more of it

[Skywch]

I am impressed! This is a beautiful design. Yes, it's one stitch at a time, each one done lovingly Trying to finish up the first page of my HAED, and it has MAJOR confetti, so your post resonated with me! Just enjoy, and don't put yourself on too much of a timetable (I keep telling myself!)

[K1nS]