This little piece, done on 32 count linen, was inspired by something I saw in a "button" store on a "let's go poking around" day with my friend Karen the last time she was in Victoria. We both love buttons and we both have large stashes of them waiting to be used for "something". Many of them are vintage... some have "stories" behind them and some are just ones we have seen along the way that we like!
I have a particular fondness for the old pearl and "bakelite" buttons... the tinier, the better. The two tiny pearlized buttons in the photo below (top right hand side) are actually from an old Edwardian vintage lawn dress that was literally falling apart from age (it was about 100 years old). Every button in the piece is different.
This piece looks big in the picture but in actual fact it is quite small. The squares themselves are less than an inch. To give you some perspective... the large button at the bottom is about an inch.
I haven't quite decided how I will eventually frame it... guess I need to take a trip down to the framing store once I get the piece stretched and let the muse decide!!
I really enjoyed the change of pace of doing something different. Cross stitch is such exacting work and you really do have to concentrate on what you are doing. Discover that you are one stitch off and out comes the "stitch ripper"!
I used to love to cross stitch and do hardanger (a "white work" form of Norwegian stitchery). I even won many a blue ribbon at the State Fair in Raleigh, N.C. for some of my pieces that still adorn the walls of our house.
Just doing this "button" piece, renewed my enthusiasm for cross stitch again and prompted me to get my "rear in gear" and finish off a couple of pieces that have languished in my cross stitch box for more years than I can remember!
Here's a photo of the Santa that I finally finished... look how tiny those stitches are! Thank heavens for magnifiers LOL Once it is framed, it will look great with the hardanger "Christmas House" I did a number of years ago. I'll take a photo of the Christmas House soon and show it to you. It is one of my treasured pieces. I'm just not sure how well it will show up in a photo as it is "white on white".
What "unfinished" projects do you have tucked away in a bag shoved into the back of your closet or a shoe box that hasn't been opened in a long, long time?
- Mitts that you started that need another one to make a pair?
- Polymer beads that need to be sanded, polished and strung?
- What about that dress you started last spring that never got finished?
- Or the scrapbook page that needs a few finishing touches?
- What about that book on your shelf you keep meaning to alter?
I challenge you to make this the week to "rescue" an unfinished project from its hiding spot and lead it to the "finishing" line. Let me know what you re-discover and how you make out!!
Art on my friends,
Sharon