This particular cross stitch has been quite the journey for me. I hand-drew that design myself years ago then made it, framed it, realized it wasn't right, put it away, started Mach II, forgot about it a few times, and now here we are. I did a little digging in my picture files and happily enough, I found the picture I took of the freshly completed first iteration back in 2014.
Six years and two living situations ago I finished this and almost immediately hated it. The colors aren't right and I miscounted at one point so it's off... though maybe that's one of those things only I would notice. Anyway, I kept this around for quite a while because even though it didn't turn out how I wanted it, I liked the design itself and the fact that it was an homage to my favorite book. I think in Massachusetts apartment number 2 I gave up on it and stowed it away.
Cut to... I have no idea. But a long time ago, trust me. I decided it was time to give this pattern a second chance with a fresh color pallet and the wisdom of a few extra years. A lot of other, more pressing projects diverted my attention and this became the thing I worked on in between other things, dragging out the process. It was very nearly finished for about a year when I finally resolved to finish it a couple days ago and spent this morning drinking coffee, watching Queer Eye, and finally putting this project to rest. I'm thrilled because not only does it make me feel good to actually finish something for once, but I know this is it. I nailed it.
I'm always curious about other peoples' creative processes so here's a glimpse at the pattern I drew up for this piece:
Much loved, carted around, crinkled, scribbled on, and annotated. I started that in pencil but at one point Sharpied over it, though I should probably make a more "official" pattern to keep. I know there are computer programs out there that I could make my patterns on and I'd definitely need to use one if I were to get more complicated or larger with my designs but there's something about sitting down with a pad of 10-square-per-inch graph paper and a 0.5 mechanical pencil and just figuring it out. I'm a very tactile person, it's easier for me to figure things out that way.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of the two. What a difference, am I right? The globe is more recognizable with the much more contrasting thread colors, same goes for the words too. I like the purple brackets instead of yellow too. More colors!
Yup, much much better. As you can see, I even had the old one still framed but I had to dig it out of a box in the basement. I switched them out and luckily, I still really like the new and improved version in this frame. Now to find where a place to put it...
I listened to a ton of music today while I went about my business and out of all of it, this one (Catch the Wind by Donovan) remains stuck in my head so I'll let it play me out. Farewell [and thanks for all the fish]!
That's a very cool redo, Ashley! I agree that the more high-contrast colours on the Earth look better. I also like the shadow effect you put on the letters, which is very subtle and not really noticeable unless you get up close (I went right up to the screen!).
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to work on a couple of projects (Zentangling on a pair of Fluevogs that I had John Fluevog sign last year), but I have not been motivated...such is life.
Hope you are well.
Figuring out/adding those extra little details is my favorite part!
ReplyDeleteI always have some sort of creative project on my to-do/to-finish list. Very much a "so much to do, so little time" situation. Such is life indeed.