Starting a Cross Stitch Project

We were checking out shops that offer framing services in a mall last week for our huge family portrait and we visited this needlecraft store that offers customized framing. When we were inside the store, I almost forgot what we went there for, haha, I went crazy over the stuff they have for sale, cross stitch kits, diamond stitch kits, dream catcher kits, and a lot more. It's no surprise since I'm always like this whenever I'm inside a craft store. I succeeded in leaving the store empty-handed but that visit inspired me to do cross stitch again so a few days later, I went to DMC Creative World in Megamall to get my cross stitch supplies.

My husband chose this Cape Cod House pattern for me. The pattern costs Php 220, has 9 pages, with 392 x 294 stitches, and the finished project would be 28" x 21" in a 14 ct Aida cloth. The size of the pattern is a bit intimidating but I like the challenge. The last time I did a cross stitch project was more than a decade ago and I was so excited to start again.

There was a note on the pattern that says "DMC dares you to finish this pattern! Be one of the first 50 to finish this chart and get a limited edition gift from us! Happy stitching!" Apparently, this pattern is included in their Dare Your Mind to Create promo wherein finishers of eligible patterns will receive prizes based on the pattern they did, there are different prizes for 2-page patterns, 3 to 4-page patterns, and 6-page or more patterns. Check out their Facebook page for more details.

I bought this set of tapestry needles for only Php 25 and the Aida cloth based on the pattern size for Php 571.50. 

The pattern calls for 51 different colors of embroidery floss and a total of 91 skeins because some colors require more than one, each skein costs Php 16.75. I remember, back in high school, it was only about Php 7 to 9 per skein, oh well, that was a long time ago. 

To get started, I photocopied the colored pages of the pattern so they're just in a copy paper that I could roll, fold, and mark on. I assembled all the pages to form this one whole pattern, it's about 2 ft by 3 ft big.

I also prepared this organizer to easily manage the embroidery floss colors. I just photocopied the page where the symbols with the corresponding color codes are, adhered it to a cardboard, cut by column, and punched a whole beside each symbol. This is where I could put in the length of the floss that I'm working with, about 24 inches, not the whole skein. The pattern needs 2 strands only so after getting 2 strands, each floss has 6 strands, I would just put in the rest to the organizer so it's easier to find the next time I need it. 

To prepare the Aida cloth, I just placed masking tape on the edges to avoid fraying and folded it to find the center as shown in the picture. I then counted from there to find all the sides and sewed along to mark the exact space that I'll be working on so I could start anywhere from the sides. Most people would just start stitching from the center so there's no need to find and mark the sides.

It's been two days and this is what I've got so far, haha, our household help/babysitter is on vacation and I only get the chance to work on this project when my daughter is asleep. Also, I'm kinda slow because I'm a bit OC with keeping the back clean, too, which is really hard to do so with this pattern, aside from making sure that all the top stitches face the same direction. 

This project will probably take a few months to finish so I'll just try to have a few breaks to make way for my other crafts. Bye for now!