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Monday, April 27, 2015

A to Z Challenge: W is for Wreath

Welcome to the last week of the A to Z Challenge.  As I mentioned last week, I'm starting to get a little burned out, so I'm glad to see this challenge wrapping up, but proud of myself for sticking to it too.

Today is Day 23 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

W is for Wreath For All Seasons

Today's post will be a short one, as I'm only featuring one pattern today. This is called Wreath For All Seasons, and is a Dimensions Gold kit.  I bought this when I was feeling particularly ambitious as I got my stitching mojo back last year.  Well, I opened the kit, took a look at it, and promptly lost my nerve.  Number one reason why?  Blended stitches.  Yup, small thing, I know.  Anyway, it's still in my stash and I still plan on starting it someday soon, although for now it's been pushed aside by less intimidating projects.

I'm sure this one will look so spectacular when it's done though.  I think I've mentioned before how much I like seasonal pieces, and I was really drawn to the fact that this one represents all four seasons in one picture.  My mom collected wreaths when I was little, so apparently I just collect cross stitch pictures of them. 

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery
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12 comments:

  1. That wreath is gorgeous, Alyssa, hopefully one day we will see your finish of it.

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  2. This pattern looks quite challenging. I hope you'll complete it some day. It will be an amazing achievement.

    An A to Z Participant
    Letters from the Land of Cherry Blossoms

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  3. It's a beautiful pattern!
    Saw your blog on Rosey's post.

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  4. I love this pattern, I think it's on my wishlist as well. Don't be scared of blended stitches, they aren't that troublesome when you're at it!

    As you have the kit, you might be able to answer one question for me...the words in the background, are they stitched on or printed on the fabric? They didn't look stitched in the pictures I saw and it's confusing me a bit :D

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    1. You know, that was one of the main questions I had about the kit too before buying it.

      You're right, they don't look stitched in the picture, but they are. The fabric in the kit is completely blank and the season words are shown on the key in stitching symbols.

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  5. I have REALLY enjoyed your posts on A to Z, so I am glad you've stuck with it!!! Several of my kits in my stash are very scary to me too, but maybe one day I will be brave...! I used to be scared of beads and now I love using them so who knows what kind of cross stitched barriers I'll break in the future!

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    1. I'm with you on the beads. I was terrified to try them, but when I did I was like "hmmm, this isn't that bad. I think I kind of like this."

      Thanks for visiting during A to Z! It's good to know my efforts are appreciated. :)

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  6. There are a lot of blended stitches in the White Wolves I'm working on. It will be okay once you get going, but you may want to create a card or something that labels each blend so you can keep track and hold onto the blends more easily.

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    1. Thanks for the advice Tiffany. I will definitely remember that when I get started on this one.

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  7. Here's my solution......make this wreath a round-robin thingy and find some trusted stitchers who have daunting pieces of their own...everyone can help each other out on their own more "challenging" pieces - right?? With that said - Blended Stitches?? YIKES!!!!

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  8. I have a couple of Dimensions kits in my stash (one or two I've started as well!) and while they are a challenge the effects are worth the effort! Hope we'll see this finished one day.

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