Livin' Life On the Cross Stitch Edge

Working on this needlepoint piece has reaffirmed my love of cross stitch.  While I am enjoying working on this particular piece and know that it will look fantastic in my home, I miss cross stitch. Cross stitch seems a bit more refined to me.  Needlepoint requires a large needle and sometimes the yarn gets all bunched up when you try to pull it through the hole in the canvas.  The yarn also leaves fuzzies all over the piece which is kind of getting on my nerves.  

I loved the poetry and refinement of cross stitch.  The cotton or silk floss making that shhhhhh sound as you work.  It slips effortlessly, particularly if you are using one of the John James platinum needles.  I love them but they are a bit more pricey so I tend to get the French Bohin needles, which you get more of in a package.  The platinum needles are luxurious and I think they last a long time before they start getting that sticky feeling.  (I wonder what a real platinum needle would be like...)

Okay, so I started thinking about cross stitch, which got me to thinking about my next project.  I know I was talking about an ornament, but I have been thinking about big projects, which I love.  I think I may be certifiable.  Because I was thinking big, like Hummingbird Afghan big.  I have the pattern and the afghan itself in my stash.  I was also thinking about MLI's Angel of Dreams, again I have the pattern and the fabric. 

I have been thinking about one since yesterday although I know it would take me YEARS!  Several years ago at CATS (Creative Arts and Textiles Show.  I miss these shows more than I can say in words.)  It was before Cross My Heart designs had gone out of business.  I bought Mother of Innocence.  (If you get a chance, google it.  It is amazing.)  I even bought the black fabric, which also sits in my stash.  It is so beautiful, but it looks like a lot of hours.  

I do not know why big projects call to me the way that they do.  It is like a siren song.  I will be glad when I get to return to cross stitch.  Maybe I will still try to ease myself back in with an ornament...