I started this design in mid-2018. It’s from an old issue of World of Cross Stitching, February 2001. That first photo was my progress in September 2018. Since then, I’ve stitched on it off and on (mostly off) but focused on quite a few other projects. I’ve decided to try to focus on getting this one finished now. Of course, that is a challenge. Why? Because what I thought I would love about it – the fact that it uses mostly Caron Collection Wildflowers threads – is the thing I like least about the design.
Wildflowers is a single strand hand-dyed cotton in variegated colors. It has more of a matte finish when stitched. One strand is is between a #8 and #12 pearl cotton in weight. Why is this not great? Because I’m stitching on 28 count lugana, and the weight of this thread makes it feel like I’m pulling 3-4 strands of floss through the fabric holes. If the thread was lighter weight, I might enjoy it more, but it is just a chore. I’m this far into it now, however, so I won’t be changing gears at this point. I’ll just continue to plow ahead and do the best I can, because I really want the finished product, and I just don’t want to start over.
Here is my latest progress, as of yesterday.
