2023 cross stitch project

I've been working on this pattern for a while, and I finally snapped a picture. It came up rotated, it is supposed to be 90 degrees different from this image. This is the blue and yellow macaw from Exotic Birds. I have to say, they use some symbols that are so close to each other I have had to take two different spots out to do it in the correct color when I realized I had used the wrong color. Argh. I have not had that problem with other Cross My Heart charts.

>1 al.vick: Wow, Alison, that’s going to be very cool! And yes, I understand the color problems… frustrating to have to redo them!

One symbol was a circle with an x through it, and the other was a diamond with a x though it. And it is hand drawn, so it's not so easy to tell the difference. I mean you can tell if you know what to look for, but.... Anyway, I am loving the bright blue in this project. I do a lot of animals, so I am more used to brown and green than blue and yellow. It's a nice change.

>3 al.vick: Ooh, yeah - tough. Can’t wait to see the progress!

Well, I just found that ecru and light yellow have the same symbol. Argh! WTF? I had to take out all the ecru at the top of the yellow bird. What an irritation. I mean similar symbols okay, but the same one????? New picture pending. I got a lot of work done on the tail on my vacation.

>5 al.vick: Really? THAT'S not useful!!

update: The ecru has been taken out and replaced by yellow (that same symbol issue!), and I have finished the tails.


I have just started up the faces, but I still have a lot to do on the blue bird's wing. Lots of half stitches there, so it's a little slow.

>7 al.vick: Oh, wow - looks terrific!!

I have finished one parrot's head. Pictures coming. Given the amount of outlining on the feathers, I am not looking forward to that part.

Your work is beautiful.

Thanks! I have started all the backstitch. That's going to be quite a long step outlining all the feathers on the back of the mostly blue bird! Then on to space themed projects.

Finally finished the parrots! The outlining of the feathers was annoying, as it was hard to see the part that was done, and hard to keep in the right place. I think the "plaid" outlining of the feet came out nicely. Makes them look a little "scaly".

I have moved on to the Wolf-Rayet 124 project from Climbing Goat Designs. I tried using the color pattern, but found it hard to mark off which stitches I had already done. (I used markers to mark which stitches I have done, and that makes it easier to find my place on the project and pattern. Also make it easier to tell whether I left a stitch out or made a mistake.) So I had to print out the B&W version; good thing they all come with both. It is going pretty smoothly now. I have added all my Climbing Goat designs to my library, since that is how I keep track on my paper patterns, and these are just e-patterns. I will try to get some pictures of the progress soon. Thanks to Platinum Warlock for pointing me to Climbing Goat! I love their space stuff. I'm going to be doing those patterns for the foresee-able future.

I am doing this project on 14 count Aida, but I am using 3 strand of DMC floss. I wanted there to be better coverage of the fabric, especially the black stitches, but I still wanted the white stars to "pop". I'll see how it comes out, but it looks good so far.

Beautiful!

>13 al.vick: What a wonderful job. Love the colors.

thanks! keep meaning to photograph my current project, and I keep not doing it.