Here it is: The final product!!

Phew, I’m not going to lie, I am a little glad I am finished with my cross stitching. My hands would get clam-y when working of my learning project, so the edges of my canvas got very wrinkled. It was also difficult when my hands would get sweaty because it was hard to hold my needle. Since the thread is so small and the needle is so tiny, is was sometimes very hard to thread the needle and start stitching. The thread would also get tangled in the middle of my stitching so that got very frustrating. Take it from me, the back does not look as nice.

Here is the pattern I followed for my project. As you can see if you look close enough, there are some boo boos. Cross stitching requires a lot of concentration so when I would take breaks throughout the weeks working on this project, it would sometimes be hard to remember where I was. Also, cross stitching is very tedious work, so sometimes I would get lots in the pattern and make my mistakes.

Overall, I am happy with my final results. It was fun to pick up a new hobby, and I think I do like to cross stitch. I can see myself continuing with this hobby but most likely in the winter months when there is not a lot to do. I think cross stitching is a hobby that should require no or very little amounts of pressure. Since this hobby is so time consuming, I often felt frazzled when working on this project in order to keep up with the deadlines.

As we are coming close to the end of the spring semester and EDTC 300, I am starting to wrap up my learning project. I had made so much progress and am feeling more comfortable in my cross stitching abilities but I still have a ways to go. I saved the coloured yarn for my last steps as I needed to complete my outline before adding the background detail, and this detail is not complex whatsoever, but it is time consuming.

I decided to work in sections for the light pink and orange areas of my background. I have found that since the stitches I make are so small, it is very easy to lose track where you are according to the pattern and it is vert difficult to count out the stitches. The pattern is separated into grids so I decided to stitch according to those in order to follow along easier. So, instead of stitching up and down, or side to side, I stitch according to the grids. This way is also easier to tie off my yarn as I run out of it and start out a new piece in a good section.

While I was cooking supper tonight, I was using a recipe off of Pinterest and I thought, “Why haven’t I looked on cross stitching on Pinterest yet?” Pinterest is one of my favourite websites ever. I use it for recipe ideas, teaching ideas, and when I decided to #treatmyself and get my nails done, I look for nail design inspiration. I finally decided to search up just “cross stitching” on Pinterest and couldn’t believe the results. I found tips and tricks, links to free patterns, different designs, different techniques for stitching, and so much more. I can not get enough of Pinterest as a resource and recommend it to any and everyone.

This week was a busy week, and I’m not going to lie, I didn’t get much of my learning project done. My goal this week was to add some colour to my cross stitching piece. There are three different colours in the cross stitch kit I bought and am using for this project, so my plan was to add one colour for each week left in the class. I started with the pink or rose colour because it was the colour that was most spread out in the piece. I got about half done of this colour and hope to get the rest done in the next day or so!

For my technology networking piece, I found a wonderful cross stitching blog that includes links to free cross stitching patterns that anyone is able to print off. I love this site because it is so easy to access more cross stitching patterns I can complete in the future! I already have the canvas holder and needles, and if I were to use these resources, I would just need a new canvas and some yarn, which thanks to the internet and Dollarama, are easily accessible.

For this week’s assignment for EDTC 300, I decided to make a Tik Tok video. I occasionally use Tik Tok to watch videos (mostly for recipe inspo), but I have never actually made one myself before. I have friends that create Tik Tok’s all the time, so I thought, “how hard could this be?” Turns out it was actually very difficult. 

My idea for this assignment and video was to record my progress in my cross stitching project. 

Tik Tok Tip 1: You very much need a tripod when recording yourself doing something.

The hardest part I think was the filming aspect of things. I wanted to record a close up of me completing the steps I took while cross stitching, but it was almost impossible. Once I realized there was no real way I could record just my hands, I had to change gears. I couldn’t record my hands for 2 reasons. One being that I was using my hands to cross stitch, and the second being I actually couldn’t see what I was doing because I had to hold my materials further away from my face compared to how I usually do it. I ended up having to balance my phone off of a surface and using my water bottle to weigh it down at one point. I also had to flip the camera and get myself in the video which I did overall want to do, but ended up having to in order to show myself cross stitching. Needless to say – those Tik Tik videos are challenging to make. 

I used this YouTube video to help me combine all of my recordings together! It was a perfect video that explained every step needed to complete the Tik Tok.

Once I selected my recordings, chose an audio, and adjusted the clips, I was ready to post. I even added some text to my video as well. Here is my finished Tik Tok project!

As for my cross stitching project, I made my goal! I was able to finish the outline which was the goal I had set last week. The small details (THE EYES), were very challenging. The lady that I am making does not at all have a symmetrical face, but it is what it is. I am a little bit of a perfectionist so I am not too happy about how those small details turned out, but I am trying to remind myself that this is the first cross stitching project I have ever done so it’s okay if it’s not perfect!

Next week: We will see some colour!

This week I learned that the goal I set from last week was completely unrealistic. My original goal for this week, was to complete the outline of my cross stitching pattern. As I found out and even talked about in my last blog post, cross stitching is quite time consuming. I try to spent about 2 hours over the course of the week on my pattern for this project. Although I did get a lot done this week, I did not meet my goal. So, goal for next week: Finish my outline (for real this time).

As, you can see, actually did make quite a lot of progress from last week! I am officially half way done my outline. Do not look too closely, I repeat: DO NOT look to closely. The small details were extremely challenging I found. I thought the eye in the pattern was going to be the death of me – I’m not kidding. It was so hard to follow along with the pattern transferring it to my canvas. When cross stitching, your needle goes through both the front and the back of the canvas, so I found flipping from the front to the back and vice versa I was getting lost in where I was in the pattern. This resulting in my woman having what looks like a snake eye and what looks to be a broken nose. Ugh. I am very nervous to stitch the other eye, that one has a bit more stitching so I am scared my woman will end up looking like an ogre.

For this weeks resources, I found a cross stitching blog that including some tips for beginners! This blog includes a links to purchase different cross stitch patterns and even offers cross stitching courses to beginners! It helped me through some hiccups I was facing and got me interested in purchasing some new patterns! the blog has a link to their Etsy store where you can find SO many different cross stitching patterns. I also found this blog users Twitter which is excited as I can now follow her!

 One thing that I learned about cross stitching this week – it takes time. I have realized I need to make myself a little schedule to meet my goal by the end of EDTC 300! 

I found that once I got started, I was okay. The hardest part though was definitely getting started. I struggled the most with putting the canvas on the hoop! Was seems like an easy step was actually one of the hardest. The QR code that came with my beginner cross stitching kit I am using for this project was LOTS of help. Once I scanned this code with my phone, it brought me to a website with YouTube videos linked to it. The video walked me through each step in order to get started on my project. It was easy to follow and was chunked into different sections making it really easy to understand.

Once I got my Canvas (mostly) secure on my hoop I was able to get started! The video explained that cross-stitching is stitching actually crossed in order to make a picture. This is something that is quite obvious but I didn’t know. Once I got stitching my crosses, I was able to get into a zone – for the most part. There were times where I would have to unstitch a part and try again as my cross wasn’t exactly right. The cross stitching kit gives you a picture with what your project should look like. It has measurements and codes where each stitch and colour need to go making it easy to follow. You just need to count where to start from the middle part of your canvas. I was able to get my stitching mostly accurate. 

Goal for next week: Have my outline done (the black part).

For my learning project, I have decided to learn embroidery/cross stitching. My inspiration for this project was a gift I made for my partner for Christmas. My partner, David moved to Canada from Ireland with his family in 2014 and I wanted to make his a personalized gift for him.

I decided to stitch the island of Ireland into a painted canvas. This was my first time experimenting with embroidery, and I was actually very pleased with the results.

For my learning project I want to continue to learn and improve these skills. I went shopping to see if I could find any materials I could use for this project. At Winners, I actually found a beginners cross stitching kit.

This kit comes with all the supplies I need to complete this project. It even comes with an online component which fits perfectly with this courses objectives. A QR code is included in this kits instructions for easier learning for beginners!

My learning project plan is to begin with this cross-stitch beginner’s kit using the tutorial videos included in the instructions. Since this is my first experience with this kind of cross stitching, I feel like I will need additional support. I plan to use YouTube videos to help me during my learning for this project. I found a YouTube video for beginners who are starting their cross stitching journey. Once I complete this project, I plan to complete another beginner cross stitch pattern. Once I am comfortable with this type of cross stitching, I plan to create my own cross stitch/embroidery pattern just like the one I made for David.