Stash enchancement Sunday

So, the bits I ordered a while ago arrived earlier this week! Woot!

Firstly, a mill hill kit. I’ve loved the look of these for ages, but never remembered them when it came to actually ordering stuff online. This has now been remedied, and I sneakily added one to my order. Very excited to work on this, I just can’t decide whether I should do this on the paper they give or wait and do it on some plastic canvas??? Any suggestions from people? (If there are any cross stitch people reading this blog any more???)

The main point of the order was the A-Z Weddin sampler. One of my friends is getting married, and so naturally I need to make a wedding sampler. This one was the only one I particularly enjoyed the look of (the others all looked too old-fashioned for little young millenial me 😉 ), and when it arrived I was rather surprised to see that it has beads!!!!! And metallic thread, which I’m less thrilled about. I may or may not replace that with blending filament, depending on when I get around to starting (which I also haven’t decided on yet)… It also depends on whether I replace the fabric with something with a wider seam allowance…This is something I keep falling foul of, so I’m wondering whether I should just bite the bullet and replace kitted fabric with a larger piece as standard. I may look at standard size picture frames later before I decide. Or just get a frame custom made when I finish the piece. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

I also ordered an oval hoop. I’ve decided that my 2018 word of the year will be preparation. (Really, when you start thinking about it in October will any other word fit???) And I’ve decided that I should cross stitch the word each year and start a collection of words to live by. Then I started thinking that doing it in that style where you run out of space (like the plan ahead cross stitch I think it hilarious), but decided that wasn’t really what I was going for. So ‘Preparation’ will be done in black thread, serious style. It seems like a fairly serious word. I can’t actually make it until I go back to the parents because my big book of cross stitch alphabets is at home, but hey ho. I am prepared to make it when the time comes (I crack me up sometimes!)