Review: Yiotas Xstitch

I recently was contacted by Yiota Xstitch and asked to do an "intitial impressions" review of their kits. I received the Geisha with Daughter kit from in the UK. 

Shipping took about a week to get to the US. That's pretty fast, I think. Even though there was cardboard in the envelope, the PO managed to bend it a little. Why is it when you put "Do Not Bend", it always gets bent?

The kit was packaged in a resealable clear plastic envelope. The design photo appears to be computer generated (scanned image converted to cross stitch). It would've been nice to see a true photo of the chart stitched up. From a distance, the color photo looks fine. Up close the transitions from the shaded areas to nonshaded areas is not very smooth, and detail is lacking.


The design photo and chart are original (not photocopied) and printed on high quality A4 paper. What's really nice is that the chart is printed large enough to see the black and white symbols easily. Charts are available to purchase separately, if you don't want a kit.

The kit comes with Madiera cotton thread wound on bobbins and labeled. I've never used Madiera before, but it feels really good to the touch! Having it pre-wound on bobbins is a big plus for me. The chart also has DMC conversions, which is nice.

The kit comes with a generous piece of 14ct aida. My design size is 8 x 11 1/2". The aida that came with it was 15 x 17". Plenty big enough. I think it would be nice if evenweave was offered as an alternative, even if it increases the cost a little.

A needle comes with the kit, too. It was stuck into the edge of the fabric. Since I don't plan on stitching it up right away, I put the needle in a tiny ziploc bag left over from one of the other kits I've done.

Yiota's website says if you're not happy with the purchase, you can return it for a refund -- no questions asked.

Marvelous Monday Update 10/3/2011

YUM-YUMS
Do you like the pretzels from the mall or fairs/festivals? The BF and I made these from scratch yesterday:



SCHOOL
It's the last week of the semester. Yay!!! This class certainly has kept me busy. This week I have four chapters of textbook reading plus homework for each, two postings and reponses to other student postings, and of course the FINAL exam. Last week students were able to rate courses and leave commentary. Overall, I thought the instructor was pretty good, but I did leave comments regarding the overwhelming amount of homework, and the fact that he expected us to turn it all in on time (or get a grade of ZERO) yet his timeliness of grading homework was sorely lacking. We'd get our grades anywhere from two to four weeks after we had to turn them in.

GIVEAWAY
Carolyn at Taking One Stitch at a Time is hosting a Halloween Giveaway in celebration of her blogversary. Hurry, hurry. It ends Oct 7th.

STITCHY STUFF
There's been some questions regarding the flowers and confetti stitches I'm doing on Blossom Splendor, so I thought I'd show a close-up pic:

So far, I've done close to 100 of those pesky confetti stitches.

I was able to finish another page! I only have the bottom portion of her kimono left to stitch.


I've started some of the backstitched details using Krienik #4 Very Fine braid. It sure does make those areas sparkly.



Until next time,

Marvelous Monday Update 9/26/2011

Marvelous indeed! I became a Great Aunt over the weekend!! Six weeks early, what a tiny little bundle he is. Mom and Baby are doing well.

As you can see, he has his Daddy's first name and his maternal grandfather's (my brother) middle name. Since he's so tiny, no one is allowed to hold him yet. He's being fed through a feeding tube, but everything is developed and he breathes on his own.

SCHOOL
In other good news... I finished my term paper! It's a huge relief to have it done-done-done. I also got 100% on my quiz. The "only" schoolwork I have this week is two chapters of reading, homework, and two postings. Two more weeks to go for this semester... Woo Hoo!!

GIVEAWAYS
Aurelia of Eglantine Stitchery is hosting her first ever Christmas-themed giveaway. Stop on over and check it out. While you're there, also take a look at her beautiful stitching!

CELESTE
I gave Celeste part of a cracker and look what she does:

She walks around the house with it hanging out of her mouth. I think eventually she ate it. If not, I'll find a cracker somewhere.

STITCHY STUFF
I finished Part 5 of the iStitch SAL. We're at the halfway point now.


I also found a bit of time here and there to put a few stitches into Blossom Splendor. So far I've done almost 90 confetti stitches.



Until next time,

Confessions of a Stitcher

A recent question on one of the Yahoo groups prompted my confession. The question was asked:

"We all have WIP/UFO'S, all the best stitchers do.
How long have you been stitching each project?"
Now I do realize that I don't have as many WIP's and UFO's as some of my stitchy acquaintances, but the ones I do have are getting up there in age. Time does fly, doesn't it?

Without further adieu, I confess. My name is Meari. I have the following UFO's/WIP's:

Elegance of the Orient -- started 2001 or 2002
Japanese Garden -- started in 2006
Simply Elegant -- started 2009
Blossom Splendor -- started 12/2010
iStitch SAL -- started 08/2011


ELEGANCE OF THE ORIENT
This was the first Dimensions kit I'd ever used. Prior to this, I kitted up my own projects. The threads had to be sorted. The fabric is 18ct aida. There is a fine gold thread which is a pain to work with. It was also my first asian-inspired piece. As I stitched it, it just wasn't looking like I thought it should. Over the years, it got pushed aside for other projects while I tried to decide what to do. I lost the chart not once, but twice! Luckily, Dimensions has sent me replacements both times. I am probably going to start this over on evenweave. Does it still count as a UFO if I'm going to start it over? LOL What it's supposed to look like is HERE.

SIMPLY ELEGANT
SCISSOR CASE
Lorri Birmingham is the designer of this kit. I've always thought her elegant designs were really pretty. I used to take this kit with me to do during my lunch hour whenever I worked out of town in another office. I stopped working out of town in December 2009. And stopped working on it. (LOL, that just happens to be a coincidence.) I am not fast at specialty stitches -- they are not my favorite either. I love how they look, just don't like doing 'em. With that said, I have to really have time to concentrate on the stitches, hence why it's taking me so long to finish this tiny project.

JAPANESE GARDEN
I was so excited to start this piece back in 2006. It is the first project I'd ever used evenweave on. It is stitched with silk threads, has specialty stitches, and beaded -- also all new to me at the time. It is one of those pieces I really have to have a big block of time to be able to work on because I have to read the directions several times to figure out what goes where and how. Once I do get going, I find I really do enjoy stitching it. All the WIP pics can be seen HERE.

BLOSSOM SPLENDOR
Ever since I saw her on the cover of a magazine, I wanted her -- to stitch her, that is! In 2009, Viv granted my wish by RAK'ing me the magazine. After hand-dyeing the fabric myself, I started this project in December 2010. Working on it steadily since, my plan is to have it completed by the end of this year. Progress pics can be seen HERE. It's amazing to see a project come to life!

iStitch Mystery SAL
I've been a reader of Carol's iStitch blog for several years. When I saw that she was going to open up her Mystery SAL to an additional 25 people, I jumped on the opportunity. It's a pretty tiny piece, only about 3 1/2 x 5". I'm stitching it over-one on an unknown brand of linen. I'm using a varigated Anchor thread called "Flame". I will probably re-stitch it once the SAL is finished because I'm really not liking how big the holes are on the linen... and I'm not sold on the color. Love the design though!

So there you have it... My secrets exposed, confessions out for the world to see. Now, what's YOUR confession?

Marvelous Monday Update 9/19/11

SCHOOL
This past week was the easiest of weeks since the semester started. The next three weeks will be busy with homework, quiz, term paper, and finals. This week, I need to register for my LAST class. Woo Hoo!

4 FINISHES!
Different kind of stitchy finishes, but fun nonetheless. It's been ages since I pulled out the sewing machine to do anything other than clothing repairs. To actually "create" was a lot of fun!

Baby Bibs!
One side is cotton, the other side is flannel. Aren't they the cutest? I didn't have a live model, so I opted for the next best thing:


Now, don't laugh at her. She's been "well loved". My Dad brought her home when I was two years old. As my Mom tells it, she was taller than I was. Can you picture a two-year old dragging around a doll bigger than herself? It's no wonder the poor baby doesn't have hair on the back of her head! I still remember her new in the box. I don't remember the clothes she had on, but she came with regular clothes and pastel orange footie pajamas and a bottle that she could hold. Over the years, I lost her clothes and substituted real baby clothes. I used to have an entire suitcase of clothes for her and my baby doll baby. As you can see, at some point I decided she needed a manicure.

This brings me to a question: Do you have any toys from your childhood?

During my sewing escapade, I had to dig through my tubs of fabric.


Some of it is vintage, some is yardage, some are fat quarters. I realized (yet *another* project) that I need to get it more organized so that I can see at a glance what I have if I want to finish a stitched project, or sew something. I got as far as this in organization:


These are folded into fat quarter size (and is only a small portion of my fabric stash). Does anyone have good ideas for storage? I store my fabric bins in an unfinished basement in sealed tubs to keep out creepy-crawlies and protected from water seepage that sometimes occurs.




RAK'd
Jenn from This Witch's Stitches sent me a dragonfly chart. I am thinking about stitching it as a scissor fob. Thank you, Jennifer!






STITCHY STUFF
Over the past couple weeks, a few of my readers have asked about the color floss I'm using the the iStitch SAL. It's a varigated Anchor floss (1315) called "Flame".



Carol sent out Part 4 on Friday and I stitched it up last night.


I stitched a bit on Blossom Splendor, too. Soon, I'll be starting another page!


I did have a stitchy finish, but I can't show it until it arrives at its new home. I finished the "Words of Christmas" HOE ornament.

GIVEAWAY WINNER
If you've made it this far, you're probably wondering "Who's the winner?!?" I used the Random Number Generator thingy (so much easier than putting names in a hat!). The winner is Lynn in TX!

On September 15, 2011 Linda said...
I don't know....3 years? I could go back and look I guess. I love the weekly updates, love your writing style, and especially loved the Boyfriend Chronicles....it's always an upper! Keep it going.

Congratulations, Lynn! Please email me with your address and I'll get the package out to you. Thanks for being a reader all these years! (P.S. I think it's been longer than 3 years, LoL)

Sidebar: The first person to comment on my blog when I started it six years ago, still reads and comments on my blog today. :)

Until next time,