Super Size Cross Stitch

Do you ever start a project and fall in love with it immediately?  That's exactly how I felt throughout my latest project.  Something about it was just so therapeutic.

Let me start by saying, I have never cross stitched before.  Ever.  I haven't let that stop me in any of my other projects (thank goodness for YouTube) and I wasn't about to start now.

All of the funky/retro cross stitch I have seen on Etsy and Pinterest got me thinking about creating my own version.  This one by Glitter and Wit really caught my eye. 

But I wanted something bigger.  No, make that BIGGER!

I started thinking about what type of canvas I could use to create my super sized cross stitch and came up with the idea of a pegboard.  It is cheap, can be cut to size and has the holes pre drilled.  My next stop was Home Depot where I picked up this 2' by 4' board for only $6.

By this point my imagination was in overdrive. I had a million different ideas about what image to create, and still might splash out on another peg board just so I can try some more options:

spell out Love
or Guest (to go above the bed in the guest room)
or Wash for the laundry room
an arrow with Exit below it for the hallway
an allover pattern - maybe a chevron (could also be used as a headboard)
paint the board a dark colour and use a white yarn (this would better disguise the remaining holes)

I initially decided to go with "Guest" and I started out by trying to sketch the letters onto the back of the board. 

Mistake number one.  I quickly learned that a grid was the way to go to work out what I was going to cross stitch.  I counted out the holes on my pegboard and made a grid by resizing an Excel sheet with the same number of squares.  I really wanted it to look like script, so changed my plan to "hello".  I had bought some brown fuzzy yarn about 6 months ago from Big Lots for only $1 a ball.  As with most things I end up buying, I had no idea at the time what I was going to use it for, but the thickness and texture were perfect for my over sized cross stitch.

Like a giant fuzzy caterpillar.

After the first night it was beginning to take shape.  I'm sure someone who was an accomplished cross-stitcherererer could knock this out in a night.  The fuzz on the carpet when I was finished was crazy, it looked like little Murph had been shaved! I'm amazed there was an fuzziness left! 

It took me 2 nights in total to complete it - luckily it was easy to pull out any mistakes or areas that didn't look quite right and correct them.  Had I had more yarn I would have made the Ls a little taller and had planned to do an extended loop into the H and out of the O. 

I do love how it turned out, especially as the whole thing came in under $10.

A super sized canvas called for an extra thick yarn.

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Kate

xxx



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