My mom taught me to cross-stitch when I was very young. It continues to be one of my favorite hobbies because it’s so calming – almost a combination of meditation and puzzle-solving. My technique has grown with the years and now I love to do what Rich calls “high definition cross stitch,” where I take my own images, create a custom pattern, and then stitch it on tiny tiny squares. The key to doing it right is being properly supervised by the appropriate feline!
High Definition Cross-stitch: The Cat Collection
Our cats are very special to us, and I found that cross-stitching these was such a comfort after Goldilocks and Squirt crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Precious is my parents’ cat, and her project was my gift for their 50th wedding anniversary.
For some of these projects, I took pictures at regular intervals and stitched them together to create progression timelapse videos.
High Definition Cross-stitch: The First Projects
These were my first adventures into high-definition cross-stitch. I did the Sandhill Crane nest first, featuring one of my favorite images of the day I saw a baby Sandhill Crane hatch. The image depicts the parent and older sibling watching over the tiny hole (pip) in the egg. I learned from this project that I do not enjoy doing 25-count stitching on black fabric!
For my next project, I created a pattern based on a turtle puzzle by Sherry Vintson. It’s a 182,000 stitch full coverage piece that I did on 25-count Easy Grid fabric. It was so much easier stitching on white fabric, and I found that Easy Grid combined with Pattern Keeper is amazing!
Older Projects
These were my first ventures into custom cross-stitch designs. I did these on Aida in the early 2010s. Computer software for pattern creation has come a long way since then, and the new expanded DMC floss color set seems to help with color blending.
