When scrapbooking, sewing, and cross-stitching have a menage a trois
This is my sister's Christmas gift. She loves to cross-stitch but is crazy busy so usually doesn't have the time. For me, the most time consuming part of a project is the prep work. So I decided to take the prep work out of it for her: print the patterns, buy and sort the floss, even cut and tape the right size pieces of Aida cloth so all she'd have to do is thread a needle and go!
I chose The Millenium Cats by Pamela Kellogg. There are 13 cute kitties, one for each month and a birthday pattern. On 14 count Aida cloth, the largest was a little more than 3"x3". So fun little pieces that can be stitched up quickly.
I searched a bit for a pre-made binder that could hold floss and several patterns. Most seem to be made for one project only and I wanted to keep everything in one place. So as I usually do with these kinds of projects, I figured I could make exactly what I wanted on my own.
I started with a 12"x12" post bound scrapbook album (this one happens to be Pioneer brand) and bought additional page protectors (I needed 13 total). Then to the sewing machine! I used a ball point needle (the type for fleece), regular thread, and a medium stitch. The main pocket for the pattern and fabric is about 6 inches wide and the rows next to the main pocket are 2 inches across each. Going down, the lines are spaced about 2 1/2" apart. I back-stitched at the ends to keep the stitches from unraveling. I then used a pair of sharp scissors (Fiskars Soft Touch Micro Tip are my favorite) to carefully cut through one side of the plastic to allow the floss bobbin to slide in. As you can see in the top picture, I alternated which side the pattern was on (left or right) so that bulk of the floss bobbins would be spread evenly and the album would lay flatter.
I'm happy to say my sister really liked her gift and now I have nearly every color of DMC floss imaginable. hehe
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