Trying not to bite off more than I can stitch

[kate_nepveu]

So I've got this idea in my head that I want to cross-stitch a decoration for FutureBaby's room. We're eschewing most of the usual nursery decoration stuff (lamps? valences? no, thanks), but I haven't been able to shake the urge to make something.

Alas, what's available in stores tends to be "birth announcement" patterns or crib covers/quilts. The latter are stupid (you can't use them as bedding, which means they just take up space), and the former—well, I want to make something FutureBaby will (or may) like when old enough to, you know, actually see things, and what kid wants to see their name, date of birth, and birth weight on their wall? So while I initially was considering this animal-themed kit, I think I'm going to pass—not only is there the problem of what else to put in that top right corner, it's a design that probably doesn't age well. (If I wanted to do a stamped "crib cover", I could have a lion in that corner. But I don't, and that's that.)

So I spent way too much time poking around the web today, looking for kits or patterns. The results:

I am completely in love with an adaptation of Stewart Moskowitz's art called "Fish City". It would be so much fun. But it's 29" by 21", which means that FutureBaby would probably be in high school before it was done.

(I've finished one major cross-stitch project in my life, a "Celestial Angel" that was only 12" x 17". Which took forever, though I'm not sure precisely how long because that was back in college, or possibly high school. When I had much more free time, in other words.)

Which means this cute "Dragon Moon" design is also a no-go, since it's 16" x 22" and probably more complex than it looks, judging by the floss chart.

Dialing my ambitions down . . . some of the various alphabets (dinosaur, dragon (click image for decent picture), general animal) look manageable, but I'm not sure how well they age.

On the other hand, these little dragon charts ("Hello", "Little Friends", and "Butterflies") may not age any better, but they are so flippin' cute that I may not be able to resist. (Note to self: they are cheaper on eBay.) *works on suppressing feeling that I should stitch something more complex for FutureBaby*

Comments from cross-stitchers or people who know what kids tend to like in decorations are welcome.

Comments

[oyceter]

Hee! My first finished cross-stitch was a Celestial Angel as well!

I... am not really the best person for advice, because I have finished two cross-stitch things ever. Things I tend to look for: I am biased toward counted vs. printed, but that's my own personal preference. Things without too many colors, or with large and distinct color blocks are much easier to do. You may want to just make a trip to Michael's and see what's there? I've seen some kits that have printed backgrounds and counted foregrounds, so you get the prettiness of a night sky without having to cross-stich ACRES of black (no, I don't speak from painful experience, really...).

The little dragon charts are adorable! They probably won't age that well, but they could last into the pre-teens, depending on your kid's taste. Plus, cute and small!

Subversive Cross-Stitch is completely inappropriate, but I figure it'll be fun to look at after pages and pages of cute pastels ;).

[kate_nepveu]

Oh, I should've said, yes, I prefer counted, and yes, the comments about what's in stores was based on a thorough perusal of Michael's today.

Subversive Cross-Stitch was a good laugh earlier today, when I noticed it turning up as a Google suggested search.

(Go, celestial-angel stitchers!)

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

I miss stitching. I've not had much time lately, and when I do have time, I can only go for about 15 minutes at a time before my joints start arguing.

I stitched a Pooh Bear for Alex while he was brewing, and Ernie got a Tigger. They seem to have aged well. At least, they still have them on their walls - Pooh lives in the cello corner next to the signed photo of Yo-Yo Ma, and Tigger is nestled between posters of Hendrix and Santana.

I think on some level, it's not the what that matters to the kids so much as the "Mom made this for ME".

[kate_nepveu]

Very possible, but I'd like to cover both grounds if I could!

[thistleingrey.livejournal.com]

This sounds to me like a great idea. I vote for the dragon alphabet, since you'll see your work progress in obviously finished chunks (for myself I find that very handy as built-in incentive when I'm pressed for time) and because it's cool. Am I just not seeing the finished dimensions there? I also vote for something under the 9x9" range, assuming you use 14ct Aida; if you go with a finer grid, you might consider capping the project around 7-8" square (if you really want to finish by the time FutureBaby is born). Doesn't have to be big to look nice and to become a lovely keepsake.

My mother did some needlepoint from when I was embryonic till I was a toddler, but though I wanted vaguely to take something with me to college, it was impossible logistically to consider putting an 18 x 20something piece on the wall and risk having my roommate laugh at it.... (My mother quit working outside the home for several years when I was born, so she had the time.)

[kate_nepveu]

The dragon alphabet is 7"x8" or 100 stitches by 120. (The dimensions aren't there, but in other pages; I picked that page to link to because the picture was clearest.)

So, about half the size of the general animal alphabet. Not sure about the dino one, but I like that one least because of the colors.

[kate_nepveu]

Which means, on further reflection, that the general animal one is too big. Considering that it also needs to be imported from the UK, that's probably fine.

[thistleingrey.livejournal.com]

*nods*
One thing about colors: one can buy cotton embroidery floss in a comparable set / range of colors that one likes better. Might be easier to find a kit in colors one likes, but I've done it a few times....

[kate_nepveu]

It's more the range of colors with the dino one, and I doubt my design abilities extend as far as increasing *that*. But it's good to know for the future.

[rosefox]

I would recommend looking for books of cross-stitch elements and alphabets and then designing your own project. I'm all about the DIY, though. *)

[kate_nepveu]

Ah, another thing I forgot to say--I stopped at the main branch of our local library and didn't find anything in its books or magazines. I'm also not sure my brain is in the right state to attempt DIY for the first time. =>

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Kids tend to start off liking what you give them, and very soon they become people with individual taste. They go at astonising speed from a six year old who'll say with trembling awe "Mom, did you really make that for me?" to a twelve year old who'll ask if you could put it in the guest room so his friends don't jeer at it.

The thing Z liked best in his carefully decorated baby-room was a cover poster of Brian Aldiss's Heliconia Summer which had been there since the room was our study and which we didn't take down because we didn't have anywhere else to put it. He has never read HS, because he says he doesn't want it to spoil the way he imagined the story from looking at the picture. All of the animal alphabet, tree of life, teddy bear picnic pictures were appreciated fine, but that's what he loved.

[kate_nepveu]

Oh, certainly; I'm just hoping to find something with the largest *chance* of aging well. After growing up with the difference between my taste & my mom's, I know full well there are no guarantees . . .

[chomiji]

Kids really do tend to like what you give them for quite a while, and if something is on the nursery wall and is associated with comfort and Mom and Dad cuddling them, they'll want to keep it until they're feeling very independent.

Although this won't solve your cross-stitching yen, I decorated The Young Lady's nursery with calendar pictures I'd saved from fantasy calendars of years past: for example, Tara Treetops here from Kit Williams' Masquerade. I put them in inexpensive frames from a craft store. Once she got opinionated and wanted to hang her own things (about age 10), I moved them to the rec room and the guest room.

I'd go for something dragon-ish for your project. Dragons age well as long as the aren't too puffy and pastel. Those green dragons ("Hello" etc.) would probably go well until FutureBaby was well into grade school, and if you make a pair or the whole set, they might be fun in a hallway, powder room, or family room in the future.

[kate_nepveu]

It's not a big room, but we have a couple existing small framed prints that might also go well in it, one of a polar bear & cub painting, and another of a castle turning into a dragon (or possibly the other way around--it's in a room that's very rarely used).

And yeah, if I do the green dragons, I'll do all three and hang them as a group.

[mdevnich.livejournal.com]

Oh, the dragon alphabet is so cute! If you're worried about time, you could spell out FutureBaby's name instead of the whole alphabet... oh, but then you'd have to wait to start. Duh.

I have half a dozen projects ongoing, where "ongoing" means "have not worked on for a very long time". The one I most want to pick back up is the Japanese embroidery, which I started at a class I took in Atlanta... almost 4 years ago.

[kate_nepveu]

I couldn't decide, so ended up ordering both the little green dragons and the dragon alphabet; they're just patterns, and in case whichever goes faster than I expect, or I'm really motivated . . .

I believe I have a small piece all-but-done from . . . at least six years ago . . . but I don't want to finish it, I want to do dragons!

[mdevnich.livejournal.com]

Finishing isn't glamorous; starting new projects is!

[kate_nepveu]

I would've said "exciting" (it's _cross-stitch_, after all), but yeah, that is the problem . . .