Wow I hate backstitching

Picked, fixed, ready to backstitch

But in miraculous news, I was going through a box of fabric from my childhood home and found a cross stitch project my grandmother was working on before her arthritis made her stop AND a project I abandoned years BEFORE I started the lighthouse. I can't believe this was here the whole time.

The lighthouse is looking a little better after a few days in the Q snap, especially at the top. I think it probably needs a little more time though

The frame has arrived! I'm going to let the lighthouse rest in it for a few days, and then maybe backstitch this weekend? No promises

I ordered a Q Snap for the lighthouse to try to get the stretch out before I do the backstitching, and am waiting for that to arrive. Designing something fun in the mean time!

She's out of the hoop! Going to do the backstitching, clean it, iron it and get it framed. But first maybe rig something up to get the stretch out? I'll think about it.

The final stitch

With no space left to secure my needle, I will have to finish stitching in next sitting

It happened! The corner is stitched!

The question haunting me now: what will I do next?

Closer...

Not yet, but almost

Not a huge shift, as I don't have much fabric left to work with. But I can definitely reach the corner now

About to move the hoop one last time 🥹

I'll have a water on the rocks, please.

I thought maaaybe I could finish without moving the hoop again, but I'm already feeling crammed at the bottom

Of course I would never have made it this far if I didn't enjoy detangling knots on some level

Good stitching this morning

Getting a lot of knots and snags lately for some reason, but slow progress is still progress

A bit of shadow makes a huge difference

Another day, another colour

Time to reveal my secret shame: I left this in the hoop for years and it got a big rust stain that I will deal with... later

Small rock update

Rocks are coming along nicely

The beginning of the end

Fixed some mistakes and added some stitches I missed - NOW I'm almost finished the waves (on the last colour!)

And some more visible progress today. Soon I'll start the last of the rocks.

Some invisible progress today

I definitely need to buy an iron anyway, so maybe I'll get a frame while I'm at it

Will my little hoop be big enough? Do I have to buy a frame?

I'm nervous to admit how nervous I am about backstitching

The waves are almost finished! 🤩😭

Shout out to my bent old needle: sharp enough to catch the holes in the aida, but dull enough that it doesnt hurt me. A balanced eye that's easy to thread without increasing the needle's width. And something about the curve makes it go exactly where I want it to. 🪡

I think I'll only have to move the hoop one more time.

Getting quite close to the end now

Small progress

See? Much neater.

Bottom is looking a little wonky but I trust it will straighten itself out

Reaching for the bottom

Shall I move the hoop and continue to the right? Or head straight to the bottom while I'm here?

Some more rock

A rock has a shadow

Splash made; time to move the hoop

It's been more than 20 years since I finished a cross stitch, and I'm starting to get a bit sad.

I think I'm past the 7/8 point

Making this splash is taking a long time though

Making a splash

Picked it and fixed it

Oh wait I just realized I've been stitching the wrong colour 🤦‍♀️