Floss Friday -- Cross Stitch Update, Haul and Chart Organization

Happy Friday, Friends!

Patriotic stitching has my focus again, now that Valentine’s Day has passed.  Salute to Abigail is back on the frame and I am enjoying this stitch very much.

I believe that last time I shared my progress was back in December…yikes!

This is where I am as of today…

I am not happy with my white stitches. I've tried three different threads so far. I'll have to make a decision before adding anymore. I am a little behind but should catch up to my self-imposed monthly assignment this weekend. Then I am going to get back to the American Sampler. 

Haul

Mirabilia Cross-Stitch published two charts back in 2001 that caused quite a frenzy in the cross-stitch community. Queen of Freedom and Lady of the Flag were very popular and when the charts were retired, they could only be found on the after-market. Prices soared; some sellers had them listed on Ebay for hundreds of dollars. Yes, hundreds!

Queen of Freedom

Lady of the Flag

In honor of America's 250th anniversary, Mirabilia offered a limited release. Shops were only allowed 25 copies of each to sell. Some shops used a lottery system to determined which customers got one or both. Some shops sold them on a first-come, first-served basis.

I was fortunate enough to get both charts, along with the bead packs and fabric. The threads are DMC and easy to get so there was no need to make a special pack of those. My dealer cross-stitch store, as usual, is GaRon Stitchery.

I'll be stitching both charts on 30-count linen by The Primitive Hare. This is called Constitution. 

My fabric. This photo doesn't show true color :(

Image Source

Organization

I’ve mentioned before that my organizing / purging project is slow-going. However, I thought I would show you how I’ve organized my cross-stich charts.

One of my favorite things is a spreadsheet…are you surprised?!? I have one Excel workbook that contains a few different sheets. One sheet is an inventory of all the charts / books I own. I can sort by chart name, designer, season/category, the format (pdf or physical), whether it is kitted or not, and if it is a WiP, FO or FFO.

Another sheet lists all the charts I’ve started, the pertinent dates and which stage they are in currently…again, WiP, FO or FFO.

Then there is the table, by year, that keeps track of how many starts, WiPs, FOs and FFOs I have. This is the one I share in my year-end stats post.

The physical charts are kept in binders, filed alphabetically by designer. I use sheet protectors for single patterns.

These magazine holders for binders are for books that are too large to fit in a sheet protector.

I use my Brother P-touch to make labels for the binders.

The binders are kept in the printer cabinet in my craft area. The two binders on the right hold quilting and sewing patterns.

The electronic (pdf) charts are kept in folders by designer on the laptop.

A new quilt along starts today and I’ll share all about it on Monday.  In the meantime, enjoy the weekend ahead.

See you soon,