Italian Bistro Embroidery: Counted Cross Stitch

Finished Product as Advertised

My latest embroidery project - after the large underwater scene (pics soon!), I am so amped up to get this newest counted cross stitch embroidery project finished and hanging in my home. Here's a few shots that I wanted to post to keep track of my progress over the last few months.

I love the meticulousness of counted cross stitch, probably for the same reason that I love doing pen and ink pointilisms. There's just something so real about it that you need to walk up close to see the stitching that makes up an image.

August, 2011 Shot of Embroidery In-Progress

I also love working on scenes like this that unfold before your eyes - in every case, I know what the outcome looks like because of the package cover, and I'm staring at the instructional chart and coloring in my progress. But to really see the image come out of the cloth because of the colors I'm stitching and how I'm stitching them, it's the coolest thing. It definitely takes a lot of patience to realize the final product, but it's a great project that produces such an amazing result.

September, 2011 Shot of Embroidery In-Progress

I like to work on projects that reflect my life that I can work on in my "spare time". This bistro scene reflects my love for my time living in Italy, and an ongoing reminder that I need to go back. My next piece is going to be a woman artfully holding a basket of flowers - I've never done a portrait embroidery before, and I'm excited to get to it. For my next progress post, I'll be sure to include an image of that!