Very first swap.

I had so much fun participating in Wild Olive's first Stitch Swap. I didn't want to post any pictures in the Flickr group (or here, though I think I was just being paranoid because she didn't know anything about me except my name) until I knew my partner had received her package, because I wanted her to be surprised. :) Well, according to the delivery confirmation, the package was delivered yesterday.

As soon as I got the name and information about "my person," I did some investigating. I felt a lot like a stalker, hunting around someone's Tumblr and Flickr to gather information about what they're interested in. :) But it was fun. I still didn't feel like I had enough to go on, so I ended up contacting her to ask a few questions.

I found out that she loves the Lord of the Rings movies. I'm a fan, too, so I started thinking about some of the awesome quotes from the films. At first I imagined this elaborate hobbit hole door that would open up to something inside, but that got a little complicated. So I decided to embroider this funny quote from Gandalf.

I used some LOTR-ish font from my parents' computer and traced it out. Stitching the quote actually went a lot faster than I expected it to, because the words are so tiny and with this font, I didn't want the letters to look too perfect.

It looked a little plain with just the quote, so I added some leafy green vines. And then I realized that everything was green, so I added some blue flowers.

I didn't have any ribbon in the right shade of green, and I didn't want to just paint the hoop because I wanted texture. So I used this idea and wrapped it in fabric strips. I really love how it turned out. :)

The letters are done in backstitch. The vines are split stitch, the leaves are lazy daisy, and the flowers are French knots.

It was a little challenging deciding what to stitch when it has to fit into a 4 inch hoop! You have pretty limited space. :) When I look at some of the beautiful, intricate pieces in the group pool, I almost forget that they're fitting into such a small hoop.

The swap is for one 4 inch embroidered piece, but Mollie said we could include extra goodies if we wanted to. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to. And when I saw all of the cute pictures of my person's son wearing a Buzz Lightyear costume, I knew the little something extra should be for him. :) So I actually made this before I had even decided what to make for my partner.

I'm so proud of it! :) My first self-designed cross stitch piece. I found some pictures of Buzz and printed out some 14 count graph paper (after attempting to design it on a larger count and then downsize it, which didn't go so well). It took a bit of time, and a lot of erasing and counting squares, to get the proportions right, but I love how it turned out.

I used metallic thread on his helmet. I think the way he's standing and his big goofy grin are very Buzz Lightyear-ish. :)

I'm anxiously watching the mail for a package from my partner. :) This was so much fun, and I definitely want to do another swap very soon.

Have any of you ever done any craft swaps before? Craftster has had some really amazing ones in the past.
 

Until next time,