Candlewick Embroidery - Floral Silhouette

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you are having a great New Year so far. It's extremely cold here....as in 22° low, 39° high. Granted, it is winter, I realize that, but I'm telling you that climate change is real. Our winter so far has consisted of days with 70° highs with a few cold days thrown in. 

We made live in the south, but I can tell a normal winter here consists of 30-50ish days. So to have odd days of 70° is not normal. Needless to say, having a random day of 22° should be normal, but isn't.

In other news, our dog Sam passed away after Christmas. We think he had distemper. It was sad to watch him pass so quickly. We thought he had a cold, but he became disoriented and weak and eventually stopped eating.

We don't plan on getting another dog as we are kept busy trying to keep our kitten Lily under control. She is a terror. I need to take her by the vet to update her shots and get her claws trimmed. She has an issue about trying to climb up your leg to get your attention.

Any one have tips on how to train a kitten to stop biting and clawing?!?! Lol

In crafting news, I bought a kit a while back that was on sale at Hobby Lobby. It was a candlewick embroidery kit.

Pattern: Floral Silhouette by Design Works Crafts

Threads: creme colored candlewick thread and a brown DMC thread

Start/Finish: 12/31/2016 - 1/2/2017

I had always loved seeing the various kits at the store. With some birthday money, I bought a kit when it was on sale.

This is my first attempt at candlewick embroidery. It wasn't a complete disaster, but I will honestly admit that my embroidery skills are below average!

The kit is by Design Works Crafts. It came with fabric, thread, and two needles, one for the candlewick thread and the other for the normal embroidery floss. My only complaint about the kit is that the pre-inked design does not come off when you wash the fabric after completing your stitching.

I tried soaking it in warm water and soap with no change to the inked lines. Then I put it through the washer on delicate, secured in a mesh laundry bag. I did that twice with no difference.

My sister, bless her, said the design looked fine with the white inked lines still there. Lol I disagree. When I stitched that part of the design, it was easier to stitch on the edge of the lines with the embroidery floss. So that's what I did, erroneously thinking the lines would wash out.

If I knew that I wouldn't be able to wash out the ink, I would have stitched through the center of the lines using six strands of floss instead of the recommended two strands.

Stitching on a kit for three days, only to find out that it can't be washed is just plain evil!! 

Sigh......the grumbling complaints of a stitcher. Lol

If (it's a big IF) I try this again, I think I would transfer a design using transfer pens that wash out.

I'm off to crochet for a bit before heading over to my aunt's house to celebrate my mom's birthday......hello, Italian creme cake (sadly, not homemade, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made).

Until next time >___<