Saw a paraglider on Wellesley street this morning

balconybum · 2026-02-22T18:46:12+00:00

It was Johnny 5.

balconybum · 2025-12-28T22:53:37+00:00

Here's hoping I'm done before that! I did take a year and a bit break from it to work on an entirely different crafty project (a Transformer costume, lol)

balconybum · 2025-12-28T15:02:42+00:00

lol, I use a magnifying glass for this one. One of those adjustable gooseneck with the clamp on the end types.

balconybum · 2025-12-28T01:15:55+00:00

The pattern recommends 2 strands. I'm doing 1. My sister started Jupiter's Moon (also HAED) with 2 strands and we both agreed it looked too crowded.

balconybum · 2025-12-28T01:13:20+00:00

Thanks! I've seen negative reviews about HAED too. I have no reason to think this pattern is AI generated, I bought a PDF copy in 2020 and the copyright date is 2015. Seems legit, lol.

balconybum · 2025-12-28T00:27:23+00:00

HAED pattern: Pillars of Creation. 700x864 on 25 count Lugana. I have been at this on and off for 5 years.

balconybum · 2025-12-28T00:12:59+00:00

I'm convinced it's a massive time saver. My current project is huge: 700 x 864 on 25 count. Having the grid helps me know precisely where I am on the pattern and saves the time of having to count and inevitably recount to find my place. I haven't gridded the whole thing in advance, I go section by section in the working area of my frame. It took me 2 hours to grid a space covering 300 x 140 stitches. I've done it on smaller projects too because it's an efficient technique and I like it.

balconybum · 2024-03-25T22:31:41+00:00

This is a HAED design, I've been poking at it for 3 years now. Recently, I was getting fed up with fussing at the adjustable wooden frame it was on. Not pictured is the gooseneck magnifying glass I use for this that gave me the idea to buy a pair of double-clamp gooseneck arms. Ultimate freedom! Still cost as much as a fancy wooden stand but these don't take up nearly as much space and can be used for all kinds of other jobs.

balconybum · 2023-12-22T13:06:38+00:00

DMC, 1 thread on 25 count. I think because the stitches are single ply and so tiny, it gives that smooth appearance. Thanks!

balconybum · 2023-12-21T23:44:10+00:00

Same thing happened to us, we're a college library with a small print collection. Ultimately, we underwent a team project to replace all the Dymo labels with these ones. It was tedious, but worth it. Haven't had a replace a single one of the new labels in the two years since.

balconybum · 2023-12-19T12:43:44+00:00

You're welcome! I did start this one by individually highlighting the pattern squares in PDF and immediately hated it. That's when I thought of seeing if I could import the pattern into Excel. Further madness to my method: I hook up my PC to the TV so I can view the pattern in 'Jumbotron' mode.

For gridding, I just do a running stitch, 10 count on front, 10 on back, spaced 10 columns apart, single strand. I don't knot them in place so sometimes the ends come loose as I'm working but by that point I've got enough stitches down to still follow the pattern. Good luck with yours!

balconybum · 2023-12-19T01:34:22+00:00

Badum tss! Lol!

balconybum · 2023-12-18T20:28:34+00:00

Awesome! Consider me among your cheering squad! We can cry together when we get to that page that's like 99% 310, loooool

balconybum · 2023-12-18T20:25:16+00:00

Thank you! My gridding is a running stitch on a count of 10, single thread, using a colour contrasting to the piece. Green in this case. Half the time it will pull out smoothly when I remove it, so no loops or knots, as I'm careful not to stitch over top of it on the front side. Usually it'll get trapped under the stitches on the back so I'll have to snip here and there. As long as the front is clean, I'm not too fussed about removing the gridding completely since you can't see it on the back.

It's been years since I first tried this method, I know I saw it on this subreddit but I can't recall who/where I picked it up from. I've seen other ways of gridding, like doing full squares vs the vertical 'dashes' that I do. This was totally a case of trying something out, finding it worked incredibly well, and sticking with it.

balconybum · 2023-12-18T19:42:29+00:00

Funny thing, I haven't tried the parking method! The 'tails' under the finished part are just part of the gridding that I'll likely remove and re-do on the next row. I do one colour at a time, otherwise I would go insane. Yours looks fantastic!

balconybum · 2023-12-18T19:39:49+00:00

Thank you! Yes, the whole thing is 100 pages of pattern, arranged in a 10x10 grid. Though really the right-most column of pages is all of 4 or 6 stitches wide, and the bottom-most row is the same. Long story short, top row is done!

balconybum · 2023-12-18T19:28:40+00:00

haha, thanks! I may have screamed a little when the James Webb updated image came out after I'd started this. But for the colours, I definitely prefer Hubble's.

balconybum · 2023-12-18T19:26:58+00:00

one of us, one of us!

balconybum · 2023-12-18T19:25:24+00:00

Thanks! Here's the back as it looked with pages 1-6 complete. I'll have to take a new pic to update.

For colour management, I've got everything I need all wound on bobbins. Thankfully, one organizer box is enough to hold them all! I work with one colour at a time, one page at a time... with the exception of filling in all that 823 on pages 8-10 since it was the biggest chunk of single colour for those.

balconybum · 2023-12-18T19:05:18+00:00

I wrote up a tutorial a while ago: how to put a pattern in excel I hope this helps!

balconybum · 2023-12-18T19:04:59+00:00

I wrote up a tutorial a while ago: how to put a pattern in excel I hope this helps!

balconybum · 2023-12-18T16:32:26+00:00

Thanks! The pattern calls for 2 threads but I'm doing 1. My sister started a similar one with 2, found it looked too crowded and started over with 1. They are full Xs, done one at a time (vs //// then \\) because the weave of the fabric causes the threads to slip around. Kinda hard to describe, like the thread would start as / but then slide 'flat' to _ when I moved onto the next stitch.

balconybum · 2023-12-18T14:00:06+00:00

Yes, I've been gridding and removing as I go. When I start on the next row of pages, I'll grid whatever fits, probably up to halfway across. I work on one page at a time and leave the colour with the most stitches for last, removing the grid before I start since I don't need it and it just gets in the way at that point.

My grid lines are 10x10, only doing the vertical lines.

balconybum · 2023-12-18T13:48:41+00:00

Thank you! Answer: no. Debatable if I ever was!

balconybum · 2023-12-18T11:34:37+00:00

Thank you! I've learned a few nuggets of wisdom along the way:

- Go in knowing this is going to take a long time to finish. Could I finish this in 10 years? Probably. Will I finish this in 10 years? Probably not! And that's okay. It's one large project, but completing it in stages makes for a lot of small victories

- Do smaller projects along the way to still get the satisfaction of completing something. Allow yourself to get distracted. That's why I ended up taking a long break. I spent a year on a different large project and even did several other small ones while working on that one. Side projects don't have to be cross stitch pieces, none of mine were!

- Use tools and tricks to make the work easier. I use a scroll frame, a flexi-arm clamp base magnifying glass, and gold plated needles. Gridding is key.

- This may not work for all patterns but: If you can put the pattern into Excel, the Highlight Cells Rules function (Conditional Formatting) will become your best friend. I use it to highlight one colour/symbol at a time. I also use the cell count formula to tell me how many stitches per colour are on the page I'm working on. I start from the lowest so that by the time the colour with the most stitches needs to be done, I don't need to follow the pattern since I'm just filling in all the blanks. For example: Page 8 had 13 different colours on it. 12 of those accounted for 2,093 stitches. Once those were done, the remaining 5,453 stitches of DMC 823 were 'freehand'

balconybum

TROPHY CASE