CRAFTY | ANZAC POPPY FROG XSTITCH

…it’s not an ANZAC with a poppy…

At the last Canberra Quilters Exhibition I hit the trade hall and dropped a little coin on some needlework kits. One of the kits that caught my attention was the Tree Frog Trio from Dimensions.

…see, would an ANZAC wear purple?…

You see my Mother is a collector of the Evil Trio – you know see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.  Over the years she’s amassed quite the collection and so whenever I see anything to do with the Evil’s I either call her to see if she wants to buy it or I buy it for her.  (Gotta love having a collector in the family it makes buying presents so much easier!)

…ta da it’s a frog…

So when I found these Evil Frogs I decided it would be the perfect project for her upcoming birthday.  I had grand delusions of sitting while my new baby slept and stitching to pass the time in some relaxed zen like state. It totally didn’t happen.

…two down, one to go…

I managed to get some stitching done, but her birthday came and went, and then so did Christmas, and  I still didn’t have it finished.  Well I was determined not to let Mother’s Day go by without finishing this project and getting it to her.

I stole moments whenever I could to stitch the final touches on these evil little frogs.

I managed to finish them the weekend before Mother’s Day and miracle of all miracles I was able to get them in to be framed and then in the post on the Wednesday prior to Mother’s Day.  Talk about last minute.

I knew all along that I’d frame them. (My mother and I share a love of all things framed!)  Lucky for me HUBBY was able to drop it at the framer’s on his lunch break, and even luckier for me because of the advances in technology we were able to use sms photo’s to pick out the frame and mat together.

…the outline makes it come alive…

After much deliberation and many different colour variations we decided to go with a green mat to tie in with the frogs and the colour scheme my Mum has going on in her house.  I think it really works and I’m so happy with how it all came out in the end.  I’m just bummed it took me forever to finish it.

…so close to being done…

This project also taught me that I much prefer working on a rectangle frame than a hoop.  I hate how the fabric gets all scrunched up in the hoop and then the ring marks that get left.

…finally finished…

The only thing I kind of wish I had done was sign it some how.  Maybe with little initials on the bottom or something I don’t know… something to work on for next time!

…wrapped and ready to go to it’s new home…

I really hope my Mum loves it and she enjoys seeing it in her house. For some reason it makes me smile to think that even now, 36 years later, I’m still making her gifts.  Maybe next year I’ll make her another macaroni necklace….