Cross Mondays week #2

Here I am on week 2 of Cross Mondays.  

So far this cross stitch is progressing very differently to how they usually do because I'm wanting to extend the pattern - something I haven't done before!

Usually you start a pattern in the middle.  The patterns themselves have the middle marked on them, so all you need to do is find the middle of the fabric and get started.

But not for me as I don't know where the middle of my pattern is!  The original design would measure at 52cm x 46cm.  My design won't be any wider but ignoring the top and bottom border, my design will be a third longer.  I don't know how wide the border is so I am over estimating my design at being 70cm x 46cm.  

The lovely folk at the Historical Sampler Company sent me a piece of fabric measuring 107cm x 70cm.  I decided that I would start my pattern in the top left hand corner and work around the outside and then in to the middle, where my changes will be.  This meant I had to measure 18cm down and 12cm in from the edge to find my starting point!

So that's where I started nearly two weeks ago!  I started with the dark red which creates a single line of crosses around the whole edge of the design.  I would be impossible to accurately count the correct number of stitches needed for this border so I just stitched far enough to reach the first flower which also contained this red.  When this thread ran out, I swapped to mild gold which formed the stem of all the flowers around the border.  It was quite a hard pattern to follow not helped by the pale colour so after a couple of strands I swapped to the bright green which was not only easier to see but also had a much simpler pattern to follow meaning that once I had done a few I could copy what I had stitched and didn't need to look at the pattern until I reached the corner.

The pattern has 11 of these flowers along the top and bottom edges, and 13 flowers going down either side.  The flowers repeat in a pattern of 4 so this is where I am able to gain the extra length for my design, meaning I will have 17 flowers on each side.

Its a long slow process doing the border.  I'm usually buoyed on by the fact that I have nearly finished the piece and its the final touches which makes it look ace.  I will be strange to have a frame which I am filling in and I must admit the novelty is beginning to wear off!