July 25th, Rudolph Day...

Another month has flown by!  The last couple of weeks have felt really busy, but I couldn't necessarily think of a thing that I have accomplished.  This summer's heat has been dragging me down.  It seems to get harder to endure every year.  Two more months before we start cooling off.  Two more months...

Now for this month's Rudolph Day project.  As you may recall, I am using the 25th of each month from now until Christmas to do something, either craft or chore, to be a little more prepared when the Christmas season arrives.

For this month's project I decided to pull out the cross stitch piece that you may remember from last year.  I worked on it while my mother-in-law was here visiting.  Only two colors, so really simple.

Last year I finished up all the cross stitch and then put it away.  I meant to complete and frame it before last Christmas, but...well...you know... 

This morning I dug it out of hiding.  I washed it, and ironed it.  I left it to dry thoroughly while I rounded up needed supplies and cut backing pieces and padding to fit the frame.  

I added the pearls to the cross stitch, cut off some of the excess linen so it would be easier to apply to the backing board and be less bulky in the frame, and zigzagged the edge so it wouldn't ravel.  Then I gave it another press to make sure there weren't any wrinkles from all the handling.  

I did my best to center the design on the padded backboard, and then carefully taped the fabric to the board before placing it into the frame.  Lastly, I added a piece of white cardboard to fill the frame's inset and give the piece a neater appearance.  Then I taped it in securely so there will (hopefully) be no shifting.  The only tape I had was clear packing tape.  Will it hold?  Not sure.  I may have to redo it sometime in the future.  But I figure the packing tape is still pretty secure on those boxes still left packed since the move six years ago, so...

I took this final photo from an angle to better show the dimension the pearls add.   The lacy snowflake designs and the pearls lend a simple elegance to this piece.  I'm happy with how it turned out.  And I'm really happy that it is complete and will be part of this year's Christmas decorating.