My cross stitching adventures continue. I can’t believe it’s already been a year and a half since I started cross stitching! It’s the most relaxing craft for me. I love to grab a needle in the evening and slowly sew a vibrant pattern to wind down after a long day. This time, I wanted to share my most recently completed project, which features vases with green leaves. I really liked how three-dimensional the pattern looked, and the bright leaves made the design pop. The colours included in the set weren’t perfect, but overall, the project was a success.

Contents of the kit

I bought the cross stitch kit in TK Maxx, like most of the cross stitch designs I’ve finished. The set included a blank, white aida, a plastic embroidery hoop and a couple of needles and a threader. It also contained threads in assorted colours – not all of them being a great shade – and a leaflet with the pattern and instructions for beginners.

Starting off with the first vase

I mounted the aida onto the embroidery hoop and started sewing. I quickly cross stitched the green leaves of a plant, and then moved on to sewing the vase.

Colour fiasco – going back

I love the colours and the shading of the pattern in the picture in the diagram – it gives the vases a 3D look, and the colours are a really good choice. Unfortunately, in real life, the thread colours included in the kit were a bit different – it seems to be quite common with the cross stitch kits by this brand. The pink and the orange threads were very similar, and there was little contrast between them. I cross stitched the first circle from the design on the vase and decided that I didn’t like how it looked. The red circle stood out from the purple background, but the pink and orange just blurred into one. I decided to carefully backtrack my stitches and take the orange thread out.

Luckily, my cross stitching technique is pretty decent these days and I manage to sew neatly, without making any knots and tangles. Thanks to that, I was able to take the thread out in one piece! It was a bit fiddly and took me a good 10 minutes, but I managed to remove the orange thread without damaging it or the aida. I’ll be able to use that thread for other projects in the future. We don’t waste DIY supplies here!

Second vase done

I decided to skip the orange parts of the design for now and focused on the rest of the pattern. I chose to sew the vases one by one, so I moved to stitching the tall vase on the left. I love how the leaves turned out, they’re really vibrant and the shape of them looks nice.

Third vase done

I then cross stitched the U-shaped vase on the left side of the design. Once again, the leaves were really cute and fun to sew. A large part of the vase was missing, but that’s because I decided to skip the orange thread for now.

Almost finished

Finally, I moved to stitching the final vase. The large leaves took me quite a lot of time to complete, but once they were done, you could see the design come to life. At that point, I was only missing the orange parts of the pattern.

Completed cross stitch design with vases

I went to a few stores with craft supplies in search for the perfect shade of thread… and I failed miserably. It turned out impossible to find a colour that would contrast with both the red and the pink threads included in the kit. I ended up choosing a shade of orange slightly darker than the one included in the set. Frankly, I don’t love the final result. The pattern is probably amongst my favourite cross stitch projects, but the colour scheme – not so much! I wish I had replaced the orange and red with completely different colours. I’m now thinking that shades of blue could work well in this design. Oh well! It took me way too much time to sew all of the orange and red blocks to then backtrack and replace them. Maybe one day I’ll sew this design again, but in a completely different colour scheme.

Final thoughts

As always, I need to say that I can’t recommend those assorted DIY kits enough. If you’re looking for an easy DIY project to work on in your spare time but don’t want to spend too much money on various tools and supplies, buying a pre-assorted kit is the perfect choice. The cross stitch kits I buy are usually around £3-£4. Absolute bargain! They can be a little frustrating when the threads included in the kit don’t have the perfect colours, but all in all, it’s still fun and relaxing to sit down with a cup of tea and cross stitch whilst listening to a podcast.

There are also other assorted DIY kits that you can find in craft stores and online. For example, I’ve tried working with polymer clay and plaster of Paris through such assorted kits. I’ve also made my own soap and bath bombs – both turned out really cute! Assorted DIY kits can also make a great gift idea for a crafty person. Some of them are child-friendly, but adults can find something for themselves too! Who knows, maybe you’ll find your next favourite hobby thanks to an assorted DIY set?

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• DIY