First Project of the Year

I made a calendar! The cross-stitch pattern came from here, but my linen was too fine to try to count the threads, so I enlarged the pattern and transferred it to the fabric with carbon paper. The fabric is 100% linen from a wrap-around jumper that never fit well. I backed it with heavy interfacing to give it some stability. The calendar is a Word template reduced to half-sheet size, then sewn to the linen with a blanket stitch. I sacrificed a wire hanger for the top, then used matching embroidery floss for the hanging loop and to attach a pencil.

I'm planning to hang this in the living room, so I wanted it to be nice and discrete while still being useful. I think I reached a good balance. It will be part of a larger organizational system that I'll blog about once I get it put together. It was a brainstorm I got in the shower (for some reason I get my best ideas in the shower), and I'm hoping it works as well as it did in my head. I'll keep you posted.