First and Second Cross Stitch

For years I have kept away from cross stitch because I already have a lot of other crafts.  Well.  I had a weak moment a couple weeks ago and bought from Aida and embroidery floss.  So far I have made two tiny cross stitch patterns and am hooked.  They take longer than I thought they would, but I'm used to knitting socks, so the lack of instant gratification is okay.

First, I made a Mockingjay patch.  The pattern is from here (which I found by Googling "mockingjay cross stitch").  After I finished the stitching, I cut about a quarter inch around and sewed it back.  This Aida frays like it's going out of style, so the edge looks scraggly.  Ah, well, not too bad for a first try.

The second pattern I tried was from a different universe: Harry Potter.  I've been listening to the audio books this summer with my mom while we craft our hearts out.  The pattern is from The Leaky Cauldron, which has many other great patterns.  I am in love with the huge Hogwarts crest, but thought it would be better to work up to such a huge project.  This little guy took me about 5 days, so I can't even imagine how long the huge one would take. 

The pattern had French knot eyes for the four mascots, but I went without.  It sat around for two days after I thought I had finished before I noticed three missed stitched in the upper right hand corner.  Good thing I am lazy about finishing (like framing or making into a patch)!

My current project is an anatomical heart that I created the pattern for.  It is bigger than the crest, but has a lot of big blotches of color, so will probably take about the same amount of time.