Bee Kit Has Finally Arrived

At the beginning of April  ago I saw an interesting ad for an embroidery kit on Facebook. I can’t even remember how much I paid for the kit it was so long ago. 

I was very intrigued because of all the specialty stitches that were involved. 

Every few days I would receive a tracking email. Finally today, the wee package arrived. 

This is what was inside:

I was so happy to see it was originally from Ukraine.

 

There is a 12” x 10” piece of fabric (not sure what count yet but it looks tighter than 40ct), 18 skeins of 6ply cotton floss - supposedly DMC, two Madeira silk metallic coloured threads, one Tela Artis thread, two vials of beads, a vial with two needles, the chart (which I will definitely need to enlarge on my printer),

and detailed instructions for the 15 specialty stitches.

All this was contained in a 6” x 6” x 1” box.

First thing I’m going to do is figure out what count the fabric is and decide if I’ll use it or something that might be a bit easier on the eyes. Then I’ll read through all the instructions (provided in English and Ukrainian) and determine how and where to start.

Update… I just measured the fabric and it is ‘uneven weave’ with 54ct across the grain and 44ct with the grain. I will definitely be checking my stash for some nice 32ct or 36ct linen. I’m not too bummed out about the faulty fabric that came with the kit. I’m guessing embroidery supplies are hard to get in Ukraine right now. 

Even more of an update… it occurred to me that the vendor may have been one of those unscrupulous pirates who steal others’ designs, package with inferior materials, and sell as their own. I was able to find my receipt and indeed it was someone in China. That really explains the inferior quality of the fabric. I even wonder if the floss is DMC. I suspect it is a polyester blend using DMC colours and numbers. I did contact the actual designer (her name was on the chart that came with the bogus kit) via her Etsy shop and I am not the first person who has alerted her to this situation. I felt bad for her so to support her (especially since she is Ukrainian), I purchased the .pdf download of this pattern from her Etsy shop - rizobarvna. The charts are MUCH easier to read - full page rather than 8.8cm x 7.6cm.