Project Recap [Singapore]

At some point during the summer, we made a multiple trip[s] to craft stores to pick up cross stitch and framing supplies. On one of those trips, I picked up the floss for a dragon project still to come for a Cornell friend and while I was at it, the floss for this project of landmarks in Singapore. The concept is based on the designer Satsuma Street’s “Pretty Little” cities series, but she doesn’t have Singapore, so my pattern came from Awesome Pattern Studio, who also designed the Acadia pattern I did last year.

Similarly to the Acadia pattern, this one was provided as a pdf in several different versions. I like using the version with the symbols in the color of the floss. The only drawback is that it becomes difficult to see the symbol with very light colors, but you can either zoom way in or check a different version of the pattern. There was one questionable symbol choice, with two triangles that were mirror images of each other being used for two oranges, but there was just enough difference between the darker and lighter orange to make it not too terrible. Otherwise the pattern was clear and easy to follow. It used only full cross stitches, no fractional stitches or backstitching. There were 18 colors, none of which needed more than 1 skein. The color with the most stitches was 550 (very dark violet), with 827 stitches, and the color with the least was 165 (very light moss green) at 120 stitches.

I started the project right after finishing the birth announcement in August and finished in the middle of October for an elapsed time of 53 days. According to the provided stitch count table, there are approximately 6700 stitches, giving an average of about 125 stitches per day. At its tallest and widest, the project measures 114 x 92 stitches, or 8.14” x 6.57” on 14 count fabric. Mine measures 8.13” by 6.31”, so it’s just a little short. Something different I did for this project was to stitch it on 14 count Fiddler’s cloth rather than Aida. Fiddler’s cloth is similar to Aida in its structure, but instead of being 100% cotton, it’s a blend of fibers (some sites say 50% cotton, 42% polyester, and 8% linen), and is supposed to look rustic. I thought it would be interesting to use for this pattern, which is fairly modern, with a lot of bright colors, and I do like how the contrast between the fabric and pattern turned out.

As best as I can tell, the buildings/landmarks featured are the Singapore Flyer, an observation wheel; the Prima Tower, which housed a revolving restaurant on top of a grain tower from 1977 until 2020 (thanks, Covid); the Merlion, Singapore’s lion-headed, fish-bodied mythical mascot; the ArtScience Museum, featuring exhibits that combine art, science, culture, and technology; Marina Bay Sands, the boat/spaceship hotel made (more?) famous by Crazy Rich Asians; and Gardens by the Bay, with its Flower Dome and Cloud Forest conservatories and Supertree Grove. I haven’t been able to identify the rest of the buildings; they mostly look like what skyscrapers tend to look like. With all the different elements and colors in it, this was a fun project to stitch, and whenever I get around to framing basically everything I’ve stitched so far, this one will go up somewhere around the house.