Well, I finally started. We made a contraption with the super frame and the rolled up fabric at the edges. The rolled up fabric (quite a lot as was to be expected) is covered by an old cut up T-shirt to protect it from dirt and the pressure of the frame.
I prepared some of the color blends used in the first page, and I started :D. It is taking more time than the Super Mario because I am taking more time to not twist the threads and not push the needle through other threads.
Anyway, I am liking it, and tomorrow I’ll be working on it all day :D Pictures will follow on monday or tuesday.

I think I am finally ready to start. I have the pattern, it arrived last monday. I copied the entire thing (54 pages!) onto A3 size paper (about 200%) for better visibility, and so I can mark the finished stitches on it. I have a superframe and a magnet board to help me. I finished winding 155 bobbins. I trimmed the fabric and sewed the edges against fraying…. All I need/want now is another big bobbin box for the bobbins with the mixed colors I’ll be using…

Last thursday I went to the small craft store in town for more stuff I need for the “A mon seul desir”. I went in for fabric (I only knew I wanted 18-count aida, maybe in an off-white color), but of course I left with more.
First the fabric. I needed 18-count aida, at least 110×100 cm. I wanted off-white for the of chance that some fabric would show through. If you use ivory white, it just glares at you, it will be so noticeable. Anyway, off-white was sold out, but the salesman offered me some fabric in a color he called ‘pebble’. It is a light grey color, very beautiful (I will include pics later).
I also needed some needles and a good pair of scissors. The salesman asked me if I wanted plain or gold needles. Gold needles were twice as expensive, but that only came to 34 cents instead of 14 cents, but gold is better. So, three gold needles, size 26 (that was recommended by Scarlet Quince). When he gave me the needles, he asked me if I needed a needle container. He showed me a needle container, with a magnet on the side for needle pick up. It was only 2 euros, so I got that too. He showed me some scissors that were pretty expensive and very good, but mostly for fabric cutting. Since I will only be using it for threads, I got a pair that was a bit cheaper. I also got a small bobbin box for when I travel to my parents or inlaws for the weekend.
That was my big cross stitching shopping spree for this week, now all I need to do is trim the edges of the fabric, finish winding my bobbins and wait for the pattern to arrive… I am excited.

They are here! My threads that I ordered through eBay have arrived yesterday, which is rather quick. They were shipped last friday, and arrived on the following wednesday, from the UK.

It are 200 skeins (the first 50 are spread out, the other 150 are still in their bags on the right). I am sorting them, checking them on the order e-mail, the list I made and the list Scarlet Quince sent me. Then I am wrapping one skeins of each on a bobbin. I have two boxes to hold the bobbins, and I have the DMC number stickers to mark them. It is a big job, but I do think it will make everything easier when I start stitching.