Or at least, so your inheritors know what to do with it when you can't, anymore.

I've recently had occasion to sort through the bulk of a local needle-worker's estate. Well, at least the part of it that was what we would now call her "stash." What I'm finding delights me and saddens me by turns. I'm of course delighted to find patterns and materials and magazines and all the other errata that go along with our beloved hobby, stuff I had no idea ever existed and stuff to pass on to friends who knit, crochet, and do other kinds of crafting I don't.

What saddens me is the sheer volume of projects she hadn't finished before she grew too feeble to run her own life anymore. It was left to her daughter and the estate handlers they hired to parcel out what was left of this woman's life. They weren't needle-workers, they didn't know what they were handling as they sorted and priced this stuff. Begun and/or half-finished projects were sorted out without patterns, flosses, or yarns attached.

It's very much like finding an old chest of love letters in the attic of the house you just moved into. You don't know who wrote them, or the recipient, but they're so beautiful you just can't bear to throw them away....

I've now a small library of unfinished needlepoint, bargello, hardanger, blackwork, and cross stitch projects. I may someday find the charts for some of these, as I sort through the rest of this stuff... and my heart desperately wants to finish these in gratitude and admiration, but I know I'm fighting for time to finish my own projects. I don't know how I'd ever get to hers!

All this is mostly preamble to the real point I wanted to make. Lots of us here are "serial starters" and I'll bet every one of us has ditched a project in mid-stitch and put it away as a "UFO." That's fine, it's human nature, we all do it. But for posterity's sake... or for your kids' sakes, or your spouse, or friends -- whoever is going to have to go through your stuff later if something happens to you! -- take time SOON to organize your projects. Put the charts WITH the pieces if you can, or at least copies. Sorted flosses would be even better, if you have them available. Label them clearly -- and talk to those closest to you and TELL THEM PLAINLY what you want done with your stash and your projects if something should happen to you.

I know this is kinda morbid, and I don't really mean it to be. I guess I've been so close to tears so many times lately over this subject that I can't help but be a little morbid as I pass these thoughts along. I've seen your stitching, those of you who've posted -- your stitching legacies deserve better treatment than the one the woman got whose stuff I'm currently sorting through.

Food for thought.

.
.

*- From Gibran's The Prophet, the section on Giving. The full verse says:

All that you have shall someday be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

I know it's been an eon since I first posted pictures of my work on the Castles In The Air SAL. Some of that is due to the fact that I picked up my work to do some more on Part 2 and found that the antique white was vaguely... red. Like there was fine red dust that had tinged it. I couldn't get it out without ruining my work, so I had to start over.

Ended up in a goof and got 16ct instead of 18ct according to the bolt... but it looks like 18ct to me compared to the previous fabric. I switched to basic White Aida so that I could easily hit it with a bleach pen if anything badly stained it.

I'd link my photos in here but, since I left some of them big, I've decided to link to my gallery of them on Flickr instead.

Castles In The Air - Parts 1-3

Now all I need is Part 4 to come out. Got lots of other stuff I can work on in the meantime...

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica and I'm new to the community! I'm not a cross stitcher, just normal embroidery style for me...at least right now. I must say I'm impressed with all your work I'm seeing here, and your subjects are all very different and creative. You guys may inspire me to take up a new style!

To help improve my informity, get me embroidering more regularly AND to create more interest in the art among my friends I started this game. Played on Facebook and Twitter, once a week I quote a favorite movie, TV show or song, and the first person to correctly guess the origin of the quote will receive a hand-embroidered item relating to it. ( This week's quote was from a Feist song )

OK, still have a ton of back-stitching to do, but the cross-stitch is ( DONE! )

Hi Everyone,

I'm really sorry to ask like this, but I have been searching and can not find anywhere! Does anyone by chance have a spare copy of the Growth Rings pattern? I am willing to pay postage and shipping as well as the cost of the magazine.

I am also happy to trade stash (I will be getting my list up very shortly). I've seen everyone's progress on it and I'm really wanting to try it :)

Thanks so much in advance for any help :)

Tams

I stopped by a tiny little craft shop near my parents' house to pick up a bottle of fabric glue to finish up the Spirit of America Angel. (She has paper backing, and I forgot my camera today when I finished her up and left her with my mom.) They were having rather a large sale. Sadly, it's because they're probably going out of business.

While I was there, I picked up Black Swan's Cymberleah, Dragon Dreams' Blessed Are the Piecemakers, Calico Crossroads' Kats by Kelly Hangin' Out and the Mill Hill Mouse King ornament kit.. All that, the bottle of fabric glue and a pair of small, inexpensive embroidery scissors specifically for using on paper/perforated paper so I don't dull my good ones... for $20 and some change.

A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer. Unfortunately, a rare form, so there is no chemotherapy regime determined. She's started radiation treatment, and our fingers are crossed.

I checked the web and found (no surprise here) that bladder cancer ribbons are yellow. So decided to adapt Ink Circles' breast cancer mandala, which I've already done twice, into yellows, with a yellow/green variegated for the tracery around the ribbons. I think I'm going to need to backstitch the ribbons to get them to show up better, but otherwise, like the way it is turning out.

The top photo is in focus, the other shot isn't. But the lower one shows the different yellows a little better, so posted it anyhow.

( photos behind the cut )

I pulled out Mirabilia's Sleeping Beauty for the mirastitchers stitchalong and this is where I was:
( do the clicky thing here :D )

Which means it's been a week since I've started my gift project for my husband.
A decepticon image... time for me to post and update! (it's safe he doesn't have a lj and doesn't read this community either)

( PICTURES! )

I have finished page 2 on her, page 4 just came out today, so still lagging a bit behind. I hope to be able to catch up before the end of the year!

( Read more... )

I haven't finished part one yet (need to do a few small stitches, you might notice), but I wanted to get started on part two and I had to replace the ring anyway, so I thought about uploading another picture.


( You know where to find it. ^^ )


I'm still proud of myself that I managed to get all the specialty stitches done so far. X_x; The spider wheel stitch wasn't exactly easy or clear, but I had help from a tutorial video. They look funny. XD

Yet another baby announcement done - everyone I know is having babies right and left, and I hate normal baby announcement patterns. I finished this one over the weekend, and the parents received it last night, so I figured I'd share it here.

Follow to see the Pirate Baby Announcement on my LJ.

I did try something with this one - not the stitching, but the framing. I live in Northern Virginia. The parents live in New York. We're not that far apart, but we very rarely get in the car and drive to each other, so I wasn't sure how I'd get this to them, especially framed.

And then the mom mentioned that she had a Michaels about two minutes from her house. I have a Michaels about two minutes from my house. So I went to Michaels on Sunday morning, took the cross-stitch, and basically selected my mats and frames as normal. I then had the framer write down all of the codes and measurements, and run it through the computer to see how much it cost (and would cost on one of the 50% off sales). I bought a gift card to cover the amount, plus a little extra for tax, and mailed the whole kit off to New York - instructions, cross-stitch, gift card. The parents received the package yesterday.

The only downside to this plan (other than the fact that apparently the post office doesn't insure gift cards any more - and the post office employee gave me a look when I said I wanted it insured for $100, which is still far less than what the package was actually worth) is that parents of a newborn have to trek off to Michaels - but had the frame been damaged in transit, they'd have to do that anyway. (And the father apparently goes right by Michaels on his way to work anyway.) And I paid far, far less for shipping and handling than I would have if I'd had the work framed beforehand.

I've been wanting badly to finish the angel so I could start this piece. Sadly, I am one of those people that needs to get one project done before I start the next, or the one I put aside is in great danger of becoming a UFO. I was happy I was able to pick Eve back up and finish her. So, today's progress on Growth Rings!

( Back here! )

I know that sometimes people in this community ask for ideas about places to sell their handiwork. This link has some really good info:

http://www.bargainist.com/deals/2009/07/let-your-craftiness-pay-off-where-to-sell-handmade-items/

Mods--if this kind of post isn't allowed, my apologies and feel free to delete.

Can anyone help me in locating a simple pattern for either a bunch of grapes on a vine (a complete vine is even better) and/or a simple bottle of wine?

I'd also like a link (again) for "fonts" if anyone knows of a few goodies.

Thanks in advance!

I'm starting my stay-cation today!  What should I stitch?

Pot Luck
Growth Rings
Cirque des Cercles
BoINK SAL
Papillon Creations SAL

Start something new.


Annnnnd go! 

 
ETA- looks like Growth Rings and Pot Luck are tied.  Guess I'll stitch a little of both!  :D

Hiya folks...does anyone know of (or use and recommend) cross-stitch programs (for example, to convert a photo to a pattern) that are Mac compatible (and that I don't have to run virtual Windows to use)?

:)

Cheers!

Two mini (not to be confused with too many) finishes.

( Back heeyah )

Hello to all!  It's been quite some time since I posted anything.  Unfortunately, I've had tendonitis in my elbow and been unable to do much stitching.  It's in my left elbow, and I'm right-handed, but holding up hoops and Q-snaps aggravates the tendon.  Go figure.  So I've only managed a couple small finishes, but I'm happy to see them!


( Finishes hidin' here! )

And now, on to the SEX!!  Each year during July the four nearest LNS's to me hold a "Shop Hop" where you can visit each store and get a free pattern and a stamp on a little "passport" they created.  Then you can enter your completed passport in to any of the shops for a drawing to win a prize.  This year it's a Daylight Lamp and I hope I win!

( S.E.X. hidin' here! )

Sorry for the excessive images, but it feels good to share some progress despite my stupid elbow.  Hopefully I can get on with my larger projects soon!

I was searching through some old pictures and found my very first cross stitch, plus a bonus of one of my favorite pieces from 1994-ish.

( Read more... )

So maybe some of you remember me posting a graphic and floss toss for one of my own self-made charts here.

Well, I finally started it! ( Click Me! )

Getting time to stitch of late has been quite a challenge -- obviously I have not been up to the challenge or I'd be posting more updates. *sigh* This weekend I got pretty militant about having stitching time and so got a little bit done.

( Do the click thing. )

Last seen 6-21-2009

After a couple years now, I finally did a project required for receiving this book of Celtic XS. A friend gave me the book and only requested I make her something using one of the designs within. Simple enough, except for my time-management skills. LOL Done in time for her birthday in a few days, but I still need to cover the stitching inside and mail it. Thought that counts, eh? =D

Design: "Quarters" from Celtic Art in Cross Stitch
Fabric: 14 ct. aida tote bag (Charles Craft)
Started: June 13, 2009
Finished: July 3, 2009
Size: @ 7-3/4" square
Goofs: None, Celtic stitching isn't very forgiving LOL.
Modifications: changed out most of the colors because they look kinda blah, and wanted bolder colors. I only kept black and the colors in the animal's heads. And tried to choose the four knot colors to reflect the four seasons.

( ''Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.'' )

I just sat down to work on converting the Mira E (Letters from Nora) and DOH! the pattern calls for Crescent colors threads, not DMC.    I have never worked with crescent colors before - doe anyone know anything about them?  But I really really want to convert the colors!  It is such a pretty pattern but I am not at all wild about the colors.  Sigh...  Google is not my friend today - does anyone know of a conversion chart?
Thanks!!

edited to add - I just found this http://mirabiliastitchers.yuku.com/topic/2376/t/Crescent-Colours-to-DMC-Conversion.html?page=-1 but it only has some of the colors I need... 

so. secret pal reveal was LAST week. i had her stitchie finished by LAST week. what i couldn't find was a FRAME to fit it until i went to "the big city" (olympia) THIS week.  *sigh*

also, an update on the "niko to koi". got a feeling unless i am laid up and can stitch all day for the next few weeks, this one won't be done by fair time. *sigh again*

so, here is "susan's heart" and "koi to niko" behind the usual required cut.( make with the clickity! )

I know this has been asked before, and that the answer then was 'tough luck' but does anyone know of a stash organizer program that will run on a Mac? The one thing I found that said it was Mac-compatible is not -- the install file is an .exe which leaves Mac users out....

Anyone? I know I could use something like Excel, but with as many colors there are of DMC alone, I think it would be useless for any kind of organization.

... I did while waiting for the next installment from Papillon Creations,( any word? Anybody know anything?)and for the first time ever, my sister fell head over heels in love with something I made. So it's hers :)

( sparkle! )

Stitches and Spice are getting silk/bamboo fabric in. If they have it at the show I will get some I think.

( here it is )