Crossstitchforum - A FREE forum for Cross Stitchers

You can stitch diagonally to help avoid lines. It's just the same as stitching in columns but you mark the charts in diagonals. I particularly like diagonal stitching over multiple pages at once, so you get a slice of the picture and therefor more variety. This picture is just a small area when I ...

Keep at least some basic supplies, so that if and when inspiration strikes again, you'll have something to start with.

Quite right. I gave away all my yarn stash as I was convinced that I would only cross stitch in the future and hadn't knitted for years....guess who is obsessed with crochet now ...

I have used hoops, q snaps and scroll frames on my lowery and it holds the millennium fine as well. I just leave the millennium in place when I finish stitching, loosening the wooden nuts to release the tension, and pull a pillow Case over it. If for any reason might be in the way I take the ...

I chose a high level one ( 200 colours, over a hundred of which are blends) and found that it was very very confetti dense. At first this was a problem as I am a parker and found that the dozens and dozens of parked threads in just one block became like hairdressing, you had to part them to weasle ...

I can only use gold plated needles due to allergy and have found gold Permin needles from Sew and so great value and quite hard wearing. They come in a little tube of 20. The gold ones from the cross stitch guild are fantastic but too expensive for the way I stitch as I use a needle organiser and ...

Sometimes I learn a line of a poem per block stitched, just saying it over in my head to the rythm of the stitching. So far on my HAED He Looked Like A Peddlar I have learned all 14 verses of Twas the night before Christmas and am currently learning Wordsworths Daffodils.
Other times I listen to ...

I know what you mean about how it takes a while for any details to appear. I', afraid I was so eager to see Santa's face on mine that I very carefully counted and started stitching it. I have a bit of the mantle, a bit of the tree and a bit of his face and beard. http://www.morecambesands.com/.a ...

6. If full coverage, Can I really use any color of fabric I wish to stitch on?

I like to use coloured fabrics based on the colour I feel the design falls into. This helps with coverage and gives me the option of leaving a border of fabric when matting and framing. I find one over one on 28 count ...

Bear in mind that quite often only a few stitches might be required in a particular thread, sometimes less than ten stitches so it's worthwhile checking your stash before buying every thread listed.
I like to stitch HAEDs on 28 count jobelin 1 over 1, using a lighted magnifier (the type you look ...

I like the e-ink on the kindle, much easier on the eyes, and the fact that they don't cost as much as an Ipad. I will happily pop my kindle into my bag and take it somewhere - if some accident happens to it, well I can save up and replace it fairly soon. If I had an Ipad I'd be too precious about ...

I never look at my back as I start and finish from the front. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the back to take this photo, as I don't think it's too bad.
http://www.morecambesands.com/.a/6a00d8341ecfe953ef0162fe3401e1970d-800wi
The little bits that look like tails of threads actually ...

I have three HAED's on the go and each has it's own box of bobbins. Each also has it's own set of two needle organisers. When I swap projects I just put the two organisers into a plastic shoe box, still loaded with threaded needles, and stash it along with its box of bobbins. Swapping projects takes ...

Some threads are probably parked exactly where they will be used next and some will be starts and finishes that get worked over on the back and snipped off from the front. This means you never have to flip your work.

I never flip my work. I start and finish all threads from the front, even on one over one, so my parked threads are not a problem.
Re. how far to carry a thread, I have a sort of self made rule that if I am spending more than the time it takes to search a 2 block area for the symbol then it is ...

A recent post about stitching magazines has reminded me to ask you all for your opinions. My magazines have been in storage for nearly a year (along with everything from the top floor of the house while we had some work done.)Some of them go back to original issues of i.e. New Stitches, Needlework ...

I enjoy stitching in the quiet but sometimes I listen to an audio book or I let my Kindle read to me. I find the female kindle voice is better than the male one. The Kindle cleverly changes pitch in more or less the right places so that it's not a robot drone and your ear soon adjusts to it. I just ...

If you are actually in the sun and not shaded I suggest putting sunscreen on the back of the hand that is on top of the work and exposed to the sun. I have "age spots" on my right hand and none on my left. They appeared one year as freckles after stitching often in the sun and never went away.

I use a lighted magnifier. It's a daylight one and is sold on cross stitch sites but they are much the same as the ones used in salons. You can but different strength lenses but the really strong ones are no good for stitching as you can't get your hand underneath. The one that comes with it and the ...

Re: needles for sensitive or acidic fingers . . .

I was wondering if there is a lot of confetti in the mini to get the detail or is the design "blurrier" than the full size. I suppose we will have to wait for some to be stitched up to get some comparisons. I'd love to order Deck The Halls as a mini when it's available.