how did you start?

[millymolly]

I started about 10 years ago, my gran taught me.
Now shes asking me to complete things for her!!

My first xstitch was a little bear, which my dad keeps in his wallet as a good luck sort of thing! I didnt know he still had it til recently!

I was clreaing out some space the other day for my cross stitch kits and mags and cant believe i have 2 drawers full of materials kits and floss! Also the amount of magazines between my gran and I is amazing! She had a pram & tv box full!. Which I hope to sort out one day and be able to go back and do designs which took my fancy at the time of reading the magazine!

[Sandz27]

My Mum and Nan taught me when I was young
My first design was of a Hot Air Balloon and then a Teddy in some stripey pajamas...
I gave up as I got older and found more hobbies to do but then I spotted a magazine in the newsagents one day (when I was approx 19 maybe 20) and decided to start up my childhood hobby again...I did some Christmas designs and made them into cards that year ~ it was a Cross Stitch Crazy magazine that I had picked up...

Now I can't help but stitch and have moved onto larger designs such as HAEDs and I have recently done (but not quite finished yet) a Dimensions Santa design...
x

[geekishly]

My grandmother taught me how to cross-stitch when I was 7 years old. I've worked on little projects here and there over the years - not quite sure how many tbh. I remember one of the pieces I did as a teenager for my step-dad - it had a balding guy on it and said "God only made so many perfect heads - the rest he covered with hair." It made him really happy. In college I made an 8x10 project for my best friend of Pooh and Eeyore that said Best Friends Forever on it. I think it may have had Tigger on it as well, but I cant remember clearly. Everything else that I've stitched since then is pictured in my welcome thread.

[CrossStitchHappy]

I was probably about 6 or 7 when I started counted cross stitch. My grandmother taught me - we did the same project, it was a strawberry. I remember it because it had some full and half stitches as well as french knots.

It's been a while for me since I've stitched, quilting has taken over most of my life craft wise, and raising my daughter and looking after my husband and working full time.

But, I'm to the point that I can't stand quilting in the summer, it's way to hot, so I'm back to CCS.

[Mabel Figworthy]

geekishly, love the Bald project -- makes me wish I knew someone bald to stitch the saying for!

[TheBean]

I tried cross stitching for the first time when I was a kid, but I never completed any of the kits I purchased. Because of that, I'm going to say my real start was this past November.

I was low on cash and looking for ideas for homemade Christmas gifts. I crocheted scarves and other warm things for most of the people I know in Connecticut, but I needed something for my Nana because she has no use for a scarf in California. I happened upon a cross stitch pattern that I thought she'd really like. It was simple enough that I thought I could do it, so I did! I enjoyed it so much, I made one for my mom, too.

Since then, I've been interested in stitching but have yet to find an inexpensive kit that I actually want. Recently, I realized I could just make my own designs (took me long enough!), so I've been doing that and I really like it =]

[thisisthecraftyone]

This seemed like a good place to start here!

A little backstory is needed here but I'll keep it brief:
I grew up an only child, raised by my Dad.
I used to have a "babysitter" so he could go out with friends once a week, who it was varied between family and friends.
One of my "babysitters" when I was about 7, was the wife of a friend of Dads, and I used to go to their house.
I remember she had loads of framed cross-stitch projects around the house, as well as some cushions and stuff, and one day I asked her about it.
She gave me a scrap of aida and some threads, and from then on, every time I went to her house she would spend some time teaching me stitches or stitching simple pictures.
I really enjoyed it, and on and off over the years cross-stitch has always been a hobby of mine.
Then work, college, life and stuff got in the way a little, but over the last 4 years I've gotten back into it in a huge way. As well as developing an interest in other crafts (mostly paper).
Now at 26 I stitch fairly regularly, and love it! It's a great way to relax, and people really appreciate the gifts and cards I make them, which I find are a lot more personal and heartfelt than things you can buy in shops!

[IrisRee]

I hadn't been married but 3 months, new area so my husband took me to a craft store in town to buy some yarn to crochet him an afghan when I saw a cute pansy kit so I decided I should learn how to cross stitch...a few months later I bought Aida and a chart. I wasn't much into cross stitching using Aida so dropped it and I was heavly into ceramics then one day my SIL showed me a piece she had done on linen and WOW it was so beautiful, I took back up cross stitching, my first linen piece was the Carousel by T. Wenzel. I just love Jobelan, Cashel and just recently discover 40ct linen! I still do ceramics, crocheting, scrapbooking, quilting but Cross stitching is first!!
Ree/VA

[debra]

I never did it as a child, but was often tempted as an adult by the little kits on the front of magazines. Then, a couple of Christmases ago, I was shopping in Hobbycraft for someone and saw a Mouseloft kit of a penguin in a Father Christmas hat. It was only 99 pence. So I took it home, watched "how to" videos on YouTube, and managed to complete it (rather badly). And that's how I got hooked.

Still haven't tried anything big though, although there is one of the Gorguss kits that is tempting.

Like Donna, it's a hobby that has seen me through some dark times.

[dollystitcher]

I had dabbled with all sorts of crafts from knitting to dress making but my passion for crossstich started about twenty years ago. I was just glancing through mags in the newsagents and spotted a cross stitch mag, picked it up and liked the look of a little Wedgewood tea pot design, the rest as thery say is history. However I only ever did small projects, cards, etc. Then I had a scare when I found a lump in my breast and had to have a lumpectomy. Luckily it was benign but because I was working as a care assistant for the elderly I had to take seceral weeks of work. My then hubby (still my best friend though no longer my hubby) saw a kit in a local craft shop that he thought I might like and baught it to cheer me up. It was a Paula Vaughn design called 'A little girls fancy' and shows a child in Victorian dress, looking out of the window. She is in a playroom and a dolls house takes pride of place. This was my first large project and still hangs on my wall today.

[Shrelana]

Re: how did you start?

[jenni719]

My grandmother started me out. It was so long ago that I don't really remember the details. I was like 6 or 7 at the time. She probably was sick of trying to teach me to knit or crochet. I never have figured those out . I fell in love with it because I am not a very artistic person so it's my way of expressing myself artistically.

[crosstitcher1]

Hi and GBU all.
I'm new here. Our youngest daughter came over yest. to try to help me with my newest project, afghan for our grandson, and I needed her, on the computer, to make the ABC's BIG for the project. So she said there was sites on the computer that I could go thru and have her STUGGLE thru it. She came upon this site. I like it so far.
Here's my story.
We had just found out that we were expecting our youngest in the summer of 1983.I wanted the birth natural. So our neighbor was my coach. As the time went on, we made several things for the baby, as there was 8 yrs. difference from the 2nd and this one, and all we saved was the crib.
While I was at her house, after completed the baby room's projects, she was working on a cross stitch Christmas ornament. I asked her if she had another one and she said she had gotten several. It took me a month to really figure it out, but when I did, OFF TO THE RACES I WENT.
That made me do some for our Christmas tree, a 4 ft at the time. As the yrs went on, I had FILLED the 4 ft, 6 ft and 71/2 ft Christmas trees with the ornaments and our youngest said "Mom? That is ENOUGH. There's NO MORE ROOM."
Well, I was ADDICTED by then. So the next summer after that Christmas, early 90's, I decided to make the family Christmas gifts.
Oldest sis, got a 8x10 candle wicking pillow.
Oldest bro, got a 8x10 picture of a deer
Middle bro, got a 8x10 picture of a Navy ship, as he was in the Navy
Youngest sis, got a 8x10 candle wicking pillow
Youngest bro, got a 8x10 picture of a German Shepard
My mom, got a 8x10 picture of roses
Then in 1989, I went back to work, got married in 1973, quit job, was a at home mom, til 1989, and a co-worker got married and another had a baby and the Lord laid it on my heart to make them a baby and wedding remembrance. I have been doing them from 1989- 2011.
Now HE has laid it on my heart to do, In Loving Memory Remembrances. I just started them this week. I have 14 people, close friends, to do for.
Then AFTER them, HE has laid it on my heart to do for my immediate family, afghans. 9 total.
I am on a game site, and I have found a fellow cross stitcher and we are CONSTANTLY talking about our hobby in the chat room.
I give ALL the credit for my hobby to HIM as HE was the ONE that INSPIRED me thru the neighbor.
Thanks again for such a nice site for us hobbyist.
As we say in the game room, Happy playing in POGO LAND.
Here I am saying, Happy stitching in STITCHING LAND.

[claire81]

I started at about the age of 7 or 8 doing long stitch tapestries think my first one was Postman Pat, then I moved on to doing half stitch ones on ready printed canvases they were oval and ready framed, as I got older then I tried cross stitch, think my first one was a Winnie the Pooh, and from then I was hooked.

[xstitchmom]

I started stitching over 24 years ago. My niece, who was 10 years old at that time, received a cross stitch kit for Christmas. She was over my house one night with this kit. I was watching her work, tried it myself and the rest was history! I was hooked and bought myself a kit which contained 4 small projects of flowers and butterflies. I still have them.

My mom used to stitch some when she younger and even stitched some beautiful details on my dresses she made when I was a girl. I didn't learn to stitch from mom because she was more of knitter and sewer so I cannot recall seeing her cross stitch when growing up. Recently, some relatives returned from a trip from Italy where mom is originally from, and they gave me a piece of stitched fabric from an old linen sheet she had made when she was a girl. It is amazing and I will treasure it always. I guess stitching does run in my family!

[meganjoelle]

My sister got me into stitching in 2010... I always saw her stitching and didn't think much of it. She showed me Dahlig's Umbrella Sky because she thought I might like it. I fell in love with the artwork and had to stitch it!!! I haven't looked back since... I now understand why she was so into stitching. It is addictive!

[*barb*]

i have absolutely no idea how i started! Mum has christmas decorations in cross stitch i made when i was a kid! I also have a cushion i did, oh the stitches go any which way.. but i cant part with it.

I cant remember who got me the kits either.

I started again many years back when i saw some stuff in a magazine. gave it a try for a while but stopped again but started again about 2005 from memory.

[kouneli]

My mom taught me how to cross-stitch. I was in 4th grade and was going to do one for an art/craft competition at my school. I won first and went to regionals. I still have my first cross-stitch. It's of a baby anthropomorphic bunny giving a flower to the mother bunny. Certainly not something I would stitch these days lol.
Since then, I have completed about 15 other cross-stitches.

[efhawks]

I learned from my mom's cousin. She had some serious health problems and so she spent most of her life inside crafting. She was an amazing crafter too, I'm still awed by some of the stuff I have from her. She has since passed away, but I am so thankful to her that she was able to be patient enough with a 10 year old (when she was in her mid 20s) to pass on her gift.

The first project I started was that Disney kit of the original gang (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, and Goofy) in the car. Unfortunately it was a UFO and I have no idea where it went or what became of it.

Actually, that may be a lie there were probably some easier kid type cross stitch kits that I started on but that Disney kit was the first I remember.

I always think of her when I'm stitching, and know she's looking over my shoulder and whispering suggestions in my ear.

[LaraAmber]

I was in elementary school (I don't remember what grade) and my mom was at the fabric store and we saw a small card where you did the cross-stitch of a duck floating on water and then put it in the card. That was my first project and I gave it to my Grandmother for Christmas. I'm sure it was absolutely horrid since I had no one giving me instruction and I didn't understand simple things like "have all your stitches go the same way".

The next project I can remember was a simple little one with a rabbit and a saying "I'm not positive, but I think thinking positive, is positively the only way to think." Also horrid, but by then I was hooked, and started learning technique. After those first two projects I'm improved by leaps and bounds. There were quite a few people who were surprised that a high school student had the patience to do cross-stitch.

I also remember going to a county fair type show in college and seeing cross-stitch up for display. This was the first time I learned that a. people cared about how the back looked and there were techniques to make it look nice and b. people competed for ribbons with cross-stitch projects.