Hello from Virginia!

[jturner687]

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to be here! I'm 28 and from Virginia. I grew up watching my mom do all kinds of needle crafts and some of my favorite Christmas decorations are things she made when I was a child. I'm very new to cross stitch and have only done the little patterns of cute quotes that you see in your local craft store. I recently started another small project that will be a Christmas gift and am already looking for ideas for a wedding gift for a friend and someday stitching my mom's favorite painting (Starry Night) as a gift.

I am so looking forward to learning more about cross stitch. I read through the glossary and already learned so much! I had no idea there were more fabric options than just aida! What do most people here use? Also, I'm currently using a hoop but find it a bit awkward to manage. Any suggestions for alternatives?

I'm sure I'll learn more as I look around the forum but would welcome any advice you can give to very enthusiastic newbie or other places I can visit to read up on how to advance my skills. Can't wait to meet ya'll!

--Lani

[karen4bells]

Hello Lani, and welcome to the forum. I'm glad you found us and so happy you are already making good use of our site!!
I personally prefer to stitch on linen and evenweave fabrics, but will stitch on just about anything!! As for using a hoop, I am not a big fan of the usual round ones, but love Qsnap frames to stitch on---they come in a lot of sizes and can be found easily enough---here's a link to some on one of my favorite online sites, 123stitch.com

http://123stitch.com/item/Q-Snap-8x8-Qsnap/123-2493

[Squirrel]

Hi Lani and Welcome from me in damp Brisbane, it is great that you have joined us.

I use a 10" hoop most of the time and just rest it against a table so I can stitch 2 handed. I do have a floor stand but don't use it as much as I thought I would. However it is there if needed.

[rcperryls]

Hi Lani and welcome to the forum from South Carolina! There is so much to learn from this forum. I've learned more in the 4 years I've been a member than I did in the 20+ years I stitched alone. The glossary is a wonderful reference and don't forget that you can do a Search on a term or subject you want to know more about. Ask any questions you have. Someone will either know the answer or have a good idea of where to go to find an answer. I have used wooden hoops and Q-snaps. Right now I am back to hoops and have been using a Morgan No-slip hoop which I am very pleased with. I also have a smaller one. Generally I use a Lowery stand to hold the hoop so I can stitch two handed, but not always. One of the wonderful things about cross stitching is that you choose your "tools" and fabrics or threads or kits. There are not really any rules. I prefer stitching on evenweaves (lugana or jobelan) or some types of linen and prefer that to aida.
Looking forward to getting to know you and hope you will post pictures of your projects on the forum. We love pictures.

Carole

[Kathy_A]

Hi, Lani! Welcome from Chicagoland.

I started out using a hoop, but I switched over to stretcher bars when I started doing bigger projects. Now that I've moved onto "massive" projects, I bought a few sets of q-snaps (started out with the 11"/18" size but then realized it was too big, so I switched over to the 11"/11" size). I have big hands, so I like having something of substance to grasp onto, and the spacers of stretcher bars and the PVC pipe in the q-snaps are the perfect size for my mitts.

Linen is a great flowy fabric to work with, but I confess that having to count out two squares for every stitch can get a bit old. I'm back to using aida cloth for this big project since it is 100% stitched and there are no empty spaces, and since I'm doing it on 18-count, it is better for my eyes to have well-defined holes to aim the needle at. Also, this project has no half- or quarter-stitches, so I don't have to worry about subdividing the aida squares.

[fccs]

Hello from Colorado and welcome to the forum.

I used to use only stretcher bars or scroll frames for my projects, but now I've added Qsnaps and the no-slip hoops that Karen mentioned. I will stitch on any fabric, really, but do prefer Lugana, Jobelan, or linen.

[Serinde]

Welcome from the West of Scotland!

I have used all the hoops, scroll frames, Q-snaps etc., that have been mentioned already. Couldn't do without a stand, tho, or good lighting. As for fabric, well... depends on what you want it for, of course. I have used aida, linen, and all sorts of cotton mix fabrics. You are about to discover the truth about SABLE. And beware! We are such enablers!

[lavenderbee]

Hello & welcome Lani. Hope you enjoy looking around this forum. Lots to see & lovely people to meet.Look forward to seeing your work when you have time to post some pics

[jturner687]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone and thanks for the input on fabric and hoops/frames/etc. I am already thinking maybe I will try a little project on evenweave or linen, just to see how I like it. Good thing Christmas is coming up, maybe I will add some items to my wish list

Yes, I will post some pics of my current project soon. This is probably a silly question, but is the best place to do that in the Stitch A long section?

As far as actually working the pattern, though, what are everyone's thoughts on starting in the center vs. in a corner? Do you work across rows, columns, grouped by color, etc? I always wonder how to know what part to work on next, if that makes sense?

Also, is this forum available on Tapatalk? I tried looking it up but couldn't find it on the app.

[Kathy_A]

I'm afraid I can't help on the app (I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to those things!), but I can share how I deal with stitching. Until this latest project (which really broke the mold for how I usually do my projects), I would always just fold the fabric, find the center, and then look for the nearest string of consecutive stitches of the same color so I could establish a base line. Then, I would just work out from there, in whatever direction worked best for that project. Since I'm right-handed, I tend to work from left-to-right, so I would usually drift up and to the left from the center point, and then work up from there, then go back to the center and work down until I finished.

However, with this latest project, which is 28 pages of charts (!!), I was very meticulous, and started out gridding all 28 pages using sewing thread as the gridlines (I didn't go further down then just outlining the pages, although I know a lot of people here grid every 10 rows/columns). I then started in the upper left corner and have been working my way through it as if I were reading a book, left to right, and then down to the next line.

As for where to post project updates, join us in the Stitch Along forum!

[fccs]

I have a couple WIP's that I started in the upper left and worked across/down (usually parking), but my most common start is in the center.

[richardandtracy]

I have only ever used a roller/scroll frame, 24" x 12". Works well for me.

My last three projects (and I'm only on a lifetime total of 8 so far, though a couple have been quite complex) have been on linen & evenweave, stitching 2 over 1. The linen is a bit harder than evenweave as the slub in the weave makes straight lines not quite straight. However, the difficulty caused by black fabric is much greater than the effect of the difference in the weave.

Regards,

Richard.

[rcperryls]

When I first started stitching I would begin in the center and I have done that with a few recent projects, but generally I start in the upper leftcorner and work down and/or to the right, depending on the design. I started doing that when I began working on afghans and then continued when I started stitching designs like HAEDs which can have pages of charts. Finding the center is possible with them (we have one member who did that) but in general it's easier to make sure there is plenty of fabric and start where you feel most comfortable.

Don't know anything about Tapatalk, but I've never heard of anyone here using it.

Carole