New member - "Seasoned" Stitcher

[stryker]

I am so excited to have found a forum of fellow cross stitch enthusiasts! After a 20+ year "stitching leave of absence" due to the demands of children and career, I am finally returning to my passion of yore with the aid of a new necessity.....the dreaded lighted magnifying glass !!! Historically, I preferred very detailed, challenging designs which do not have the tell-tale appearance of obvious cross stitch but instead mimic tapestries or paintings; using fractional stitches, blended floss strands, french knots, etc. I am sure that during my sabbatical, there have been some innovations and new products for which I will be clueless and hope that the members will share their knowledge and experience. I look forward to the sharing of information and the comradery with fellow stitchers.

Mendi

[rcperryls]

Hello Mendi and welcome to the forum from South Carolina. And welcome back to cross stitching. You will find all different types of cross stitching and we have a section for other crafts as well. Many of our members are skilled in more than one craft. We are all glad to share our experiences and knowledge with each othe. I can’t begin to say how much I’ve learned since joining. Be warned, however, that we do have a tendency to encourage each other in the accumulation of all the stash you want to have. And an awful lot of us find that daylight magnifying glass gets more necessary as time goes by. Looking forward to seeing your projects. We love photos.

If you have any questions please ask. Someone is likely to,either have the answer or have a good idea of where to go to find the answer.

Carole

[karen4bells]

Hello and welcome to the forum--looking forward to you posting more as well as seeing what projects you are working on!!

[Serinde]

Welcome to the forum from the West of Scotland! And also a big welcome back to stitching after being AWOL for so long. You'll find there's a lot out there to choose from, including work by designers who were not around back in the day. Oh, and doesn't everyone use a magnifying light? No? Could of fooled me! Don't forget to explore places like the Stash & Grab (our virtual pub) and the galleries of members' stitching. Food for inspiration.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Welcome to the forum and welcome back to stitching - hope the new necessary aids will help you get back into it comfortably!

[wendywombat]

Welcome from me in SW France.

I used to be an 'in-hand' stitcher', didn't use magnifiers, hoops or frames. Didn't even need to wear glasses.
Then along came the Old Woman who gets between me and my reflection and Everything changed!!
Now I use use all of the above and even have to wear my glasses with the magnifier with light!!

It's OK, gives me a good excuse to surf the internet for all sorts of Stitching Goodies!!

I am looking forward to seeing what stitching you have to show us all!

[richardandtracy]

Welcome to the fold. Generally a happy buch here & I'm sure you'll fit right in.

You like Challenging designs.
Hmm.
There is Heaven & Earth Designs, of course. Or failing that, you could convert your own image using software available on the web. I wanted a challenge but wasn't completely happy with the software available, and ended up writing my own conversion program. Using it, I converted one of my Honeymoon photos, leading to the 28 count picture below:

117 colours...
Or go and use blended threads (converted with the same software to 25ct, but using 151 solid colours to make 118 blends & solids):


Don't think either looks too much like a traditional cross stitch...

Have fun, whatever you want to do, we can both help and learn from you too.

Regards,

Richard.

[kaliii]

Richard - wow! That's what you did? And you wrote your own converting program?? How cool! I admire that a lot!

Mendi - where can we see your works, please post in the stitch along-section, I'm so curious what it looks like!

[stryker]

Thank you All for the welcome. Richard, amazing work and awe-inspiring to think they are the product of a program you created! Kalii, my husband was transferred and we have been on the hunt for the right home for over a year (with no luck so far). In preparation, we have packed all but the day to day necessities. All accessories with the exception of a few lamps have been packed and put in storage. I look forward to sharing my older work and future projects with the group and especially, seeing the beautiful work of the other members.

Mendi

[kaliii]

Oh no, you're sitting on packed boxes for a year now? That sounds rather uncomfortable... Hope you'll find a nice home soon. 'll just be patient then. The stitch along is a good place to look at work, I like browsing topics there. Have fun! K

[Squirrel]

Hi Mendi and Welcome from me in damp Brisbane, so great to have you on board and wonderful that you now can come back to stitching too. Hopefully the 'right' future home will pop up very soon and you can get settled and sorted out so you can get back to finding all your treasures .

[Garnet]

Hello and Welcome from Wales

I do hope you find your new home soon and I look forward to seeing your stitchings in due course.

[richardandtracy]

Can I sympathize with living out of boxes. Not nice and wearing in the long term.
When I was a brat my dad was in the army and we moved very regularly, staying on average less than 2 years in each house. In a couple of them, I never bothered to unpack from our boxes. This attitude was helped a bit by the security situation in Germany at the time - during the cold war, we were at 48 hrs notice of invasion for several years, and thought being able to flee to the UK might help our survival chances. Being ready packed would get us out quicker, as would the grab bag permanently in the car.

When your work is accessible, we'd love to see it. Being a bit of a novice (8 years stitching so far) I still get a kick out of seeing the sort of work it's possible to do (and wish I had the skills for).

Regards,

Richard.