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Hi

How do you ladies keep your WIPs safe and clean? I've just returned to cross stitch after a very long break, so long in fact that last time I was stitching I didn't have children. I now have 2 children (5 and 1) and keeping my WIP safe and clean is posing quite a challenge!

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks

I pack mine away every night when I have finished into a clear zip up bag (the sort you have for A4 paperwork) and then put that in my sewing bag. I have never had a problem with it getting dirty (yet!!!).

I have a big plastic bag which i put over my seat frame to keep it clean.

I don't worry to much about my work. When the kids were small they knew that they were not to play with mom's projects. Now the kids are older and gone but the dogs and cats leave hair everywhere.

I have an area in the livingroom that is mine and I leave everything out. When I am done I wash all of my projects so I don't fuss about what might brush against them during stitching, I know it will all come out in the wash.

Thanks for the suggestions girls. At the moment I am using the zip food bags to store my sewing during the day. As I've only just started stitching again the children are not used to project(s) being around. That will change lol

I have a large shoe box from a pair of Ugg boots that I store my current work and its bits and pieces in. I have a dog and although he's not a chewer/destroyer he sheds tons of hair (typical terrier lol) so boxing it away with the lid on keeps it dog hair free.

I don't have either children or pets so I I really only have to protect my projects from myself. I do travel with my stitching quite a bit. I think I may stitch more outside of my house than I do in my house. So my main goal is to keep things contained, organized and easily portable. I keep everything I need for a project in a canvas shopping bag. When I do stitch at home, everything gets packed up and put away at the end of the day.

I roll mine up in a clean tea towel and keep it in a poster tube. Hubby knows not to go anywhere near it!

I have two children and recently a little kitten that loves to use my WIP as a sleeping cushion (although better that than a scratching post ) I have a stitchbow travel bag that I keep my WIP in. I take my stitching to work so it has come in pretty handy
Faith

I don't worry much about my work getting dirty since its only me and the cats. If I'm going to stitch outside I put everything in an old picnic basket I have which is very easy to carry. If I'm traveling or taking my work somewhere else I use a canvas bag I have which is large enough to hold the afghan and supplies. For smaller projects, a ziplock bag usually works.
What I really have to watch out for is to make sure coffee cups or other drinks are far enough from my work that I don't spill on it or have the cats knock it over on to my work. Coffee stains are not fun.

Carole

I have 3 children of my own who know not to touch my stitching. One of my three step-children tried to mess with my stitching stuff and found the consequences more than he liked and he's older now (was maybe 2 or 3 at the time) so nobody messes with my stitching area anymore. My littlest one (almost 2 now) has no problem letting me stitch, but when I try to use the computer to do my classwork she's all in my space and will have none of that. To store it I put the fabric in a large plastic bag (garbage size if needed) rolled up to not cause anymore creases, and store everything in this little 3-drawer chest I was lucky to find many years ago.