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How you work a design by the block? or square inch? I am not sure how to say this LOL

Where you mark your fabric off in squares and stitch each square so you are working in all lines?

Did I make this clear as mud yet? Ya I thought so

I was thinking this may be a good way to work but what do you do with all your thread tails? Don't you get tangled up?

Guess I am confused. Must be all the nyquil LOL

Are you asking how to cross-stitch? As in the method in which a pattern is tackled?
If not...I'm so lost!

I think I know what you mean, you just want to work one block at a time and then move to the next one. The hanging threads are "parked". If you do a search for parking you'll find a huge thread with loads of information how to do this.

Generally I think they are left hanging at the front inside the hole that they are going into next and you just stitch over the thread at the back and avoid it at the front.

If you move in the same direction block to block across the fabric they should get in the way too much. But I imagine they would if you went up or down to the next block.

Yea parking LOL Thank you I will look that up!

I stitch in 10-stitch wide columns working each 10-stitch row left to right and from the top down to the bottom of the page, then starting again at the top of the next column to the right. I park my threads using this method: http://www.scarletquince.com/parking.php" target="_blank. I've tried doing it other ways but I find this method is the one that gives the neatest stitches because I'm not bringing the needle to the front of the fabric through holes that are already occupied by other stitches (doing so sometimes results in pulling the existing stitches to the front of the fabric and making them uneven, in my experience - especially on higher count fabric where the holes are a tighter fit).

I don't grid my fabric because I tried it once and hated it. I'm not counting any higher than 10 so I don't see the need for gridding and I've never miscounted as a result of not doing it. Other cross stitchers swear by gridding, but it's not for me. Just a matter of personal preference.

If you take a look at my Coniferous Forest in the SAL section you might get a better idea of what I mean. (I'm hoping to update it later today when Hubby's emailed me the photos).

Sorry, that all sounds a bit "me, me, me", but hopefully it'll make things a little clearer for you. Good luck!

I don't stitch in blocks because I am afraid of seeing the blocks once I am done.

It depends on the piece. On my LOTR HAED I am definitely stitching in blocks right now as it is the only way I can keep track of how far I have gotten with the black background. I truly hope that there won't be any marks after I am done. Don't think so. With other pieces I don't quite as much. I am more likely to go where the thread and the design take me. Which is why I like to use a yellow marker to help me keep track of where I've already been.

Carole

I personally stitch by color. I pick a large section of one color and do it all. I keep whatever thread is remaining to do smaller sections of that color later on.

Most of my projects have been on the smaller side though so its a method thats worked for me.

MaggieM1750 wrote:I don't stitch in blocks because I am afraid of seeing the blocks once I am done.

rcperryls wrote:I truly hope that there won't be any marks after I am done.

Coniferous Forest is the first piece I've stitched in 10x10 blocks and so far - and I hope I'm not tempting fate here - there aren't any telltale "chessboard" lines. I read that the trick is to continue a colour into the next block if it continues past a line and that's what I've been doing. I also read that it's to do with tension.