Quick Intro! (Pic Heavy)

[ChelseaStitches]

Hi All!

New to this forum and have been looking for a good active cross stitch forum for a while. Specifically one that wasn't associated with any brand, as I am a chart-aholic and love stitching everything! I have dabbled in and out of cross stitch for years now. My grandma sort of got me started. One of her big finishes is hanging in my Mom's kitchen:

M'Lady's Chateau:


I didn't get really serious about it until August of 2015 when we moved into our new house and I found myself looking for something fun to do to de-stress from long days at work. The first chart I bought in ages was the "Woodland Sampler" from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, and the the obsession sort of went from there. I didn't realize that cross stitching was sort of making a comeback and that there were tons of contemporary and super cute charts available. I also was inspired the first time I visited the HAED site and purchased on of their charts:

A Curious Introduction:


I just recently kitted it - still waiting for the delivery.

The other thing that always held me back was the inability to find a frame that I liked stitching through. I hated the round circle ones and in August found Qsnaps...they have forever changed my life. Literally. So after that it was fair game!

I now have quite a few projects in rotation and I love all of them. I absolutely adore stitching. I recently finished my first full piece. It's called "Pondering Pup" by dimensions. Here is the final product:



I gave it to a coworker of mine this morning. I started it in 2012 after her black lab passed away. It took me until now to finish it, and to be honest I didn't even finish the backstitching. Never the less noone will notice I don't think! Still proud of how it turned out!

This is my most recent haul:



VERY excited to start on a Mirabilia. The wedding kit is for a wedding this coming New Year's Eve and is my primary focus right now. The Hawk Run Hollow project is a huge one as well that is quite near and dear to my heart. Wishing I had Qsnaps for every project so I would never have to snap projects in and out!

Anyways, lovely to meet you all and so thrilled that I have found this place!

Chelsea

[rcperryls]

Hi Chelsea! Welcome to the forum from South Carolina! Love your pics!! And hope you will continue to provide us with more pics of your WIPs. Looks like you are going to be very busy and we would love to encourage you in that direction. What a wonderful piece of stitching your Grandma did and how great that it is still being enjoyed by your family! As you can tell we have all kinds of projects going on, including those that are self charted with a variety of charting programs. Big projects, little projects and everything in between. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Carole

[Squirrel]

Hi Chelsea and Welcome from me too down in warm Brisbane, so glad you joined us.

I love all your pictures, that Chalet is a lovely one and a family treasure to pass down through the generations. The black Lab one is gorgeous too and I love your new stash. The HAED is glorious and I see you have the Victorian Mansion one as well. I had it as a kit and had started it but had to quit as it was on very dark blue aida and so hard to see. I have passed it on to another member who is going to stitch it.

[Serinde]

Welcome from the West of Scotland! You certainly have a wide variety of stitching choices. Set up an SAL thread and we can cheer you on as you post progress pictures. Here on CSF we appreciate all sorts of stitching and, whisper it, other crafts, too. From crocheting, embroidery and needlepoint to pen making, woodturning and computer programming, we are delighted to know about it. Also, we have our own pub (that would be the Stash & Grab, and I'm not sure anyone has discovered all its facilities yet) and a hospital/clinic (St Cross Stitchers) for those times when needed. Hope we see you around a lot.

[richardandtracy]

Welcome to the nut house!

You have quite a lot of stitching to do before you finish those projects. They should be good - as Serinde says, do a 'SAL' (stitch-a-long) so we can see your progress. It's nice to see that of everyone else when you're in the doldrums because you seem to be making no progress on a big project, and sometimes you forget just how well you're progressing - a SAL can remind you of just how much progress was made since the last photo.

All the best & hope to see more of you.

Regards,

Richard.

[ChelseaStitches]

All great advice - thank you so much for the warm welcome and the encouragement! I am on holidays next week out in Saskatchewan visiting family so I am hoping I get a ton of stitch time while I'm out there. I'll start a SAL thread for my pieces before I leave, and then hopefully when I get back I will have something to show for a weeks worth of work lol.

I just want to stitch all day with a martini. Is that so wrong?

[Midge]

Welcome from me too.
Have a safe and happy trip to see your relatives and hopefully you'll have loads to show us when you get back.

[mouselady]

Wow, stitch all day with a martini! You are my kind of lady! I will be on a cruise in April and I have already told my husband I will be stitching all day with a drink by my side.

Loved seeing all your pictures and I do hope you post more and set up a SAL as everyone else said. Welcome to the group. Everyone here is so wonderful you will really enjoy visiting often.