Crossstitchforum - A FREE forum for Cross Stitchers

I typed up a hello earlier today but it seems to have disappeared! If somebody sees a "hello" post from me somewhere else, my apologies for not putting it in the right place!

Anyways, hello from Washington state. I had no idea until today there was a forum just for people who cross stitch! I get teased somewhat from friends & family about my "granny" habit (I'm only 44!) but I don't mind. I love it. I used to cross stitch when I was a teenager, but then dropped it when I went to college, got married, had a baby, and now that my son is a teenager and I have become obsolete (until he needs money or a ride), I've picked it back up again and am loving it.

I have a basket overflowing with patterns & kits but I mostly stick to small things, like mason jar lids, etc. I feel more accomplished when I actually finish something! I'm also re-teaching myself embroidery/crewel. I used to do that too as a teenager. I think it looks really lovely, but I need a lot of practice.

I'm so glad to have found "my people" online!

-Michelle

Hi Michelle and welcome to the forum from cool and going to get very cold South Carolina. Your first post didn't get lost, but the first post of new members has to be approved by one of us mods. That's so that the rest of you don't have to deal with any of the spam which occasionally comes our way. You are now a member of one of the best, if not the best though I admit I am biased , cross stitch forums there is. What types of projects do you like to do? I hope you will post pictures of your work. We love pictures! Looking forward to getting to know you!

Carole

Welcome to the forum.

Hello & welcome. Look forward to seeing your work soon.

I didn't know about the approving of the post, sorry! Feel free to delete the other message. Whoops.

I do mostly mason jar lids for now. They're small and I can finish them! When I was 18, my sister bought me a huge piece of linen and a gorgeous pattern of a Romeo & Juliet scene. Lots of french knots, lots of mixing thread colors or adding metallic thread, etc. I got about 60% done and never touched it again. I think the big projects are not for me, although that doesn't stop me from buying fabric and thread and patterns like they'll never be available for sale again. I might move to ornaments, too. Most of my stuff is Christmas patterns, so I can give them away as gifts, but I did make a framed design for a good friend that says "suck it" in pretty flowery letters with some scrapbooking stuff along the bottom (not sure how to post pictures?). She says that all the time, it's her favorite phrase and she asked me to stitch something over-the-top cute like that to give to her daughter when she goes off to college in the fall. It was fun! I'd like to do more stuff like that. If I can figure out how to post a picture, I'll do it here.

Right now I'm trying a lot of new things, like re-learning crewel. Maybe hardanger. I also just bought waste canvas, I thought I'd try that too. Trying to branch out and try new things! Thank you for the warm welcome!

Michelle

If I've figured this out right, here's the "suck it" I stitched for a friend of mine:

What fun that piece is! I know your friend loved it and while I don't do scrap booking I think the combo with the stitching is really clever and adds a lot to the design! And you have figured out posting pictures!

Carole

Thanks! I don't scrapbook either but I spent about 2 hours wandering Hobby Lobby and Michael's, looking for something to add something to the picture. The "it" isn't centered very well & it's an odd size (custom mat... thankfully only $8) so I had a hard time making it look frame worthy! Despite all the frustrations with it, it was a lot of fun. I loved the little butterflies. I almost sprinkled glitter over the design just to make it more obnoxious but I decided not to. Maybe I should have!

Hello from me in SW France. I laughed when I saw that picture....love that border of flowers. It really makes the saying stand out.

I think you'll fit right in here!

Hello from unusually cold south Louisiana. I laughed when you said you were teased for your "granny" habit. I was sitting in the Orlando airport doing some handwork b/c my flight had been delayed by about 6 hours for a mechanical repair. This guy sits down one chair over, sneaking looks at me. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "I haven't seen anyone do that since my grandmother died." He looked about 60 - I was 48 at the time.

Hello! Welcome to the forum from unusually rainy Southern California. I got a laugh out of the granny habit comment as well. It turned out a college roommate of mine stitched too, although we didn't discover it until after we'd been roommates for a few months. We spent several Friday nights watching DVDs and stitching instead of going out so she used to jokingly refer to us as grandmas

That was such a fun piece of stitching you did and I think the frame really makes the design stand out. Can't wait to see more of your projects!

Welcome from the West of Scotland. Glad you found us! We cater for most textile tastes. We have tatters (no, that came out badly; people that do tatting!), crocheters, designers of lovely things, hardangeristas, surface embroiderers and weavers. Once you have enough posts, you'll be able to access the galleries, too, which I recommend.

We are terrible enablers, so be careful!

And - whisper it quietly - some of us are men too.

All the best here. We don't bite, so stay a spell & have a natter, it's the best way to learn & teach. I certainly need to learn, and have been helped greatly by members here.

Regards,

Richard.

Hello and welcome to the forum!! I absolutely love the project and the way you finished it!! Very pretty!!

Welcome Michelle from still coolish Brisbane its great that you have joined us. Love your completed project, its great.

Hello and welcome

Hello

Great gift for your friend made me laugh I like the border too

Hello from Colorado and welcome to the forum.

Welcome, Michelle!

I love your Suck It piece! A great example of Subversive Stitching.

And another young "granny" here! I am 50 years old now, and when I took several pieces in to a local frame shop a few years ago, the elderly man who owned the place was surprised that I had done them. He said he hadn't seen too many stitched pieces come into his shop in the past decade, and my mom had the same response from her framer when she had a piece I had made for her done.

Thank goodness for the internet, where I can find my people and talk cross stitch!

Hello

Welcome to the group. I'm from the UK and at the moment my nearest city (and my birthplace) is the city of Culture.
Glad you have found us and enjoy the forum.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work

MM x