The cross-stitching UFO club

Ruth_honey

I tried, I really did, but found myself staring at the chart for 10 minutes at a time, so only managed to do about a dozen or so stitches. Don't know what's wrong with me today. I've been really clumsy and spaced out. Started the day off by hitting my elbow on the doorframe first thing this morning, and have been bumping into things or dropping things all day.

I'll try and do some more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll make some progress on it. I just want it finished. I'm so sick of looking at it. I want to stitch things for me!

jintyb

Ruth_honey wrote: »

I tried, I really did, but found myself staring at the chart for 10 minutes at a time, so only managed to do about a dozen or so stitches. Don't know what's wrong with me today. I've been really clumsy and spaced out. Started the day off by hitting my elbow on the doorframe first thing this morning, and have been bumping into things or dropping things all day.

I'll try and do some more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll make some progress on it. I just want it finished. I'm so sick of looking at it. I want to stitch things for me!

Ruth-honey, here's my tuppenny-worth - dont stitch your UFO if you're sick of it! There's nothing worse than doing someting cos you feel you ought/ have to. My philosophy is to work on things that I really love and which give me real pleasure. I realised I had loads of kits which weren't "me" and if I was honest with myself I was NEVER going to stitch! So, I cut my losses, I sold some kits on ebay, and gave the rest away to some ladies who stitch for charity. That way I didnt feel so bad and others got pleasure (I hope) out of them. However - I did resolve not to buy anything unless I was truly going to stitch it and also not to start anything until I'd finished what I was working on. So far I've stuck to that, but I love seeing what everyone else is stitching/buying!

Have a great day everyone!

shelly

Those of you who buy charts and materials seperately......can you tell me of any good (and cheap ) sites to buy from?

I looked at the link MRSMC posted and saw that the best projects were charts and not kits so I got nervous and didn't buy anything.
I say nervous because I have only ever bought ready to go kits and never bought materials seperately so I have no idea at all of cost.
Having thought about it its probably better value to buy a chart then the materials seperately because you will then have plenty of thread left over once the project is finished for another one but never having done this I'm nervous incase it works out more expensive (though I don't think it would be)

Also can you recommend which brands of thread to use? For example are Anchor threads any better/worse/different colours to DMC?

I have found a nice site that tells me about the differences in using different count aida so I understand that bit.

Have any of you done 'pre-stamped' kits? Are they nice to do? I have seen them but dismissed them.....I don't know why though


Sorry for all the questions but I'm nervous about buying a chart then finding its just as expensive as buying the ready to go kit.

Thanks ladies

jintyb

shelly wrote: »

Those of you who buy charts and materials seperately......can you tell me of any good (and cheap ) sites to buy from?

I looked at the link MRSMC posted and saw that the best projects were charts and not kits so I got nervous and didn't buy anything.
I say nervous because I have only ever bought ready to go kits and never bought materials seperately so I have no idea at all of cost.
Having thought about it its probably better value to buy a chart then the materials seperately because you will then have plenty of thread left over once the project is finished for another one but never having done this I'm nervous incase it works out more expensive (though I don't think it would be)

Also can you recommend which brands of thread to use? For example are Anchor threads any better/worse/different colours to DMC?

I have found a nice site that tells me about the differences in using different count aida so I understand that bit.

Have any of you done 'pre-stamped' kits? Are they nice to do? I have seen them but dismissed them.....I don't know why though


Sorry for all the questions but I'm nervous about buying a chart then finding its just as expensive as buying the ready to go kit.

Thanks ladies

Hi Shelly, I buy my threads from a lady on ebay, she's really reasonable and very reliable. She sells 5 DMC threads of your choice for £1.50. which is brill and 70p postage up to 20 threads. Personally I prefer DMC. I use charts from mags which saves money but on the whole I think buying seperately is more economical than kits. I used to always buy kits until the last two I did left me short of thread - grr! I'll PM you with the seller's details as Im not sure if we're allowed to post links like that on here.

Ruth_honey

jintyb wrote: »

Ruth-honey, here's my tuppenny-worth - dont stitch your UFO if you're sick of it! There's nothing worse than doing someting cos you feel you ought/ have to. My philosophy is to work on things that I really love and which give me real pleasure. I realised I had loads of kits which weren't "me" and if I was honest with myself I was NEVER going to stitch! So, I cut my losses, I sold some kits on ebay, and gave the rest away to some ladies who stitch for charity. That way I didnt feel so bad and others got pleasure (I hope) out of them. However - I did resolve not to buy anything unless I was truly going to stitch it and also not to start anything until I'd finished what I was working on. So far I've stuck to that, but I love seeing what everyone else is stitching/buying!

Have a great day everyone!

It's for my mum, and she already knows about it, so I have to do it. She's not pressuring me at all, but I want to 'get it out of the way'. Her 50th birthday was 2 1/2 years ago! I do love the overall picture, but it's so big that when I'm stitching it, all I see it a mess of oranges, reds, browns and yellows, not a gorgeous detailed picture of trees in autumn. And the constant changing of threads is boring. But each stitch is one stitch closer to being finished...:D

I will take your advice on my other kits, though. When I get chance, I will go through my box of kits again and decide if I *really* want to stitch them, or if I'm just keeping them because they were a gift, or because I bought them at such a good price! I am much better than I used to be with regards to buying new kits and charts. The new Bothy Threads Dictionary of... kits have been my weakness though. But I do really like stitching them and they're all for me! I have the bras, cakes and boots ones, and I'm hoping they won't bring out any more that I like. I have no idea where to hang them.:rotfl:

MRSMCAWBER

Morning all

Shelly -I prefer DMC threads too -I find they are softer and tangle less
To start with buying your own materials seperately can be a bit more expensive -but you soon build up a really good stash of threads -I have that big lever arch full of threads -plus all the ones that are being use on various UFOs right now
I prefer them to kits too as I find that kits can be really mean with the piece of fabric you get -the one Im working on at the moment is a kit and only has about 1.5" of spare fabric around the edges -I like at least 3" on each side as it makes framing much easier..plus a lot of kits ar AIDA - so I end up buying even weave to replace it :rolleyes:....
I haven't done any stamped kits -I don't think I would get on with them,,,

Ruth Honey -Im with Jinty... If I don't enjoy a project Im doing -I won't do it... I put it away and have a break and do something I really want to do -then go back to the other one and do just bits n bobs inbetween nice projects... hubbies hawk is a bugga as its all greys -so I intend to do bits n bobs of that one at the same time as Im doing one of the heaven + earth charts

Well I haven't done any sewing yet as I have had my baking head on -but Im off to wash my hair and then I can settle down and sew for the rest of today :T

shelly

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

Morning all

Shelly -I prefer DMC threads too -I find they are softer and tangle less
To start with buying your own materials seperately can be a bit more expensive -but you soon build up a really good stash of threads -I have that big lever arch full of threads -plus all the ones that are being use on various UFOs right now
I prefer them to kits too as I find that kits can be really mean with the piece of fabric you get -the one Im working on at the moment is a kit and only has about 1.5" of spare fabric around the edges -I like at least 3" on each side as it makes framing much easier..plus a lot of kits ar AIDA - so I end up buying even weave to replace it :rolleyes:....
I haven't done any stamped kits -I don't think I would get on with them,,,

Thanks for the advice.

Now you know I am going to ask.....what's the difference between aida and evenweave? Is it just personal preference?
Would I notice a difference if I stitched on even weave as I have only ever used the aida that comes with a kit.

Thanks

Ruth_honey

shelly wrote: »

Those of you who buy charts and materials seperately......can you tell me of any good (and cheap ) sites to buy from?

I looked at the link MRSMC posted and saw that the best projects were charts and not kits so I got nervous and didn't buy anything.
I say nervous because I have only ever bought ready to go kits and never bought materials seperately so I have no idea at all of cost.
Having thought about it its probably better value to buy a chart then the materials seperately because you will then have plenty of thread left over once the project is finished for another one but never having done this I'm nervous incase it works out more expensive (though I don't think it would be)

Also can you recommend which brands of thread to use? For example are Anchor threads any better/worse/different colours to DMC?

I have found a nice site that tells me about the differences in using different count aida so I understand that bit.

Have any of you done 'pre-stamped' kits? Are they nice to do? I have seen them but dismissed them.....I don't know why though


Sorry for all the questions but I'm nervous about buying a chart then finding its just as expensive as buying the ready to go kit.

Thanks ladies

I have the whole range of DMC threads-in theory anyway! I'm sure some have gone walkies and are hiding somewhere. Years ago I came across someone who was selling them very cheaply (probably on ebay) and bought about 3/4 of the range. The rest I topped up when either my mum or I went to America. Buying them from somewhere like Hobbycraft would make it very expensive, but there are bargains to be in the UK. Sometimes I see ads in the stitching magazines with good deals, and also if you are recommended a trusted ebay seller that sells genuine threads, you can get a good price there. Once you have a good range of threads, it is cheap to buy charts & fabric. Both DMC and Anchor are very good makes, but DMC is stocked in the USA and they have great prices on it, so that swung me to go for DMC.

If I see some fabric at a good price, I tend to buy it, even if I don't need it yet. I have a good stash of aida and evenweave in various counts and colours. Sew It All, who used to do all the stitching shows were good for fabric. I didn't see them at the last show and the website doesn't appear to be working very well.
Just make sure when you're buying the fabric that it's big enough!!! Measure 4 times if you have to. And it's better to have too much than too little. You can use the excess for cards or bookmarks, but cut it too small and you have a problem...trust me!

I think you'll find you have a big outlay to start buying threads and fabric, but once you've got the stash, it's much cheaper.

I have a stamped kit in my UFO pile. It's a christmas quilt, but it's not done on aida.
It's very strange to work on after only doing counted cross stitch. You might find you really enjoy them, though. Perhaps keep an eye out for one in the sales, or in a charity shop and give it a try.

Hope that helps.

MRSMCAWBER

Shelly
I just find even weave much softer to work on -its drapey and not all stiff and sticking out of the hoop at silly angles-and much better if you end up with charts that have fractional stitches
The one fabric I would avoid to start with if you aren't confident with it is -linen -it looks lovely and I have a couple done on it -but the strands of the weave aren't even -so its a bit odd until you get used to it..

like ruth honey I have a stash of various pieces of fabric that I have seen at good prices and put away until I need them...
You soon find that all the materials build up -I know "someone":whistle: who carries a list in their purse with what threads they have missing from the range and what size fabrics i need for future projects -"just in case I see a sale"

Ruth_honey

shelly wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.

Now you know I am going to ask.....what's the difference between aida and evenweave? Is it just personal preference?
Would I notice a difference if I stitched on even weave as I have only ever used the aida that comes with a kit.

Thanks

Aida is woven in regular blocks, and evenweave is woven in single threads. A piece stitched on 14 count aida would be the same size as on 28 count evenweave, as you stitch over 2 threads. I hope that makes sense. Maybe a picture would help...aha! Try looking at this link http://www.thecrossstitchguild.co.uk/basics.asp#fabricbasics

I find that evenweave drapes better, so it's good for covering photo albums. Also, fractional stitches are easier on evenweave as you don't have to pierce the fabric. There's no way I could stitch a Tatty Teddy design on aida, because of all the silly backstitching, so I switch to evenweave. I also think that hand dyed fabric looks better on evenweave than aida. Having said that, I use aida a lot. It's very easy to count on aida, so if you have to move across a large area of fabric, aida is better for counting across. And if-like my current UFO-every single part of the fabric is stitched on, you may as well use aida.
Feel free to have a look at my photo album to see what I've stitched on aida and evenweave. I would definately say give it a go!
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/326308832tSQeTg