The "no frills, no gremlins (hopefully)" cross-stitch cafe

Kevie192

Thanks for the warm welcome all and sorry it's been a while for me to come back!

My name is indeed Kevin and yes I am male... But call me what you like, I'm sure I've heard worse

Was looking at some of the Lizzie Kate designs and came across their punch needle kits... Never heard of punch needle before but it sounds exciting. Anyone done it or have and opinions?

I also had a look at some of the Bothy Threads designs I like... In particular the Foods of the British Isles one. Anyone have any opinions on this too ?

Thanks,

Kevin

Flat_Eric

Cross Stitcher dropped through my door today. I had a quick browse while eating lunch and thought it would be the same old non exciting projects but I came across the cute cat designs which I really like so that's put paid to my stitchy plans as I want to do them now!!

Kevin I like most of the Bothy Thread designs. they are bright and colourful. The map looks like it will be a good stitch

Ruth_honey

Kevie192 wrote: »

Thanks for the warm welcome all and sorry it's been a while for me to come back!

My name is indeed Kevin and yes I am male... But call me what you like, I'm sure I've heard worse

Was looking at some of the Lizzie Kate designs and came across their punch needle kits... Never heard of punch needle before but it sounds exciting. Anyone done it or have and opinions?

I also had a look at some of the Bothy Threads designs I like... In particular the Foods of the British Isles one. Anyone have any opinions on this too ?

Thanks,

Kevin

I love that Bothy Threads kit and almost bought it. They are complex and there's a lot of detail in them, but the instruction are very clear and the threads are pre sorted. I've done a few BT kits and they are enjoyable to stitch.

Flat_Eric

Well I was going to start the cat designs featured in this months cross stitcher but Ive only found a few of the threads and I can't find a big enough piece of the blue material I would like to stitch it on. I was going to have a browse online but my happy laptop won't switch on. Its been grumbling recently about the cooling fan and won't switch on when its having a cooling fan moment which is very annoying when its only 14 months old. It switches on sometimes without the error message and works then without complaint. So think I may read my kindle instead. Pft

Annie021063

Evening all
Great stitching happening everywhere
Love the boxes Coxy and your treasures sweetcarer
Started stitching tonight on 'The World' attached a pic, as you can see Africa is coming on

image by annie_w32, on Flickr

flowerofscotland

sweetcarer wrote: »

Hi Girls,

Just thought I show you all what I received in my exchange - never used over dyed threads before - they are not colourfast so don't know what to use them in.



Love the finishing in the snowman, makes me feel mine is pretty poor in comparison.

Kind wishes to all

sweetcarer

Love the snowman but I don't agree that your work looks poor in any way.

Hand dyed threads are great fun. Perhaps start with a simple design which can be stitched in one colour? I think some of the things you have done from Kincavel Crosses would be suitable

This is a very simple Lizzie Kate design I stitched in one colour of hand dyed thread and as you can see it produces a variegated effect

image by stitchwitchhazel, on Flickr

flowerofscotland

coxy love the storage boxes

elizabeth beautiful colours on your new start; organised boxes look great and will really save time in the future

annie love New York - it will look brilliant when framed

World is a lovely design and I really like the fabric you are using

ruth looking forward to hearing about your trip to Ally Pally next month. I used to go to the equivalent show in Harrogate in November but it's a long trip and the friends I used to go with aren't available for various reasons so I haven't been for a while. Although online shopping is great there is nothing to beat actually seeing and touching things. And I used to love the workshops - have tried out lots of different techniques that I wouldn't have managed on my own

flowerofscotland

Kevie192 wrote: »

Thanks for the warm welcome all and sorry it's been a while for me to come back!

My name is indeed Kevin and yes I am male... But call me what you like, I'm sure I've heard worse

Was looking at some of the Lizzie Kate designs and came across their punch needle kits... Never heard of punch needle before but it sounds exciting. Anyone done it or have and opinions?

I also had a look at some of the Bothy Threads designs I like... In particular the Foods of the British Isles one. Anyone have any opinions on this too ?

Thanks,

Kevin

Welcome to the Cafe

I've done a bit of punchneedle and the LK designs are cute. You do need specialist equipment - fabric, needles, needle threader. Any embroidery thread (DMC, Anchor etc) will be fine though you do use a lot of thread. Plus you need a very strong hoop as the tension on the fabric needs to be really drum tight.

It isn't my favourite needlecraft for 2 reasons: I found I had to sit at a table to do it (whereas I sit on the couch to cross stitch) and my DH didn't like the noise the punch needle makes.

I went to a class at my local needlework store to learn but I'm sure there will be tutorials on YouTube

The Bothy Threads kit is a lovely design but I wouldn't choose it for a beginner. IMHO it is better to start with something smaller, with fewer colour changes and less backstitch. But it wouldn't be impossible and would look wonderful when finished.

Coxy11

Hi everyone,


sweetcarer - lovely exchange pieces, the threads look gorgeous.


Elizabeth Braun - great start on Paradise Island - is that black aida (brave woman!). I have storage box envy!!!


Flat Eric - nice to 'see' you. Great that you've found some projects to work on.


Annie - NY looks fab. Great start on The World.


Kevin - I've not done/heard of punch needle craft (scurries off to google it). I too love the Bothy Thread kits but have not done any. They look a lot of work. I've got the Haberdashery Shop kit on my wish list - would love to do that one day.........:D


I've still not picked up any stitching - busy weekend and had to get a knitting project finished for church. I'll attach a couple of pics in the next post.


Have a good day all
Coxy

Coxy11

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Church mouse

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Michael Powell cottage - started before our holiday