Cross stitch here!

[spindrifter]

I have actually completed quite a few projects. I am totally addicted to the British cross stitch magazines. Anyone else?

[Bjornsdotter]

1. Present

I do counted cross stitch and have been countin' em for 34 years, I started when I was 12. My first few give me the willies now when I look at them. I mostly do Scandinavian patterns, loads of table runners, Carl Larsson pictures and table cloths.

The Brits have some beautiful bird and flower patterns. Which magazines do you use?

Cheers

[AngryOldDem]

3. I've been doing cross stitch for about seven years

Started when I needed a birth sampler for my youngest child. I didn't think I'd like it, but I really love it. I like Amish samplers and Amish designs, and if I had to state a preference, I like linen over Aida. Projects finished on linen look absolutely gorgeous.

Cross stitch, because of its exacting nature, takes my mind off of stuff and is generally my biggest stress-reliever. The downside, though, is a noticeable decline in the sharpness of my vision, but I'm learning to accomodate that.

There's nothing I like better than going to the craft store and browsing through books.

[wryter2000]

2. My only cross-stitch projects

Have you ever done afghan stitch? The needle looks like a cross between a crochet hook and a knitting needle -- a longish knitting needle with a hook on the end.

In any case, it makes perfect squares. Then, take a counted cross-stitch pattern and stitch it over the afghan stitch with colored afghan yarn. I've made afghans with huge orchids in the center that way. I'd show them at orchid shows where they had a crafts section and then donate them as raffle prizes to my local orchid society.

[KitSileya]

4. I like to cross stitch.

I started about 11 years ago, with a birthday present for my sister. I have done a number of projects, but the one I am most proud of, is a decorative cloth (pyntehåndkle, I haven't found the English word if there is one) for my mother. You can see it hanging in my mother's old kitchen here , on the left, the cloth with the wine glasses and fruit. You embroider partly on one side, partly on the other, so that when you hang it over the rod, both embroideries show. That was done on coarse linen, tho I mostly do pictures on aida.

I have been branching out trying other embroidery,such as satin stitch, and convent stitch, which is a type of straight stitch.

[Bjornsdotter]

5. I know what you mean

They are very pretty, but there isn't anything like that here in the US.

It's beautiful!

Cheers

[KitSileya]

10. Thanks. I'm very proud of it.

It was my biggest project to date, and not being on easy-to-count aida, I was a bit nervous. But it turned out beautifully, with a little bit of help from my mother and her sewing machine (I didn't have my own sewing machine then, mine is only 18 months old, so whenever I finished a project, I needed to bring it back to mom to have her sew the edges and whatnot.)

Norway has a great tradition for crafts - it seems to me that the US is mainly focused on quilting, while old Europe has preserved a lot of other traditions. Norwegian Hardanger embroidery, or white work embroidery, is amazing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardanger_embroidery

When it comes to cross stitching tho', British and Danish companies have some incredible patterns. I'm on the lookout for old fashioned cross stitch patterns - samplers, or just plain pictures of old houses or people. That's what I like to do.

[Bjornsdotter]

12. Danish Companies

I'm probably one of their best customers. Every time I visit Sweden (Malmo/Lund) I come home with a suitcase full of patterns, magazines and kits. I was in Copenhagen when the Eva Rosenstand store was closing...it was insane! Women were lined up down the street waiting to get their chance to go in. By the time it was my turn all that was left were the really large pieces and threads.

I have some old fashioned patterns. Some copied from family pieces that go back to the 20's. I was able to buy a pattern for x-stitch from a woman who used to take the old tomten postcards from the 40'& 50's and covert it to x-stitch.

Yes, quilting is the big thing here, it's one of the few fiber crafts that have a history here.

I do agree that girls in Scandinavia are taught traditional needle work more than here. My summers were all spent with my grandparents and my Farmor made sure that she taught me how to knit, crotchet, needlepoint, x-stitch and tvist by the time I was 12.

My favorite patterns are the Carl Larsson reproductions of his artwork....I just can't get enough. oh and table runners....they are just not popular here as they are there. Here they are very hard to find, as are small tablecloths.

Cheers

Some of the museums have nice books of the old needleworks that are x-stitched or you could convert to x-stitch.

[KitSileya]

13. Carl Larsson has beautiful pictures.

Those are the types of pictures I like, or even pictures from that era, or Victorian style embroidery. Those pictures tho' - the kids, the colors, and just the cozyness of them is so appealing. Very traditional Swedish, aren't they? They must do really well mounted in frames and hung on the wall. I guess it's a good thing you have access to other sources for the patterns and kits you want - if I move back to the US, I'd still go back to Norway regularly, which will give me an opportunity to get stuff as well. I wonder whether the traditions are better preserved in the Midwest? That's where most Scandinavians settled, after all.

I'm glad my mom taught me to knit and embroider - she's the only one in her family who does, so she knits for her great nieces and nephews as well as her grandchildren. My Farmor embroidered tapestries - replicas of medieval pictures and tapestries. She died in September, and my uncle and aunt promised to set aside any of her unfinished (or finished projects) they didn't want when they cleaned out her apartment. She also crocheted table cloths (my mom has some really beautiful star shaped ones she did which we use at Christmas. I've just recently started doing table cloths and runners myself - before I primarily did pictures. But I moved into an aparment two years ago, after dorm living, and I want to start making a collection of household linen, so to speak.

I do want to learn quilting, too - especially hand quilting. I got a sewing machine for my 30th birthday a year and a half ago, and there's quite a group of quilters at my workplace (it's become increasingly popular in Scandinavia as well.) I have even acquired a stash of fat quarters and cutting paraphernalia, but I am very unsure about using sewing machines. I always brought my projects home to mom to get them sewn and hemmed etc. I love the aesthetics of Amish quilts, and Jinny Beyer hand quilting, but I feel I need someone to show me how to do stuff rather than learning from books.

[spindrifter]

7. I can't get to your link!

I would love to see your example. A lot of my pieces are Chinese designs. The largest I have done is a panel about 5 feet long with an East Indian design. I have also done some adaptations of modern paintings that I enjoyed. The designs came from a library book.

[Bjornsdotter]

8. Here's the link

The original had a comma at the end....I just took it off and it worked.

Cheers

[spindrifter]

9. Thanks! That

is very cool!

[KitSileya]

11. Thanks - I'm not very good with the codes here at DU

So thanks to Bjornsdotter for the assist.

I have one of those shelves in my own kitchen as well, so this summer, I am going to embroider a decorative cloth for that one - it's narrower than my Mom's, so that pattern won't fit. I'll probably try to find an traditional Norwegian pattern, with either a single color thread, or shades of the same color on white cloth.

[peacefreak]

6. 'Nother stitcher, here.

I did my first sampler at the age of 8. One of the old stamped ones. Tore it out & did it again. That must have been foreshadowing!
I've been doing counted cross for about 20 years. Currently working on an astrological sampler. I've used the British mags in the past. Love William Morris. I'm on the lookout for a birth sampler for my first grandson.
Truth be told, I spend too much time on DU & not enough time stitching!

[AllegroRondo]

14. I'm a Theresa Wentzler addict

I've done about a dozen of her designs, it was her fantasy work that originally attracted me to cross stitch.

[ironflange]

15. I hadn't heard of her

Those are really nice designs.

I like Nora Corbett's stuff, at http://www.mirabilia.com. I have two designs going right now, Deco Spirits and Rose of Sharon.

[tammywammy]

19. Those are some nice patterns

I've only done Aida cross-stitch, but I want to try linen.

I move in a couple of months, so can't start a project until after that. But I'm going to keep this link for in the future.

[Bjornsdotter]

16. I have many

....of her patterns, mostly the older ones....fantasy.

I tried to make the Unicorn on black fabric, but my kids were little and it was to complex to allow me to work with little ones running around the house.

Well the "little ones" are now 19 & 17 and I'm going to start it again this year. It's one of the goals I've set for myself.

How long did it take you to complete one of her designs?

Cheers

[AllegroRondo]

17. I've collected many of her patterns

especially since they reprinted many of her old ones in book format. The fantasy ones are definitely my favorites.

I did all 4 of her Four Seasons Fairies in about 5-6 months each.
The Camelot Sampler took nearly a full year. I managed to do the over-one section of the jousting knights on 38 count linen.
Currently, Im working on her Cinderella. Its been almost 2 years, off and on, but I've been distracted with making beaded jewelry for the last year.

[Bjornsdotter]

18. Thanks!

That gives me an idea of the time frame.

I remember from when I started it last time that it was very hard to see using the black linen-type cloth. I'll have to get a light to put behind the fabric to shine through.

I bought her patterns when they came out, knowing I wouldn't really be able to do anything with them until the kids were older. Now it's time to dig them out again.

Cheers

[Brazenly Liberal]

20. I don't buy the mags any more. I make my own patterns

from drawings, photos, etc. Right now, I'm into portraits. I just finished a b&w portrait of my brother and his hub and now I'm working on a sepia tint of my son.

[Bjornsdotter]

21. I've made simple patterns

...but nothing as involved as a portrait.

Do you use a program for cross stitch? I know a few years back they were really hot, but I never bought one. It was always something I was going to do when the kids got older.

Cheers

[Brazenly Liberal]

22. I use Pattern Maker

I didn't think most of the programs that were hot a while back (PC Stitch, etc) were very good. This one is okay - better than earlier programs, but it still could use some improvement. One nice thing about it is it's very easy to use. You can check it out here:

http://hobbyware.com/

I edit the pic with photoshop or some other graphics prog, then load it into Pattern Maker. It does a reasonably good job of graphing the photo in whole stitches. Then I change them to halves or quarters where necessary. The hardest part of portrait work is getting the skin color right. Especially if more than one person is in the picture. That's one definite advantage to working in b&w or sepia tones. :)

[Bjornsdotter]

23. Thank-you!

For the link. It looks like fun, better than working on graph paper.

That was one of my stopping points about the programs.....none of the reviews (from users) were very good and they were too expensive to just give it a try.

Cheers