It's my favourite too, but it was hard choosing a shade because DMC had so many nice ones. I ended up going with one that matched with the Jewel Effects shade. Thanks for watching, and happy stitching :) x
Everyone always says that - I really don't think I'm that fast. Some nights I just get right into it, and don't get many distractions... so I guess that helps to get a lot done. Thanks for watching and happy stitching :) x
Wow! You stitch fast. Mermaid of Atlantis is beautiful! I have her in my stash, but since 2 of my wips are Mirabilia, I am waiting to start her. Love your finish. And really like the changes you made on the moon. :)
Thank you so much Chelsea :) She will be a great reward when you finish the others'.... the silk threads in her are simply divine! Thank you for your kind comments, and your continued support :) xx
love all your work and you are very easy to watch. I'm hoping to do the romantic moonlight for my grandchildren as it is really cute. love the bathtime mermaid and will be watching your progress
shelagh cassidy Thank you! It was a such a fun, quick stitch. I'm sure your grandchildren will be delighted. My daughter and I often use this saying, so when I saw it I just knew I had to stitch it. Enjoy :) x
If I could only stitch as fast as you I would be very satisfied. I love your progress on your wips and would love to see what pattern you would use for the brown. Happy stitching !!!
Everyone keeps saying I stitch fast!.... I thought I was an average stitcher. I certainly don't try and stitch fast, if I did there would be a lot more mistakes made lol! I would love to do a giraffe design on the brown, but I think the colours will be too close - I'll need to do a floss toss to see. If not, I have hundreds of others charts to choose from :/ Thank you for your kind comments and your continued support :) x
Wow, you did so much of your mermaid in January!! I'm in awe. :D And I've said it before, but I love your colour choices on the Save the Stitches. The blue looks wonderful on the black! :D Love the moon finish, too! I like it in the hoop but you've probably already decided how to finish finish it by now! :D xxx
Emily Chadwick Thanks again! I'm quite amazed at how quickly the mermaid stitched up - I was expecting her to take a lot longer. I love your Save The Stitches too..... have you managed to do anymore on yours? Haha no I haven't actually! I noticed Mandy framed hers in the hoop and it looks fantastic. I might do something different, but I haven't decided yet. Thanks for watching :) x
I love the project cards, ive seen some people have stitchy journals aswell documenting the same info :) havent decided what but I'd like to do something similar :) cant wait to see your floss storage
I'm bad at journals.... I start them with all good intentions, and then I slacken off. So to avoid that I decided on the cards - that way I can get them out when I'm about to do a video and I have all the info in front of me.... very handy. I also use a great app (I need to do a video to show it), where I keep all the info, including a photo. The app also allows me to store my chart, thread & fabric inventory. Hope to have the floss storage setup done soon.... and then I'll video that too. Hope you have a great stitch week :) x
Thanks for sharing your updates. I love your project card idea, don't know how big the cards are but maybe you can fit a wallet size picture of your finishes on the back, that way if you give any away you at least have a picture of them. Just a thought....Happy stitching!
Thanks and thank you for the idea.... that would definitely work! The cards look a bit boring at the moment, but I'll probably jazz them up a bit later. Thanks for watching, and happy stitching :) x
I vote for finishing the Love You to the Moon in a hoop, given that the design is circular in nature, it makes sense and will look very charming. Your mermaid is looking awesome!
I was leaning towards that too Tricia - and that would be another first for me, having never framed in a hoop before ;) Wow, so many firsts since the beginning of 2014! Thank you for your kind comments :) x
I like the project card idea... but may just dedicate a notebook for that. (I'll loose the cards lickety split lol). I'm amazed at how fast you stitch! the mermaid progress was just a week? Wow.
There are a few stitchers that use a notebook as a journal. I always start paper journals with good intentions, and then my enthusiasm for filling them in dies off. I'm hoping the project cards, as well as the app I use, will keep my attention. Actually the mermaid was a week and a half.... I started on Jan 1, and I decided to stitch my WIPs from Monday-Sunday, so it ended up being 11 days until the following Sunday....whoops! Must remember to mention that in my next video!
Oh my my your mermaid is beautiful!! Love you color choices for Save The Stitches, it looks wonderful! I didn't realize your moon quote was so tiny, I think that makes me love it even more. I hope someday she sells it in her etsy shop. Great idea to have the project cards. It will be nice to have them to be able to look back at them :) I felt the same way about wanting to join all the stitch-a-longs but I had way too many things I wanted to get done already without adding a bunch of new things but then I noticed that you could use wips so I have been trying to fit as many wips into the stitch-a-longs as I can. One wip I am using for 2 or 3 SALs lol. And what a nice gift you got. Stitchers are just the best :)
Thank you so much Khristine :) Yes the moon is tiny.... maybe you should send her a message about selling it in her etsy shop. Being as it's in the latest release magazine, she might have to wait a little bit before she can do that? I'm still trying to modify the project cards a bit (someone suggested adding a photo, which I thought was a great idea), but for now they do what I need them to. Oooh I didn't realise I could use a WIP for the SALs... I thought you had to start a new piece. I'll have to re-evaluate then :)))) Stitchers are definitely the most amazing people in the world, and I feel like I have made so many new friends now :) Thanks again for your support and happy stitching :) x
Carolyn Mazzeo I will definitely send her a message... I don't know why I never thought of that haha! A photo is a great idea to include on your project cards. Are you into scrapbooking? That might be a neat way store your cards and photos, with bits of left over fibers and maybe a little 1"x1" square of your fabric....ummm I might steal idea if you don't mind :)
Khristine Doiron No, I'm not but I did buy a heap of scrapbooking items from a friend who no longer wanted them. I thought my daughter might like to do it. I have a rather large stash of paper, ribbons, tape, fancy hole punches etc etc. If I get bored (not likely!) and decide to get super crafty, I may just jazz the cards up a bit. For now though, they are ok. Of course I don't mind - it's great to share with each other. I've used many ideas I've seen on here. Always happy to return the favour! :)
Hi Carolyn, I have only been doing cross stitch for a few weeks and am loving it. I love watching your videos and what you did in your cupboard was great. I hope you don't mind me asking a couple of questions. The beautiful stitching that you do, I didn't see any grid lines on the material so where do you start and how do you know where to start on such a large piece of materia as on the black one it looked like you are going from left to right but the other one is in the center. Also if you find you have done a stitch wrong but don't think it will show when finished do you leave it or do you unpick loads to get it right? Also you seem to get a lot done so I wondered if you could do a video showing where you sit and how you have your silks laid out next to you and to actually see how fast you work. I feel I am sitting awkwardly and get aches and pains so I wondered if you rest back in a chair or are sitting up straight for hours. Sorry if these feel like silly questions but I need all the help I can at my age.............many thanks, Irene in Devon, UK
Thank you for your kind comments Irene, and I am more than happy to answer any questions you have :) I don't grid - never have, and never will. Basically, I'm an impatient person and when I start a new project, I don't want to spend hours preparing fabric. I've been stitching for 20+ years and never heard of gridding before joining this amazing community of stitchers.... so I'm already set in my ways :) Where I start stitching, really depends on the design. * Normal charts (like Mirabilia and other designs where the stitching is sporadic on the material) I start in the middle. I do this by simply folding the material in half, and then half again. I make a tacking stitch (or sometimes just place a pin) and reference this point with the middle points on the chart. * HAED (and similar large format charts, where every thread on the material is stitched) are recommended to start in the top left corner. My Blue Dragon was my first ever HAED and also the first time I had ever started in the corner. So to do that I need to know up front how much material I have allowed as a border around my design. I like to allow an average of 3" top, bottom and sides (so that's 6" to the width measurement, and 6" to the height measurement). Then I lay my fabric down, and starting at the top left corner, I measure in 3" down and 3" across to mark my starting point. I have a really handy tool called a Stitch Gauge (which I showed in a previous haul video) which shows stitch guidelines on different counts of fabric, as well as inch measurements. I use this tool to make sure that after I have marked my corner starting position, that my design will still fit on my material and also leave the other 3" width and 3" height on all remaining sides. Before using this tool, I was always nervous that I would run out of material. Now I can be certain. * The Blackwork Journey was also recommended to start in the left corner. The instructions told you to find the centre TOP of the fabric and then count a certain number of stitches to get to the corner. Again, I used my gauge to double check all my measurements and to make sure it would all fit. I was nervous about this one the most, because the finished size is HUGE! To unpick or not to unpick..... again depends on whether I think it's noticeable. The perfectionist in me wants to unpick every time. But I must admit, there have been occasions where I have let an error go. If I have made a counting mistake, to which everything around it will then be off - I will unpick. I will not alter a pattern, to fix my mistake.... On the back I have had the occasional knot and loop form, and I have let it go.... no-one but me knows it's there, and it won't affect the front of my work. Yes I do need to do a Stitching Spot tag video. I sit in the lounge room, in a recliner chair (but I don't recline when I stitch). My husband bought me one of those pillows designed to keep you sitting upright in bed. It has a high back and side arms, and I saw it shown on Tim's video. I use this pillow in the chair and it keeps me sitting upright and it's extremely comfortable. If you're getting aches and pains, I would suggest you look at different options. My stand is adjustable, which is important, otherwise leaning over for hours on end will cause no end of trouble. I've learned to make sure everything is at a comfortable level to avoid any pain. Please don't apologise... there's no such thing as a silly question. We all have different ways of doing things, and it's just about finding what works best for us. I have seen how some people stitch, and I know that would never work for me. I have invested in an expensive frame and stand, because comfort is important to me and it also helps me stitch faster. A good tradesman needs the best tools for the job right?.... well this is my trade/hobby and I invest a lot of time in it, so I treated myself :) I hope I answered your questions. If there's anything else you'd like to know... please ask :) I have a LOT of videos in the planning.... just need to get my internet connection sorted out, and then I can get them all done. I'll try my hardest to do one a week. I'll do the stitching spot soon and also how I prepare my fabric for stitching (using my gauge). Thanks so much for watching, and happy stitching :) x
Wow! I really love the blackwork, it's so striking, it will be worth all the struggle of working on the black background. When working your mermaid do you park, or work by colour?
Thank you! No, I only park on my HAED. I still like to try and keep a neat back (old habits die hard!) and I don't want the parked threads being visible from the front. It's actually fun having different stitching techniques... it keeps me challenged :) Have a great stitching week :) x
Out of complete curiosity, have you ever done a Dimensions cross stitch design? Also, how do you usually end your stitches...because with Blue Dragon you are using the parking method and that doesn't require the thread to be cut each time you end a section.
Natalya Malysheva Hi Natalya! Yes I have completed quite a few of them - both charts & kits, and I love them. I end my thread one of two ways (depending on the project). In most cases I simply run the thread behind a few stitches at the back (usually the same colour, if I can, to keep it looking neater) - this is how I ended the threads on Blue Dragon. Sometimes I use the pin stitch method for ending my thread, if there is not enough stitches at the back to run the thread through, or I'm stitching solitary stitches with nothing else nearby. Pin Stitch tutorial: th-cam.com/video/AbaLFt1cqYc/w-d-xo.html I hope this information helps :) x
I just love all your stitching, it's so beautiful. The teal and black for the blackwork journey us gorgeous too! Thanks for another great video:)
Aww thank you so much! Your kind words are really appreciated :) xx
Beautiful work Carolyn the black work done in the blue against black is Wow! so beautiful, great card idea as well. Happy stitching sweetie xxx
Thank you so much, and thank you for your continued support :) x
Love the idea of the project cards - I will definitely be 'pinching' that idea :-) Thanks for the update.
Glad to help :) x
Beautiful work! :) Can't wait to see more.
Thank you, and thanks for watching :) x
Beautiful WIPs! I love how the teal threads look on the black fabric for your Save the Stitches. Gorgeous! (Teal if my favorite color.) :)
It's my favourite too, but it was hard choosing a shade because DMC had so many nice ones. I ended up going with one that matched with the Jewel Effects shade.
Thanks for watching, and happy stitching :) x
I love watching your videos and seeing your progress!!! You are doing an amazing job!! Love your quote finish!!!
Thank you so much Dee :) xx
I love all your progress! You stitch really quick I feel like i'm so slow at it. Looking forward to more videos.
Everyone always says that - I really don't think I'm that fast. Some nights I just get right into it, and don't get many distractions... so I guess that helps to get a lot done.
Thanks for watching and happy stitching :) x
Wow! You stitch fast. Mermaid of Atlantis is beautiful! I have her in my stash, but since 2 of my wips are Mirabilia, I am waiting to start her. Love your finish. And really like the changes you made on the moon. :)
Thank you so much Chelsea :) She will be a great reward when you finish the others'.... the silk threads in her are simply divine!
Thank you for your kind comments, and your continued support :) xx
Wonderful work as always xx
Thank you Kerry - you're so sweet :) x
love all your work and you are very easy to watch. I'm hoping to do the romantic moonlight for my grandchildren as it is really cute. love the bathtime mermaid and will be watching your progress
shelagh cassidy
Thank you! It was a such a fun, quick stitch. I'm sure your grandchildren will be delighted. My daughter and I often use this saying, so when I saw it I just knew I had to stitch it. Enjoy :) x
Can't believe your progress on the mermaid, only a week?? Your project cards are a great idea too. Happy stitching!!
Yep only a week - I guess I didn't get a lot of interruptions that week lol!
Thanks so much and happy stitching to you too :) x
I especially love your mermaid. So pretty. Happy Australia week fellow Aussie
Thank you Jan :) Happy Australia week to you too ;) xx
If I could only stitch as fast as you I would be very satisfied. I love your progress on your wips and would love to see what pattern you would use for the brown. Happy stitching !!!
Everyone keeps saying I stitch fast!.... I thought I was an average stitcher. I certainly don't try and stitch fast, if I did there would be a lot more mistakes made lol!
I would love to do a giraffe design on the brown, but I think the colours will be too close - I'll need to do a floss toss to see. If not, I have hundreds of others charts to choose from :/
Thank you for your kind comments and your continued support :) x
Wow, you did so much of your mermaid in January!! I'm in awe. :D And I've said it before, but I love your colour choices on the Save the Stitches. The blue looks wonderful on the black! :D Love the moon finish, too! I like it in the hoop but you've probably already decided how to finish finish it by now! :D xxx
Emily Chadwick Thanks again! I'm quite amazed at how quickly the mermaid stitched up - I was expecting her to take a lot longer. I love your Save The Stitches too..... have you managed to do anymore on yours? Haha no I haven't actually! I noticed Mandy framed hers in the hoop and it looks fantastic. I might do something different, but I haven't decided yet. Thanks for watching :) x
I haven't managed to do any more yet! I've been too obsessed with my crane, haha. :) It's safe and waiting for me! :D xx
Emily Chadwick The crane is beautiful, and will be finished soon... no doubt! I look forward to seeing it, and your other projects again :) x
I love the project cards, ive seen some people have stitchy journals aswell documenting the same info :) havent decided what but I'd like to do something similar :) cant wait to see your floss storage
I'm bad at journals.... I start them with all good intentions, and then I slacken off. So to avoid that I decided on the cards - that way I can get them out when I'm about to do a video and I have all the info in front of me.... very handy. I also use a great app (I need to do a video to show it), where I keep all the info, including a photo. The app also allows me to store my chart, thread & fabric inventory.
Hope to have the floss storage setup done soon.... and then I'll video that too.
Hope you have a great stitch week :) x
Thanks for sharing your updates. I love your project card idea, don't know how big the cards are but maybe you can fit a wallet size picture of your finishes on the back, that way if you give any away you at least have a picture of them. Just a thought....Happy stitching!
Thanks and thank you for the idea.... that would definitely work! The cards look a bit boring at the moment, but I'll probably jazz them up a bit later.
Thanks for watching, and happy stitching :) x
I vote for finishing the Love You to the Moon in a hoop, given that the design is circular in nature, it makes sense and will look very charming. Your mermaid is looking awesome!
I was leaning towards that too Tricia - and that would be another first for me, having never framed in a hoop before ;) Wow, so many firsts since the beginning of 2014!
Thank you for your kind comments :) x
I like the project card idea... but may just dedicate a notebook for that. (I'll loose the cards lickety split lol). I'm amazed at how fast you stitch! the mermaid progress was just a week? Wow.
There are a few stitchers that use a notebook as a journal. I always start paper journals with good intentions, and then my enthusiasm for filling them in dies off. I'm hoping the project cards, as well as the app I use, will keep my attention.
Actually the mermaid was a week and a half.... I started on Jan 1, and I decided to stitch my WIPs from Monday-Sunday, so it ended up being 11 days until the following Sunday....whoops! Must remember to mention that in my next video!
Oh my my your mermaid is beautiful!! Love you color choices for Save The Stitches, it looks wonderful! I didn't realize your moon quote was so tiny, I think that makes me love it even more. I hope someday she sells it in her etsy shop. Great idea to have the project cards. It will be nice to have them to be able to look back at them :) I felt the same way about wanting to join all the stitch-a-longs but I had way too many things I wanted to get done already without adding a bunch of new things but then I noticed that you could use wips so I have been trying to fit as many wips into the stitch-a-longs as I can. One wip I am using for 2 or 3 SALs lol. And what a nice gift you got. Stitchers are just the best :)
Thank you so much Khristine :) Yes the moon is tiny.... maybe you should send her a message about selling it in her etsy shop. Being as it's in the latest release magazine, she might have to wait a little bit before she can do that?
I'm still trying to modify the project cards a bit (someone suggested adding a photo, which I thought was a great idea), but for now they do what I need them to.
Oooh I didn't realise I could use a WIP for the SALs... I thought you had to start a new piece. I'll have to re-evaluate then :))))
Stitchers are definitely the most amazing people in the world, and I feel like I have made so many new friends now :)
Thanks again for your support and happy stitching :) x
Carolyn Mazzeo I will definitely send her a message... I don't know why I never thought of that haha!
A photo is a great idea to include on your project cards. Are you into scrapbooking? That might be a neat way store your cards and photos, with bits of left over fibers and maybe a little 1"x1" square of your fabric....ummm I might steal idea if you don't mind :)
Khristine Doiron No, I'm not but I did buy a heap of scrapbooking items from a friend who no longer wanted them. I thought my daughter might like to do it. I have a rather large stash of paper, ribbons, tape, fancy hole punches etc etc.
If I get bored (not likely!) and decide to get super crafty, I may just jazz the cards up a bit. For now though, they are ok.
Of course I don't mind - it's great to share with each other. I've used many ideas I've seen on here. Always happy to return the favour! :)
Your needle work is so nice what do you do with all of your pictures when you are done
Beautiful work :-) and great updates. You said you had an app that you put details of each kit on, can you tell me what it is please?
It's called "xstitch". I'm going to try and do a video on it today, so it should be uploaded by tomorrow :)
Thanks for watching :) x
deflepfan78
Hi, just letting you know I've done the video and it's now online. Hope it's of some use to you :) x
Hi Carolyn, I have only been doing cross stitch for a few weeks and am loving it. I love watching your videos and what you did in your cupboard was great. I hope you don't mind me asking a couple of questions. The beautiful stitching that you do, I didn't see any grid lines on the material so where do you start and how do you know where to start on such a large piece of materia as on the black one it looked like you are going from left to right but the other one is in the center. Also if you find you have done a stitch wrong but don't think it will show when finished do you leave it or do you unpick loads to get it right? Also you seem to get a lot done so I wondered if you could do a video showing where you sit and how you have your silks laid out next to you and to actually see how fast you work. I feel I am sitting awkwardly and get aches and pains so I wondered if you rest back in a chair or are sitting up straight for hours.
Sorry if these feel like silly questions but I need all the help I can at my age.............many thanks, Irene in Devon, UK
Thank you for your kind comments Irene, and I am more than happy to answer any questions you have :)
I don't grid - never have, and never will. Basically, I'm an impatient person and when I start a new project, I don't want to spend hours preparing fabric. I've been stitching for 20+ years and never heard of gridding before joining this amazing community of stitchers.... so I'm already set in my ways :)
Where I start stitching, really depends on the design.
* Normal charts (like Mirabilia and other designs where the stitching is sporadic on the material) I start in the middle. I do this by simply folding the material in half, and then half again. I make a tacking stitch (or sometimes just place a pin) and reference this point with the middle points on the chart.
* HAED (and similar large format charts, where every thread on the material is stitched) are recommended to start in the top left corner. My Blue Dragon was my first ever HAED and also the first time I had ever started in the corner. So to do that I need to know up front how much material I have allowed as a border around my design. I like to allow an average of 3" top, bottom and sides (so that's 6" to the width measurement, and 6" to the height measurement). Then I lay my fabric down, and starting at the top left corner, I measure in 3" down and 3" across to mark my starting point. I have a really handy tool called a Stitch Gauge (which I showed in a previous haul video) which shows stitch guidelines on different counts of fabric, as well as inch measurements. I use this tool to make sure that after I have marked my corner starting position, that my design will still fit on my material and also leave the other 3" width and 3" height on all remaining sides. Before using this tool, I was always nervous that I would run out of material. Now I can be certain.
* The Blackwork Journey was also recommended to start in the left corner. The instructions told you to find the centre TOP of the fabric and then count a certain number of stitches to get to the corner. Again, I used my gauge to double check all my measurements and to make sure it would all fit. I was nervous about this one the most, because the finished size is HUGE!
To unpick or not to unpick..... again depends on whether I think it's noticeable. The perfectionist in me wants to unpick every time. But I must admit, there have been occasions where I have let an error go. If I have made a counting mistake, to which everything around it will then be off - I will unpick. I will not alter a pattern, to fix my mistake.... On the back I have had the occasional knot and loop form, and I have let it go.... no-one but me knows it's there, and it won't affect the front of my work.
Yes I do need to do a Stitching Spot tag video. I sit in the lounge room, in a recliner chair (but I don't recline when I stitch). My husband bought me one of those pillows designed to keep you sitting upright in bed. It has a high back and side arms, and I saw it shown on Tim's video. I use this pillow in the chair and it keeps me sitting upright and it's extremely comfortable. If you're getting aches and pains, I would suggest you look at different options. My stand is adjustable, which is important, otherwise leaning over for hours on end will cause no end of trouble. I've learned to make sure everything is at a comfortable level to avoid any pain.
Please don't apologise... there's no such thing as a silly question. We all have different ways of doing things, and it's just about finding what works best for us. I have seen how some people stitch, and I know that would never work for me. I have invested in an expensive frame and stand, because comfort is important to me and it also helps me stitch faster. A good tradesman needs the best tools for the job right?.... well this is my trade/hobby and I invest a lot of time in it, so I treated myself :)
I hope I answered your questions. If there's anything else you'd like to know... please ask :) I have a LOT of videos in the planning.... just need to get my internet connection sorted out, and then I can get them all done. I'll try my hardest to do one a week. I'll do the stitching spot soon and also how I prepare my fabric for stitching (using my gauge).
Thanks so much for watching, and happy stitching :) x
Wow! I really love the blackwork, it's so striking, it will be worth all the struggle of working on the black background. When working your mermaid do you park, or work by colour?
Thank you!
No, I only park on my HAED. I still like to try and keep a neat back (old habits die hard!) and I don't want the parked threads being visible from the front. It's actually fun having different stitching techniques... it keeps me challenged :)
Have a great stitching week :) x
Out of complete curiosity, have you ever done a Dimensions cross stitch design? Also, how do you usually end your stitches...because with Blue Dragon you are using the parking method and that doesn't require the thread to be cut each time you end a section.
Natalya Malysheva Hi Natalya! Yes I have completed quite a few of them - both charts & kits, and I love them.
I end my thread one of two ways (depending on the project). In most cases I simply run the thread behind a few stitches at the back (usually the same colour, if I can, to keep it looking neater) - this is how I ended the threads on Blue Dragon. Sometimes I use the pin stitch method for ending my thread, if there is not enough stitches at the back to run the thread through, or I'm stitching solitary stitches with nothing else nearby.
Pin Stitch tutorial: th-cam.com/video/AbaLFt1cqYc/w-d-xo.html
I hope this information helps :) x