Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday gift

Tips, Tricks & Techniques - anything to help fellow cross stitchers.

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Warrenz
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Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday gift

Post by Warrenz »

Hi everyone,
I am new here and could use any input y'all would be willing to give. A little background info. We have been married for almost 16 years now and her birthday is next month. My wife is 32 years old ( I know we got married young but I knew she was the one I wanted to grow old with) she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, bulging disc in neck and back, migraines and other medical issues. She has always found joy in cross stitching but I've noticed that in the last few years if she stitching for more that 5-10min her is so bad she has to stop. Well last night I walked in to her sewing room and she was crying because she fells like she just can't stitch any more. I want to build her a chair for her b-day that can help elevate some of her pain but have no idea where to start or what accessories to build on to it. I know I'm adding a lamp to it. Not sure what to do for back/neck support. So I guess I'm asking if you could build your dream chair what would it have on it. I want to surprise her so I can't ask her. Sorry for the long post thanks for any help.
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richardandtracy
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by richardandtracy »

Welcome to the forum. It's really good of you to try to help your wife like this, and what a shame she's got this debilitating problem - really feel for you both.

There are a couple of things about your wife's current setup that it'd be useful to know.

First is, does she use a stand to take the weight of the frame/hoop that she uses?
Second, is the stand high enough? If she's slouching over the work in or near her lap, that would do in her neck & back in double quick time.

For the dream chair:
I would imagine that the least strain on the body would be a 45 degree back recline with squab at 95 degrees to the back, with leg support at 85 degrees to the squab, with adjustable upper arm supports to take the strain from holding the arms up towards the frame, head and neck support at 10 degrees to vertical, then adjustable forearm supports. The frame on one side that could be raised/lowered/rotated on the stand at will, and could swing away to enable your wife to get in & out of the chair. Adjustable lamp on stand too. Finally, everything motorised so it could be adjusted while in use when your wife wants to find another comfortable position.
Tall order I know.
How handy are you? It's unlikely that any similar chair is on the market at an affordable price.

Regards,

Richard.
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Warrenz
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by Warrenz »

Thank so much for response. Wife's current set up varies between lap stand, hoop, floor stand. She's tried stitching in bed on sofa in her sewing room. I like to think im very handy. I build the addition on our home so she could have her own private crafting space. I have built all her stands that way it matches her. I think I am going to tackle your dream chair( might become her Christmas present) and when I'm done I'll post pictures instructions and materials list so if anyone else needs or wants to build it they can.
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Serinde
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by Serinde »

Welcome to the forum from the West of Scotland! :wave:

This is a wonderful and thoughtful project for you to do for your wife. Many of our members have various physical challenges, so what you discover along the way will be useful to all.

Regarding the lamp, you might want to investigate the good lighting systems that build in a quality magnifying lens -- think of it as future proofing? The types I find particularly useful generally have a central lens with integral lighting ranging around it. Not only proves good light, but easily manipulated magnification, too.
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richardandtracy
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by richardandtracy »

I would be interested in what you do come up with as the chair. We have reclining chair in our living room, but I must admit I don't use them reclined, as the legs come too flat for me and I get severely catted when the leg support is flat. We have 4 cats and I rapidly find I have no space to sit in, and am severely pinned down when the chair is like that. When not reclined, the limit is 1 cat, which is possible to cope with.

If you have built the craft room, you should be able to do the chair. I am preparing to convert a lathe to CNC and have found ball leadscrews are cheap from China on EBay, and more conventional buttress thread leadscrews are staggeringly cheap if you chose to motorise the chair. The most expensive item will likely be the motors and the gearbox/belt reduction train.

All the best with it,

Richard
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Serinde
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by Serinde »

Oh, and you WILL keep us informed, won't you... 8) :D :lol:
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rcperryls
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by rcperryls »

:wave: Hello and welcome to our forum!!! What a lucky wife you have and I'm sure she will so love what you are doing for her! Just wanting to do that is fantastic. I hope you will keep us updated on your progress with this and when it is done please invite your wife to join us. We have members with a number of different physical challenges and may have other tips that will help your wife. Of course, not until the chair is completed. We are very good at keeping secrets from non forum members, but its a lot trickier to do on the inside. :wink:

Carole
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by Kuschelschaf »

Hello and welcome from sunny South Carolina! :wave:

Your wife is very lucky! As a fellow sufferer of migraines, nerve pain and some other stuff making it difficult to stitch, I think what you're doing is fantastic! Do let us know how it comes together!
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Warrenz
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by Warrenz »

Hi,
I'm so thankful for everyone advice. I want this to be perfect. What power magnifying glass would be good? Can I post pictures on here?
Thanks so much.
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rcperryls
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by rcperryls »

You can certainly post pictures. Many of us use Postimage.org which is free and pretty easy to use. I have a magnifying lamp, but don't know what the magnification is. It is from the Daylight Company, but the website is down right now. There are lots of options out there.

Carole
:thinks:
WIPs
Star Wars Afghan:Chewbaca
HAEDs:
O Kitten Tree
Dancing with the Cat
Everything else "on hold"
2022 Finished: Star Wars Afghan: Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Finn, Rey, Poe, Han Solo,Darth Vader, BB8,Luke Skywalker
Warrenz
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by Warrenz »

Carole thank you for telling me how post pictures. I was thinking of buying this over the bed table it has USB charging ports lamp, cup holder, but wasn't sure if it would provide enough storage. Should I attach it to her chair or leave it on it's stand. I never knew that there were so many types of light bulbs.. what light have y'all found works best? Has anyone found a needle that works best for arthritis?
https://postimg.org/gallery/1iqcdrmq2/" target="_blank
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rcperryls
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by rcperryls »

I love that last one you show. Everything looks like it would be right at her fingertips except for the magnifying lamp. Since I'm not sure where you live, I don't know if this link to Amazon showing a variety of magnifying floor lamps will help. The one I use is the Daylight Naturalight LED Floor Lamp. Ott lights are also well known for providing excellent light and many members have them. I also think there are floor stands that have many accessories which can be added to them, including magnifyers and I think lights.

Carole
:thinks:
WIPs
Star Wars Afghan:Chewbaca
HAEDs:
O Kitten Tree
Dancing with the Cat
Everything else "on hold"
2022 Finished: Star Wars Afghan: Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Finn, Rey, Poe, Han Solo,Darth Vader, BB8,Luke Skywalker
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fccs
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by fccs »

Oh my gosh, your first post made me cry, not because of you wife's challenges but because of what you want to do for her. I love a good love story and your post was just that. And like Carole said, when the gift is done and has been received, please have her join us.

I think several of our members have arthritis and similar issues as your wife, so they can be of more help, but when I had trigger thumb and carpal tunnel, I stitched with wrist braces/supports and it helped.

Do share what you come up with and keep asking questions.
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PattyMac
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Re: Husband of a cross stitcher & I need advice on birthday

Post by PattyMac »

one thing my doctor recommended for my neck issues is to wear a cervical collar as it takes the stress off the neck trying to hold everything up. it allows the neck to relax which can be especially helpful while stitching.
- Pat
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