I don't know about anyone else but I like to sit on the sofa when I'm stitching our outside in the garden but always have the problem of where to put all my bits and pattern so there close at hand. It's also a pain having to move everything when I'm done. I looked into various stitching accessories but they are all very expensive so I came up with my own which has worked out great.
I bought a cheap unfinished folding side-table from Ikea which is just the right height to fit over my legs. I put thick wadding on the top and covered it with cotton fabric (with cats on of course). Then on 2 rectangles of fabric I made pockets of different sizes and tacked them to either side of the table so they hang down. Hey presto a perfect place for all my current projects and because of the wadding I can pin my pattern on and needles etc. And even better when I'm finished I can lift the whole lot up and set it in a safe place 'till I'm ready to stitch again.
Would love to hear of any other inventions.
Joan
That sounds like a really good idea, especially for outside where there is nowhere to put everything down. I travel around a lot so i've found it best to just keep my current project in a bag with everything i need, and the pattern on a clipboard. I even cross stitch on trains (i have had a few strange looks from people but quite often i get people asking me about my cross stitch which is nice)
Think this means a trip to IKEA. DH will be shuddering, it is almost a swear word in his vocabulary, as it usually proves to be an expensive shopping expedition!!!!!!!!!!
You could always bribe him with a coffee and a cream cake. That usually works with mine
The table I bought was UDDEVALLA and was dhs 39 (don't know the riyals price). The whole thing cost less than a tenner and only took a couple of hours to make. You may come up with a better variation on the theme but thats the fun of inventing. If I can work out how to send you a picture I will. Will have to ask my chief tech. advisor, namely my daughter. Joan
What a great idea, I am a wheelchiar user and they dont always fit under a table so I might try a lap version instead especially the pockets on each side as I am always putting things down and cant find them or they are the other side of the room to me.
A little job for DH the woodworking side that is because we dont have Ikea around here.
I bought one of those plactic storage carts on wheels, mine has three drawers. I have all my stash in there. I holds lots. I can move it around and use the top to put mu scissors and threads on that I am using for the project I am working on. It eliminates a lot of clutter and can be hidden away when not in use. I made a cover for it with deep pockets on the sides big enough to hold oversized scrole frames.
I have a "Studio". Actually, I'm adjusting to an empty nest and have taken two of the desks that the kids left behind, put them in the corner of the back room (with the water heater, washer and dryer) and call it my studio. I have never been able to stitch and watch t.v. I wish I could but I can't concentrate and end up making to many mistakes. So now I have a little piece of heaven all my own and don't have to put everything "AWAY" all the time or try to incorporate my current projects into the interior design of the room I'm in.
I wish all of you find your own little piece of heaven for stitching too.
Elaine
oh, my! that last post didn't sound right. I am not putting anyone down for being inventive and creating ways to stitch comfortably. I've had to do the same thing for years. I was just trying to be witty in the last post. I need to make a new rule for myself. Don't try to be witty. I doesn't work. anyway
I commend everyone who devises ways to keep their stitching handy.
Sorry...but I'm just so excited to have a Studio.
Yes, I'm jealous too, even though I live alone, by the time you get all your "stuff"around you, so you dont have to move for a few hours, you have quite the mess, I would love to be able to close a door on that, especially if someone drops by, but at least I dont have to clean up for anyone but myself. Linda
A studio room sounds great only I don't like to be away from whats going on in the house I'm on my own enough during the day.
My little bit of heaven is sitting out in the garden with my little mobile sewing table, surrounded but my furry family (no I don't mean my man and kids!). The weather here is idilic just now but soon it will be too hot and I'll be confined indoors for the next 6 months
Joan
No but I did think that a posher version of mine might sell at a craft fair and it could be modified for different crafts. Mind you it'll be like all my other bright ideas and end up on the back burner
Joan
Hi everyone, I'm new here and quite new to cross-stitching. So far I have four magazines and will be getting a subscription for my birthday. I'm hoping to be accepted to a book club style thing for cross-stitching so will have lots of threads and a few new kits.
I stitch with the tv on in the background and sit on the sofa. So far I use the coffee table and pile my stuff there when stitching and store the rest in a plastic box.
I'm sure I'll have a few questions to ask though quite a few have been answered
hi solstice,
welcome, Im sure you will find all the help and advice you need to get up and running....
Please dont be afriad to ask anything youre not sure about.
I too stitch with the tv on, along Im not so good with the storage.... I have everything piled up on the arm of the chair.... I refer to it as organised chaos, and as I have about 4 projects on the go, my pile is growing a little unstable!!!!
Hi Solstice, welcome to the forum, everyone is so nice and you will get lots of tips and ideas from all of us. Crossstitching is why I got hooked of the TV, after all what else is there to do when you are stitching. Happy stitching Linda.
now.. don't laugh.. but I stitch on my bed LOL.. so i must clear everything after I'm done. But I do have a box on wheels from Ikea.. that I put everything I need access often into, so I dont have to runmage my stash cabinet everytime.
which has worked out great.
You could always bribe him with a coffee and a cream cake. That usually works with mine 
Joan
