Have we already had a thread that asked how we got started in cross-stitching and I just don't remember. I know some one asked why we like it but have we every devoted a thread to how we got started? If so you can ignore this one but this is how it happened to me.
I started because my mom's family was doing a quilt for her parents 50th wedding anniversary. She was having trouble getting her other siblings and there kids to help out so she told my sister and I that we each had to do a square. We had no idea what to do so off we went to the local craft store. I think it was a Joann's and they had all sorts of books with patterns and ideas. I found one with old fashioned wedding samplers in it and although it was intended for a wedding I changed a few things and made it work for the anniversary square. That was also the first time I worked with waste fabric talk about jumping in with both feet. I did the waste so that I could use the material that I was sent and all of the material would be of the same weight and stretch. Others did quilting squares or just painted on to it.
Then I discovered that aida cloth was easier to count on and started making gifts for the family at Christmas time. Much more rewarding & appreciated. I also was not working at this time and had small children at home. While they would play in the back yard I could sit on the porch and cross-stitch. It kept me sane. SORTA!!!
After that it bloomed into the most fun I could have. I don't like gardening, I do like being at home. Some would call me a homebody. And this is what keeps me awake when I am watching TV. I don't know about the rest of you but in the evenings when I watch TV if I am not working on something..ie.. cross-stitch, crochet, scrapbooking. The Tv is a tranquilizer, it puts me right to sleep and then I miss the show I was wanting to see. So it serves a purpose.
Besides it is just plain fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh an by the way that was 25 years ago.
How??
Moderators: rcperryls, Rose, karen4bells, Serinde, Alex
I started because at the time I was doing embroydery, pillow cases, doilies, tablecloths etc but I didnt like the patterns then I found crossttich kits. I found then that xstitch is easier and more versatile, and as Rose says
it'sjust plain fun, it gives me something to do while I am enjoying my real hobby ----TV----
. (I am afraid I need a 12 step program for that monkey on my back)
it'sjust plain fun, it gives me something to do while I am enjoying my real hobby ----TV----
. (I am afraid I need a 12 step program for that monkey on my back)Linda
Mauveme, I had trouble getting on, too, but it's ok now.
I did not grow up in an artsy-craftsy house at all. It was a book-reading household. However, that doesn't mean to say that my mother didn't know how. She just plain wouldn't.
I only knew my grandmother when she was reduced to hemming skirts and trousers, but I'm told that she used to make all my grandfather's dress shirts by hand, an expert in the teeny tiny stitch. Characteristically, when she could no longer do the fine work, she stopped stitching altogether. I have no idea if she ever did any embroidery, but she had an unerring eye for fine linen (most of which is in my cupboard now).
Growing up on those sorts of stories, coupled with my interest in history, I started doing crewel work -- a cheap kit from the local shop. I thought I could recreate all the Elizabethan pieces that you see in the museums. I also tried a sampler out of Good Housekeeping or something. I still have it and will post it in the gallery one day. It soon became apparent that that kind of free style wasn't for me (definitely not being the mistress of the teeny tiny stitch and completely unable to keep my stitches the same size 
), so I started doing tapestry which I love.
I didn't start cross stitch until sometime in the 1980s, mostly because the patterns were all a bit too twee for my tastes. How times have changed! Then I discovered hardanger and never looked back -- definitely my favourite. I now have so many patterns to do that I don't suppose I'll live long enough. And thank goodness for magnifying lenses and daylight bulbs.
It's fun, it's as artistic as I'm ever going to get, relaxing, all the things we talked about in another thread. And, yes, I stitch while my DH watches rugby...
And what's wrong with being a homebody, Rose? (there's a whole 'nuther thread there, ladies!
)
I did not grow up in an artsy-craftsy house at all. It was a book-reading household. However, that doesn't mean to say that my mother didn't know how. She just plain wouldn't.
I only knew my grandmother when she was reduced to hemming skirts and trousers, but I'm told that she used to make all my grandfather's dress shirts by hand, an expert in the teeny tiny stitch. Characteristically, when she could no longer do the fine work, she stopped stitching altogether. I have no idea if she ever did any embroidery, but she had an unerring eye for fine linen (most of which is in my cupboard now).
Growing up on those sorts of stories, coupled with my interest in history, I started doing crewel work -- a cheap kit from the local shop. I thought I could recreate all the Elizabethan pieces that you see in the museums.
I also tried a sampler out of Good Housekeeping or something. I still have it and will post it in the gallery one day. It soon became apparent that that kind of free style wasn't for me (definitely not being the mistress of the teeny tiny stitch and completely unable to keep my stitches the same size ), so I started doing tapestry which I love. I didn't start cross stitch until sometime in the 1980s, mostly because the patterns were all a bit too twee for my tastes. How times have changed! Then I discovered hardanger and never looked back -- definitely my favourite. I now have so many patterns to do that I don't suppose I'll live long enough. And thank goodness for magnifying lenses and daylight bulbs.
It's fun, it's as artistic as I'm ever going to get, relaxing, all the things we talked about in another thread. And, yes, I stitch while my DH watches rugby...
And what's wrong with being a homebody, Rose? (there's a whole 'nuther thread there, ladies!
)
Last edited by Serinde on Sun Nov 19, 2006 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Like you, Serinde, my childhood was not 'arty-crafty', but both my Scottish mother and Irish grandmother were cooks, so perhaps that was their creative side. I remember my grandmother making the most wonderful marzipan fruits when I was a child - so realistic. I absolutely hated needlework at school in the 19060s. It was all based on sewing which I loathed. If our sons needed clothes altered as they were growing up, it was my husband, or my mother-in-law who did it. In the 1990s my husband took early retirement and became interested in cross-stitch. He completed two large and wonderful designs, which now hang on our wall. When I retired myself, I thought I would give it a try and now I love it and find it so relaxing and creative. My sons call it an obsession - but so what? I've moved on from working on aida to working on linen and would like to try surface embroidery. I have a design for a sampler which includes varied stitches, so I think that will be my project for the new year. And hardanger is also on my 'to-try' list, Serinde. So, in my 60th year, I suppose it's better late than never. I've always been a bit of a late developer!
I'm not sure how I originally got started stitching. I think I was going through one of my mom's unfinished/unstarted craft drawers and asked about her cross-stitch kits. I remember one of the first kits I did was on the plastic stuff, came with a fake wood frame and was a rose for my mom.
How I got re-started, that I know for sure. It was this past summer, my boyfriend was working seven days in and seven days out, in a camp that was atleast a 6 hour drive away from home. So his seven days out were really 5 days at home and 2 dedicated to driving. "Our" hockey team was in the playoffs, so instead of sitting watching him watch hockey (or play video games when it was an off night) I decided that I needed something to do while sitting with him. I didn't want to be in another room, but wanted to spend as much time with him as possible while he was home, so I got an urge to try stitching again. So off we went to pick out a pattern and get the floss, needles, fabric, scissors, etc. And it's all been progressing since then. I found it was a good way to spend time together while still enjoying our own hobbies (and I no longer had to fake interest in the hockey game!!), and it was an EVEN BETTER way to while away the lonely hours while he was on days on.
In case anyone was wondering...I'm still on that pattern, almost finished though! I also completed a snowman for my mom in the summer, and my grandma made it into a pillow for me. I thought it'd be a good Christmas present, kind of show her that I may have lost interest for awhile but somethings she's taught me I'll never forget...haha, the legacy of the unfinished craft drawer will live on! When I find the camera batteries, I'll try my luck at posting a picture!
KIM (wow...didn't think that'd be so long...)
How I got re-started, that I know for sure. It was this past summer, my boyfriend was working seven days in and seven days out, in a camp that was atleast a 6 hour drive away from home. So his seven days out were really 5 days at home and 2 dedicated to driving. "Our" hockey team was in the playoffs, so instead of sitting watching him watch hockey (or play video games when it was an off night) I decided that I needed something to do while sitting with him. I didn't want to be in another room, but wanted to spend as much time with him as possible while he was home, so I got an urge to try stitching again. So off we went to pick out a pattern and get the floss, needles, fabric, scissors, etc. And it's all been progressing since then. I found it was a good way to spend time together while still enjoying our own hobbies (and I no longer had to fake interest in the hockey game!!), and it was an EVEN BETTER way to while away the lonely hours while he was on days on.
In case anyone was wondering...I'm still on that pattern, almost finished though! I also completed a snowman for my mom in the summer, and my grandma made it into a pillow for me. I thought it'd be a good Christmas present, kind of show her that I may have lost interest for awhile but somethings she's taught me I'll never forget...haha, the legacy of the unfinished craft drawer will live on! When I find the camera batteries, I'll try my luck at posting a picture!
KIM (wow...didn't think that'd be so long...)