SBQ Time!

This week’s SBQ comes from the archives:

After you stitch a pattern or kit, what do you do with it?

For the most part I hang on to them, even the freebies I print out from the internet. A lot of times they're pretty worn out by the time I'm done with them but I don't think I've ever thrown a pattern away. I've also sent them on to other stitchers or done trades.

This Week's SBQ

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Nancy and is:

What tips would you give to a new stitcher to help her stitch faster and neater while still keeping it enjoyable?

I'm not sure faster and neater go together, heh! At least not for me! But I think the best advice I could give a new stitcher would be to make a working copy of the pattern they're stitching. That way they can mark off the areas they have finished, which for me has been a huge help in keeping my place and reducing mistakes and frustration. When you're not wasting time figuring out where you are on a pattern, and not ripping out and restitching, you'll end up completing a project faster.

For neater stitching I always railroad my top stitch. It takes a little longer but I think it's worth the extra time. I'd also tell a new stitcher to use shorter lengths of thread. The long ones just twist and knot and get frayed after being pulled through the fabric so many times. Even the most perfect stitch is going to look cruddy if the thread has been abused!

P.S. There's a For Sale sign in my front yard!

SBQ

Several questions this week:

What would your stash tell others about you?

If I could arrange it in a chronological way according to when I bought it, they'd see how my tastes have changed over the years and also how, as I grew more confident in my skills, I ventured into more difficult patterns with specialty stitches. They'd also find that linen is my fabric of choice and I'm absolutely crazy about overdyed fibers.

Most of us stitchers joke about having reached SABLE (stash acquired beyond life expectancy), but have you thought about what you’d like done with your stash after your death? Do you want it to reach other stitchers who will love it, too? Would your family know what to do with it or recognize its value?

I'm taking it with me. Okay, maybe not all of it but I think if I knew I was dying I'd put together a project or two for the trip. And I know I'm taking my Ginghers with me. As for what I leave behind, my family would be clueless as to it's value although my daughter might make the effort to sell it off on eBay.

How well organized is your stash –would someone be able to come in and put together a sale easily, or would it require lots of organizing work ahead of time? What would you like to see done with the funds collected from such a sale, i.e., should funds go to your family, to a charity or charities of your choice, to a charity or charities of your family’s choice, etc.?

I believe it's organized enough for someone to sell it if they decided to. And I'd leave it up to whoever took care of the selling to decide what to do with the money.

Are there certain items in your stash which are rare and highly desired by stitchers that might make a much larger amount of money if sold on eBay? Have you done anything to designate which items these more valuable ones are to guide your family in how to handle them? Who would you tell your family should handle such a sale so that they don’t have to do it themselves? Have you done anything to make these thoughts known to others, either through discussions or through a codicil to your will?

No doubt I have some OOP charts in my stash but I wouldn't know if they were considered rare or highly desired. I imagine my daughter will decide what happens with my miscellaneous personal items after my death and not someone outside of the family. There's nothing in my will regarding my stash but I imagine at some point I'll discuss with my daughter what I'd like her to do with a lot of my things.

Have you ever attended a similar sale of a passed stitcher’s stash? How did it make you feel? Did it encourage you to make any changes in your stitching lifestyle?

Not to my knowledge, although I have bought needlework type items at garage sales in the past, probably being sold by people who lost interest in the hobby.

Whew!

This Week's SBQ

When you have to frog out stitches, do you reuse that thread or do you start over with a new strand?

It really depends on the condition of the thread once it's been pulled out, but most of the time I end up tossing it.

SBQ

This week’s SBQ as suggested by Danielle:

Are you on “The Wagon?” If so, how long have you been on and how “serious” are you about it? If not, have you considered it?

I hopped on the wagon as soon as I heard about it, which was right after the first of the year. With a major move coming up I don't need to be adding anything else to my closet full of crafty stuff. In fact, as part of my stash reduction effort I started selling things on eBay that I'm no longer interested in stitching. Funny how my tastes have changed over the years! My original goal was to finish an average of one project a week, the idea being that 50 projects would take me roughly a year. My progress has been slower then I'd like as Life has a way of getting in the way of what I'd rather be doing! But I have managed to complete 10/50 projects so far, so not too bad!

It's the FGBB Stitch-a-Thon weekend so I'm off to stitch! Hooray! I want to get my April Woolly Tyme blanket done before the end of the month! ;-)

SBQ x 2

This week’s SBQ was once again suggested by Danielle and is:

If you had $500 to spend on stitching-related items, what would you buy?

What a fun question! I could definitely put a dent in my Wish List with $500! I'm still drooling over so many of the new releases from the Nashville Market! And I'd love to add to my Crescent Colours collection! Most of all I'd like to splurge on a nice, sturdy floor stand. And I'd put anything left over (ha ha!) in a "future framing fund"!

And from last week:

Do you use your needle, a seam ripper, or something else when you have to frog stitches? Why do you use the method that you do?

Most of the time I just use my needle because I have it right there, especially if it's only a few stitches. For bigger jobs, I'll grab my "stitch fixer" which is just like a needle, only bent slightly at the end and attached to a wooden handle so you have something a little more "substantial" to hold on to.

SBQ: Smoking Needles

This week’s was suggested by Danielle and is:

Do you find yourself stitching faster when you are getting to the end of a design?

My guess is I do stitch a little faster towards the end, mainly because that's when I tend to make the most mistakes! It's either the speed of my needle or my mind being on that next project!

SBQ

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Kathryn and is:

What is the smallest count fabric you have ever used? Did you stitch over one? Conversely, what is the largest count fabric you have ever used?

The smallest count fabric I've ever used is 32 count linen, stitching both over one and over two on it. The largest would have to be 10 count Tula and Betsy Ross linen. As my eyes have aged I find myself opting more for projects that can be done on larger counts, although I still enjoy stitching on the 32 count linen. I just like the feel of it so much more.

This Week's SBQ

Today’s SBQ is:

Do you like to buy “chartpacks” that include charms, buttons, and/or beads or do you prefer to gather all materials yourself?

Chartpack all the way, when it's available and when I think it's reasonably priced. When I look at the price of individual charms and buttons I sometimes go into sticker shock!

This Week's SBQ

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:

Have you ever been to a stitching retreat?

Unfortunately I haven't, but it is something that I would love to do some day. Camp Wannasew Weekend fee... $220. Gas money for trip to Oklahoma... $60. A weekend dedicated to stitching... priceless!!

This Week's SBQ

Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?

As a matter of fact, I've had two. Home Sweet Home and Winter Snows Me, both Secret Needle Night kits. I worked on Home Sweet Home during December of last year, but Winter Snows Me was 100% stitched in 2007!

SBQ is Back!

The first SBQ of 2007 is:

Do you dream of running your own LNS/ONS? If so, tell us about your dream. If not, tell us about your cross stitch dream… maybe you dream of designing, dyeing your own floss or fabric, etc.

My cross stitch dream... I'm walking down a long corridor with dozens of doors, each one opening to reveal a closet full of well organized stash! Fabric behind one door! Fibers behind another! Beads! Buttons! And the patterns! All organized by subject and cross referenced by designer!

But seriously... yes, I do dream of having my own LNS/ONS and spending the day surrounded by the things I love! My boyfriend has his own web design/hosting company so creating an online store would be a cinch! If I knew more about running a business I might actually consider doing it, but my lack of knowledge coupled with my fear of taking any risks where money is concerned means this will always remain a dream! But I promise to do my part to keep the rest of the shop owners in business!

SBQ

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Vash and is:

Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I taught myself to stitch and it just felt natural for me to go \\\ first and cross my stitches going ///. I use my right hand for the big things like writing and throwing and whatnot, but I also use my left for quite a few things, too. I know I stitch the opposite way from most people, so I was always hesitant to participate in round robins because of this. As I became better acquainted with the online stitching community I learned that it wasn't such a huge issue, there were many ways to stitch and no one method was "correct" as long as all your top stitches were going in the same direction. The only time I have switched the way I stitch was when I participated in stitching a baby afghan for an online friend. We were repeating several patterns for the afghan squares and I wanted my section to match everyone else's. :-)

SBQ

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Sharon and is:

When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do you take?

I hate stitching mistakes! The figuring out where I went wrong, the ripping out, the re-stitching! I count and re-count so many times when I'm working on a piece that I honestly make very few mistakes. When I do, I always get myself back on track and keep stitching. If I take a break it is usually a brief one right after I've discovered the mistake so I can work out my frustration doing something else, like washing dishes or sweeping the back patio. I think my kids have learned that if I'm out back with the broom it's probably not a good sign. :-)

This Week's SBQ

This is my first time to post a response to an SBQ. Here we go...

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Carolyn and is:

How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them, scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you would like to share?

So far I have just been taking pictures of my recent finishes and posting them here on my blog to share. I would like to someday have an online photo gallery with photos of all my past finishes, but for the time being the blog keeps me happy. In the real world, I have several of my finished pieces displayed around the house. Some are framed but I also have a few pillows and hanging doodads here and there. I wish I was better at actually finishing my finished pieces so I could display more. :-)