What are you doing?

[Cooking Goddess]

...I took my needlework with me and was doing it while he was working on me. We had a nice long conversation about needlework and other handcrafts that our grandmothers did and how it is disappearing....

I'm happy for you that you're fortunate enough to do needlework into your 70s. I had to give it up when I was in my early 50s because my thumb and index finger would cramp so bad after five minutes I couldn't hold a needle longer than that. I still have to do any mending on "good hand" days - and I hope my fingers hold out long enough to finish one item even then. Miss doing counted cross stitch...

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...Do you have hot cross buns on Good Friday in the USA and elsewhere?...

They have them around here - and I'd better get our annual box of them this week before they're gone. I remember making them once, the first Lent we were married. Himself had to work Good Friday so I got busy. They turned out good, but baking isn't my fun part of food prep. I do bake, but I'd rather toss and pinch rather than measure. In my opinion baking is science while cooking is art. Scientific I'm not.

And yes, I know science is involved in cooking too. Things like the Maillard reaction and stuff. But I can still get that result even though my only "measure" on seasonings is the question "One or Two shakes of the spice jar?"

 

[Addie]

I'm happy for you that you're fortunate enough to do needlework into your 70s. I had to give it up when I was in my early 50s because my thumb and index finger would cramp so bad after five minutes I couldn't hold a needle longer than that. I still have to do any mending on "good hand" days - and I hope my fingers hold out long enough to finish one item even then. Miss doing counted cross stitch...

When I held out my hands to show the doctor and told him I had only one bad finger that gives me pain, he was surprised at how straight all my other fingers are.

I never learned to do counted cross stitch. It is probably the top item on my bucket list. The item I am working on right now is all outline stitch and French knots. It is a scarf for my daughter's triple length dresser in her bedroom. Then I get to do the shorter one for her husband's drawers. For Christmas, my daughter got me one of those floor stands that hold your work so you can use both hands. I love it. The work goes so much faster.

I learned to do this at a very young age. My father taught me. So many folks here will come down to the patio and see me working. "Oh, my grandmother tried to teach me when I was young, but I wasn't interested. I wish I had learned. Can you teach me?"

"No, you should have listened to your grandmother. I know, I am a bi*ch.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Addie, if you do try your hand at counted cross stitch I have two suggestions. For your first project do a small image on a type of cloth called "herta". It's a bit coarser than most counted fabrics, but it is sized for only six stitches per inch. It's easier to get the hang of it with the big Xs. Also, have a selection of colored pencils or markers in colors similar to the floss colors. As you complete your stitches color in that spot on the graph. Makes it easier to see where you've been and what's still left.

One year I decided to cross stitch an insert for a serving tray as a Christmas gift for my MIL...24 Xs to the inch. Good thing I liked her a lot since that danged thing took me almost 90 hours of stitching! Yes, I kept track. When my Mom saw the finished tray she said she liked the pattern. The next September I decided I would make the same wreath for her, but on herta cloth for a large, framed picture they could have over the living room mantle. I finished it up by Christmas eve and my sainted husband took it downstairs and mounted and framed it into the wee hours of the morning just so Mom could have it on Christmas Day. Yeah, he got along great with my Mom too.

 

[taxlady]

My paternal grandfather was the youngest of five boys. His father and all of his brothers died within a year of retiring and my granddad figured he would too. He retired and started failing. My grandmother told him he wasn't allowed to get weak and die. She gave him a hobby. She taught him cross stitch embroidery. By the time I saw any of his work he had gotten good enough that it an ~3'x5' framed piece looked like a painting. It was his own design. He lived well into his 80s.

 

[bethzaring]

Two days ago I bought a new mountain bicycle and went for my first ride today; 8.1 miles in 54 minutes. It's been 4 years since I have been on a bike.

 

[taxlady]

Good for you Beth.

 

[CarolPa]

For years, my BIL and SIL had an Easter Egg hunt every Easter morning for their grandchildren. It was a big deal for them. Those kids are all grown now, in their 20's. Now my DIL has started it for my grandson and some of his friends. After the egg hunt she is serving breakfast. They were supposed to come to our house afterwards but I cancelled that due to DH's illness.

 

[Cheryl J]

Addie, that's so awesome that you do so much needlework. My mom used to do it all the time and I treasure the framed artwork that she made. She also loved to make boxes and other crafts with plastic canvas. I have so many that she made, it makes me smile whenever I see them.

 

[LPBeier]

Wow, everyone is so busy with projects and such. Beth, that's great about your bike riding!

I have been nursing a really tough migraine most of today. Not sure what brought it on and nothing seems to be working on it. I have tried all my remedies - natural and chemical.

Right now I am sitting in my craft studio at the computer, with Violet on her bed beside me and Monkey curled up in my other office chair behind me. If I move into the living room or bedroom they quietly follow and curl up in their favourite spots in those rooms. It is nice to be loved!

 

[Addie]

Addie, if you do try your hand at counted cross stitch I have two suggestions. For your first project do a small image on a type of cloth called "Herta". It's a bit coarser than most counted fabrics, but it is sized for only six stitches per inch. It's easier to get the hang of it with the big Xs. Also, have a selection of colored pencils or markers in colors similar to the floss colors. As you complete your stitches color in that spot on the graph. Makes it easier to see where you've been and what's still left.

One year I decided to cross stitch an insert for a serving tray as a Christmas gift for my MIL...24 Xs to the inch. Good thing I liked her a lot since that danged thing took me almost 90 hours of stitching! Yes, I kept track. When my Mom saw the finished tray she said she liked the pattern. The next September I decided I would make the same wreath for her, but on Herta cloth for a large, framed picture they could have over the living room mantle. I finished it up by Christmas eve and my sainted husband took it downstairs and mounted and framed it into the wee hours of the morning just so Mom could have it on Christmas Day. Yeah, he got along great with my Mom too.

Thanks for the info CG. Before I started my reply, I Googled the name of the cloth and bookmarked it so I will be able to remember it. (I have senior moments.) By the looks of the material, the hole looks like it will be easy to learn. I saw a couple of cute little 3x5 items I would like to try my hand at. Years ago I did a stamped set of bathroom pictures that were really cute. My daughter loved them and had them for years hanging in her bathroom. After years of gently rinsing them, they finally fell apart and she had to toss them. These new ones are counted cross stitch and perfect. But they will have to wait until I finish my present project. Thanks a lot!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

No problem Addie. As a bonus you can work the herta cloth all topside, as you can slip the needle into a hole for one corner of an "x" mark, then slid it right up through the diagonal hole. Projects work up quicker on herta, but if the design is large the finished project can get too big!

 

[Addie]

No problem Addie. As a bonus you can work the herta cloth all topside, as you can slip the needle into a hole for one corner of an "x" mark, then slid it right up through the diagonal hole. Projects work up quicker on herta, but if the design is large the finished project can get too big!

Thank for the tip. Placed in my memory bank.

 

[taxlady]

No problem Addie. As a bonus you can work the herta cloth all topside, as you can slip the needle into a hole for one corner of an "x" mark, then slid it right up through the diagonal hole. Projects work up quicker on herta, but if the design is large the finished project can get too big!

Are there special needles for that? I would imagine it wouldn't need a sharp point, so a needle similar to a darning needle?

 

[Cooking Goddess]

taxy, I think I used a needlepoint needle. The holes in the weave that form the corners of an "x" are big enough. Also, the piece I did in herta used wool yarn, not embroidery floss. I do remember the pattern saying you could use floss, using all six strands to get a full effect. I opted for the yarn and was very happy with the finished project. I don't know if you can see a difference between the two projects. The small tray is in 22 count using 3 strands of floss, the framed wreath is on the herta 6 count with, probably, crewel yarn.

 

[taxlady]

taxy, I think I used a needlepoint needle. The holes in the weave that form the corners of an "x" are big enough. Also, the piece I did in herta used wool yarn, not embroidery floss. I do remember the pattern saying you could use floss, using all six strands to get a full effect. I opted for the yarn and was very happy with the finished project. I don't know if you can see a difference between the two projects. The small tray is in 22 count using 3 strands of floss, the framed wreath is on the herta 6 count with, probably, crewel yarn.

Ooh, nice.

I bet you can tell the difference with the real objects.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Sure can tell the difference, both with my eyes and, when I was stitching the, with my fingers. All this "talk" about needlework though has my fingers itching to see if I can do it again. I'll have to dig through my box of started projects. So many to pick from...

 

[Cheryl J]

CG...those are beautiful!!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Thanks Cheryl. The tray is about 9x12 whereas the larger one is roughly 30 inches square. Both from the same pattern.

 

[Addie]

taxy, I think I used a needlepoint needle. The holes in the weave that form the corners of an "x" are big enough. Also, the piece I did in herta used wool yarn, not embroidery floss. I do remember the pattern saying you could use floss, using all six strands to get a full effect. I opted for the yarn and was very happy with the finished project. I don't know if you can see a difference between the two projects. The small tray is in 22 count using 3 strands of floss, the framed wreath is on the herta 6 count with, probably, crewel yarn.

We have so many great yarns and threads available to us now, that we can make our projects look like they were machine made.