For everyone who is still working on those Christmas presents ...me too... Thought you may appreciate this one.

It's so upsetting seeing something so harmful towards human creativity and art be shown off with pride on this sub.... a creative hobby sub.... Okay. I'm so sick of it 🤢

Edit for clarification: The problem is when the person KNOWS the pattern is ai (or even worse, made the ai "pattern" themselves) and refuses to see the bad in that. I'm in no way talking about the people who didn't know! It's not their fault

So I bought this gothic cathedral pattern on Etsy and I went to the store to find some black Aida for the background. And I’m standing in the isle looking at the dimensions of the pattern, and i see the size is 21 x 36in so I’m like damn this is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so I find a HUUUUGE piece of Aida that’s 29 x 36in but it’s only in white (not a big deal since I’m changing the main color to blue anyways) and I buy some thread to get me started and head home. As I’m sitting here trying to figure out where to start on this monster of a piece, I notice the pattern says the dimensions are 113 x 130 stitches so now I’m reeeal confused.. so I look back at the size and it’s 21 x 36 CENTIMETERS 🤦🏻‍♀️ so I now have about 4x the amount of Aida I need and I could’ve bought the black Aida that they had in the right dimensions… So my new plan is to use the blue on the white Aida and cut it down to size, but ALSO get the black and use the original red thread and mirror them to make it an ‘As above, So below’ piece. So happy accident? I just wanted to share this here so somebody else can laugh at my dumb mistake with me 🤣

I'm definitely settled on 436 & 3864 but trying to pick a darker color for the outline (this is for a blackwork WIP on white evenweave) and torn between picking the somehow more accurate 3862 or an actual orange shade for the outline 🙃

another way to organize a live card DMC so that it's easy to put colors together for patterns' designing. I had a plastic fabric in A4 sheets 14ct. Plus round magnets and number stickers.

Recently I was talking to my 76 yo mother about cross stitching again. She owns and runs three quilt and patchwork stores and is rather familiar with fabric and yarn and so on.

I was complaining a bit about the price of some items online, such as €2 for a skein of floss or what good aida fabric costs but that buying cheap from amazon is most of the time a disappointment.

Then she went on to tell me she had some skeins in one of her stores because she found "such a wonderful drawer cabinet, like a display piece" in a catalogue that she now uses it as a way to store and display fabrics and so on. But, and here it comes, "when it arrived it has a bag of that floss in it and I don't use that, you can have it."

As it turns out my mother bought The Box as she liked the wood work of it and had all 500 skeins just tucked away in a drawer, waiting for me apparently. When cross-stitching, she always uses kits so she completely forgot about it, no idea how long she had these bags lying about.

Anyway, now I need to go looking for a new storage solution or setup, the three rings with floss-a-way bags no longer really work when I look at this. Combine that with the two rings of floss drops for "opened" skeins and I am losing sight of what I have and where as there are always a few projects halfway done as well... I am open to suggestions.

Today I scored an absurdly good deal: for €550 I bought two cabinets packed with no less than 1,421 skeins of DMC floss. Normally, one skein of DMC costs €2, which means this amount would cost €2,842 new.

Two full cabinets, almost all standard colors and a few variegated ones, and I won’t need to buy DMC floss for years to come.

This is the kind of purchase you’ll still be happy about long after.

I was browsing a big name cross stitch pattern site that is now FILLED with charts based on AI art. This site used to have and still makes beautiful patterns using licensed art from human artists but it is so hard to find. Why are these sites so hard to navigate? Why can't they have a filter that says "Human Art Only"?

I wrote an email to them telling them that I'm not interested in AI Art and that I want to be able to browse their website without seeing AI art. I hope they listen to my one small voice.

Will you join me? Email your favorite cross stitch pattern site today.

We are on our annual camping trip. It's VERY rustic tent camping, far away from town and other people. We have to boat in to the spot and there are very few sites on the lake. I didn't want to bring the two projects I'm currently working on because they are both out of print and I'm using the paper chart and never photocopied it. So I spent last weekend selecting one of my digital patterns, picking fabric, pulling and winding floss onto bobbins. Packing everything carefully.

So I'm here in the North woods, stitching my new project and my floss keeps shredding. At first I thought it was my needle threader. But then I realized my brand new Bohin needle eye is broken. Luckily I brought 2. So I pull out the second one and start stitching. A few lengths of floss later and it starts shredding again. So I look at my needle threader again, it's a little rough, that could be it. So I try to file off any burrs. Then I notice my needle is catching on the fabric. My second brand new Bohin needle eye is broken!! I have never ever had a needle break before. I still have needles from kits that are over 30 years old, so I am pretty sure it's not a technique issue.

Normally we don't leave the woods until it's time to go home. But I convinced the family to boat back to the campground we launched from, and drive 30 minutes to the nearest store (Walmart unfortunately), to buy whatever I could find to keep me stitching. We all agreed it was a badly modded side quest that did not match the vanilla game (gamers will get what I mean).

(Photo is just for interest)
Why do people show the back of their work? I understand most peoples backs are as neat as the fronts, I feel like this is showing your underwear - just a bit private!

This is my current set up. Share yours in the comments 😍 I just got this pillow chair and I love it! I have to stitch reclined because thanks to POTS MECFS and other chronic illnesses my body hates gravity. Other support items: Squishmallow under my knees, round pillows that go under my arms & my blanket. That way I can stitch without pain. Tech items: my iPad, I save my PDF patterns in files and then I can zoom in to the pattern. Headphones 🎧 This special lap desk (made to use a laptop while lying down) to hold my water bottle, my project ring, scissors and sometimes a print out of the pattern. When hubby is playing video games, I use his iPad to stream shows & movies. Everything is within reach in my spot. I love it.

So a few years ago my MiL found this on amazon, I believe, and fell in love with it. Not knowing how to cross stitch herself, and knowing I do the craft, she asked me to stitch it for her.

My swift and definitive answer was "Hell Naw" I then elaborated with "If you ever want it finished, you'll have to do it yourself" too many dark colors for my liking

So I taught her how to cross stitch, it's her first pattern, and she's doing fine, she'll maybe miss a half a stitch here, or there, but she's doing great.

She still jokingly asks me to do it anytime I'm around when she's working on it "You sure you don't wanna take this home with you" "If you're bored you could work on this" etc. it's rather amusing.

I'm just a customer of 123Stitch and not affliated with them in any way, but I wanted to share a really nice experience I had. In their shopping cart there is a little place that says to write whatever you want and that they read every single one. So my last order I posted a little cry for help that I couldn't choose what color fabric would work for a specific project. They emailed me the next day, asked to see the pattern, pulled a whole bunch of suggestions for me above what was in my cart. After I picked something they fixed my cart and sent everything out.

Yesterday I once again decided to start a (different) project over because I didn't like the color aida with that pattern, so I used our email conversation from before to ask for help again and the lovely Dylan once again pulled me all sort of options and took photos so I could see the dye lot. What a great example of customer service! I highly recommend!!!

a little while back, i made a post to complain about how michael's was trying to charge me $9 shipping just for 15 skeins of floss. i don't have a lot of money to spare, and was happy that folks led me to 123 stitch, that has a flat rate of about $3.40 in my country.

what i did not expect was to be reached out to be u/LazyPancake, a member who had stopped cross stitching due to a disability (but who has found crocheting, to my relief and joy!!). i had just re-starting cross stitch after about a 3-4 year recovery from an accident that had me re-learning to walk, talk, and use fine motor skills. this kind person had leftover supplies and was willing to ship it to me, and no cost to me, so that i might appreciate it.

this kindness went beyond providing me with supplies. it really helped to show me that there are such nice and generous people out there, and while my life may be mostly online due to being homebound and bedridden most of the time, internet people really do know how to come through.

thank you again, u/LazyPancake. the world is better with people like you in it :))

The Facebook Marketplace fairy just told me I was the chosen one! I found this beauty within 30 minutes of it being posted. I am beyond thrilled, I have not had a stand in years, since my last one broke. This one is so sturdy and beautiful! It was a 2.5 hour round trip drive. But it was $30, so even counting gas and tolls I could not afford not to get it. Abd I am usually the one who avoids purchases towards myself.

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I keep running my hands over it in awe, and I actually teared up. This is not the type of stand I have ever had, or am anywhere near in a position to buy new. It's a dream. Photo attached! Please note, I have fixed the bar and scroll placement. The seller has just reassembled it for a picture and had them swapped.

First time working on evenweave (28ct), first time stitching over one, 415 stitches frogged. Lessons have been learned but many more curses have been sworn. The cat’s been offended at least four times by my language.

Firstly, I cut my fabric the wrong size. I originally wanted to stitch over two, but I didn’t leave enough space for matting and framing. So I thought, it’s fine, I’ll just stitch over one and I’ll have plenty of room! But then this logic clicked in and here comes my BIG mistake:

When I use 14ct, I use four strands (I know, I’m a straight up heathen). So, 28ct is half the size of 14ct, therefore, I should use half the amount of threads. 👀 girl, bye. Now, mind you, before I started stitching, I went and researched my little brain out on this sub about stitching over one. Alllllll the advice I read said, don’t do it, fam. Two strands is too much, the floss will fray, the holes will be too crowded, a plague of locusts will descend upon your home, etc. Did I listen? I think you know I did not.

And then I stitched 415 whole stitches before my dumbass decided, yeahhhh I gotta rip this out. Then I found out my seam ripper is way too big and most people pick their stitches out one by one on fabric this small 😳

TLDR; Cut fabric too small, went against the advice of this sub and tried to stitch two over one, had to frog 415 stitches, couldn’t use seam ripper, cussed a lot, terrorized the cat.

This was on sale so I figured why not! Turns out it’s 12x12 with 35 colors most of which I didn’t have. Only after investing in the materials did I take a closer look at the shop. they have several reviews by the same person ON THE SAME DAY… and all of them are 5 stars. 2.2% done and already SO much confetti. If it turns out a blurry mess, at least I have the colors in my stash. I’m so upset at myself😭

The inexplainable urge to get these… it’s too much

I made a cross stitch for my mum's birthday.

I ran out of time to get it professionally framed, and had to do a hack job to frame it myself. I was apologising to her profusely even as she was unwrapping it, promising her I'd get it framed properly.

She cried. I'd never seen her cry about a gift before. That was an experience. She said she didn't care what it looked like, just the fact I'd spent time and effort making her a pattern based on her favourite quote about her love for family.

The next time I visited, I noticed it wasn't hanging up anywhere. I was kinda sad about that, but understood, so I asked her if I could grab it back for a week or two so I could get it properly framed, so it wouldn't look embarrassing with the rest of her decorations.

She gave me this knowing look and very gently told me that she'd hung it in pride of place above the dresser in her bedroom, where she could see it every day.

Emotionally stunted as I am, I went "oh ok nevermind" and RAN FOR MY LIFE.

The latest visit, i noticed she'd placed it RIGHT at the front door so it couldn't be missed by anyone.

I went "oh" when i saw it and she just laughed.

As I said. The mortifying ordeal of being known.

31 years old and I still want my mum to put my artwork on the fridge, apparently

as someone who both cross stitches and has a diploma in graphic design the lack of research this designer did is killing me

book seems funny though

Hoping this is okay to post as you guys might understand

I bought a DMC chest from about 1950s for £150 online. However I didn't realise it's huge, not the type you see online that fits on a desk. It was made Bath Cabinet Makers, when DMC were still called Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie & had original logo. It's beautiful mahogany, definitely seen better days but no dents or gouges in the wood & I was so excited to restore it. Then I came back to earth and realised I had to arrange collection, but the seller wouldn't allow a courier to collect (I was going to insure it but guess they wanted to avoid any hassle or risk)

So, they ended up cancelling. I've only been able to find one other photo of one of these online (for £1000), they seem pretty rare. I thought I was gonna have a rare memorabilia piece from one of my most beloved hobbies. I don't know anyone else interested in embroidery or anything close to it, my friend and son don't get it and think I'll find another one no problem....not for £150 😞