January 2015 - Page 5 of 5 - Little Thread Crafts

Friday Finishes #10: Grandma’s Love

Today’s Friday Finishes.

Today’s Friday Finishes is devoted to my grandmother, who I made this piece for. I made it for her for Christmas of 2011, I believe, and forgot to take a picture of it at the time. I’ve taken one of it since then, but it’s not the greatest picture on the planet.

This piece was written using Google Search to find the information, as once again, I went into my Charts Binder to get the kit information and it was missing. Either it went missing after I finished it or I threw it away when I was done. I swear I stopped throwing them away but I guess for this particular piece I must have.

Name of Piece: Item K1143-16: Grandma’s House

Designed by: Neither the website nor the kit says.

Distributed as a kit by Janlynn under their Designs for the Needle series.

Kit Contains: 18-count White cotton Aida fabric, 6-strand cotton floss, self-adhesive mounting board, needle, graph and instructions.

Finished Size: 2.25 inches x 2.75 inches

Random Corner: 2015 Projects List!

Little Thread Crafts Random Corner

Here is my project list for 2015! Eight projects I am intent on finishing by the end of the year, plus Little Princess (which I finished January 2nd) and Artiste’s Snail. That will put me over my resolution of 10 finished pieces by the end of the year and I will only add on to that number! This year will be the year of finished cross-stitch pieces. 🙂

Things Discussed:

New Year’s Stitchy Resolutions, Year 3, 2015

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By the way – to keep up on Little Thread Crafts stitching news and get pictures, updates, and more that don’t appear on the blog until much later, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! I would greatly appreciate it!

2015, crafts, cross-stitch, diy, embroidery, little thread crafts, needlework, Random Corner, Video

Term of the Week: Even-weave

Little Thread Crafts Term of the Week

Welcome to this week’s Term of the Week, where we hop into a basic stitching term that’s good for everyone to know!

Evenweave (also even-weave or even weave) is a type of fabric where the warp (up and down) and the weft (left to right) threads of the fabric are equal distances apart, forming perfect squares. This fabric can be of many types, but for needlework, the two most common types are linen and aida. There is also a mixture of the two that is just called evenweave.

Most needlework fabrics are some type of evenweave, including the most popular Aida Cloth. All Aida is evenweave fabric, but not all evenweave fabrics are aida cloth. Some advanced stitchers prefer using plain evenweave or linen versus aida fabric.

What is the difference? Evenweave differs from aida in the count (or squares) of the fabric. Most evenweave fabrics are larger counts (28 or 32 ct. versus Aida’s 14 or 18 ct.) because the design of the fabric allows stitchers to skip a hole when doing the diagonal half stitch that forms part of the full cross-stitch. This is called stitching “over 2”.

This makes evenweave better for fractional stitches and also gives the stitcher more control over the size of the project. A 28 ct. evenweave project stitched “over 2” will be the same size as a 14 ct. aida project stitched “over 1”. So a stitcher using evenweave can make the project larger or smaller without making any changes to the chart.

A close up view of the threads that make up evenweave fabrics (also shows warp and weft)

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“Term of the Week” is a weekly blog post highlighting a new word or phrase commonly used among cross-stitchers but not found in an ordinary dictionary. These posts are to help explain the words’ meanings in context and provide a resource for anyone wondering what a term like “frogging” means. Check back every Thursday!

crafts, cross-stitch, dictionary, diy, embroidery, little thread crafts, needlework, term of the week

The Five-Minute Stitch! EP01

Little Thread Crafts Five Minute Stitch

Welcome to Episode One of The Five-Minute Stitch!

The first official episode of The Five Minute Stitch! The format seems to be very popular. 🙂 Quickly learning that 5 minutes may not be long enough…

Term of the Week: Railroading

Little Thread Crafts Term of the Week

This week’s Term of the Week is a tactic I personally use with all of my stitching! Maybe you will too after learning the term.

The word “railroading” stands for the act of making your stitches lie flat against the fabric. There are different ways to do this – I believe they use the same word in needlepoint and it does something a little bit different than what it does for cross-stitch.

For cross-stitching specifically, to “railroad” your stitches means to place your needle between your two strands of thread before pulling it through the fabric. This forces the stitches to lie flatter on the fabric, rather than bunch up one on top of the other. I’ve found it also keeps the thread from tangling as easily because it also forces the thread to straighten as it is being pulled through the fabric.

You can railroad with any type of thread and as many strands as you are using to stitch – I’ve done railroading with three strands where I alternated two threads on the left, one thread on the right. Same goes for five strands!

A close up of how to railroad two strand stitches.

Above is an example of how I railroad. I pull the thread in the direction that I’m doing the cross. Then, I put my needle in between the two strands, and pull through the fabric. As you can see in the second picture, the stitch is lying flat on the fabric, with the two strands side by side, rather than bunched together, or one under the other, or turned about.

While no one is required to railroad while they’re stitching, many stitchers consider it high on the list of “stitching etiquette”, along with having the crosses all going in the same direction.

Why is is called railroading, you ask? The two strands resemble the rails of a railroad – straight, one next to the other, for as far as the eye can see! Like when you put your needle between the two strands, and when the thread lies flat on the fabric.

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crafts, cross-stitch, dictionary, diy, embroidery, featured, little thread crafts, needlework, term of the week

New Year’s Stitchy Resolutions, Year 3, 2015

Little Thread Crafts Random Corner

Well folks, the time of year is here again. The New Year is upon us all, and that means it’s time for a review of last year’s stitching resolutions and to create a new list for 2015. If you would like to read last year’s article in its entirety, you can check it out here:

New Year’s Stitchy Resolutions, Year 2, 2014

Last Year’s Goals:

Complete My UFOs
Complete My Mother’s UFOs
Complete the Remaining Christmas Presents
Complete a Large Project
Do a Bear-Themed Rotation

Last Year’s Goals in Review

So, how did I do with my stitchy resolutions in 2014? In 2013, I completed two goals, modified one goal, and dropped the remaining two, and I completed ten projects. It wasn’t the best track record but I had high hopes for 2014.

All I can say after looking at this list is that I failed all my 2014 goals! I did not complete a single one of my own UFOs, I finished one of my mother’s UFOs, I did not end up finishing either of last year’s Christmas presents (I even decided not to give one of them at all and start over with something new), nor did I finish a large project or do a bear-themed rotation this year. And in total? I completed four projects in the entirety of 2014. They were all under 5 x 7, so by my book, they were all mini kits.

I’m not discouraged! All that means is my interests throughout the year changed course. I didn’t get in nearly as much stitching time as I went back to school and worked two jobs, and I had more fun working on new projects than old ones.

With all that in mind, here is my New Year’s Resolutions List for 2015:

This Year’s Goals:

Stitch More

Take more time to stitch! My issue with cross-stitch is that I have about a dozen other hobbies all vying for my attention. I’ll have the bug, but not the motivation to pick up a needle when I should do something else. Now that I’m off work and out of school, I want to organize my time better so I can balance responsibilities, hobbies, and cross-stitch to do more of the thing I love the most!

Finish 10 or More Projects

When I sat down at the end of the year to examine my stitching progress, I shocked myself by only counting four finished pieces for the entirety of the year! I finished ten projects (of all different sizes) in 2013 and maybe ten or so in 2012 as well. Considering how many mini-kits I have in my set of drawers I should have been able to finish many more. In any case, even if they aren’t necessarily current WIPs or UFOs, I hope to finish 10 or more projects in 2015. Whether they’re my UFOs or WIPs, my mother’s UFOs, or brand new projects, I’ll count anything stitched towards the running total. The more things I finish, the better!

Complete a Rotation

I tried a Cat-Themed Rotation in 2013, and it failed miserably. I get so bored working on big projects that I’ll go start something new instead of working on something old. So, one of my goals for 2015 will be to complete a Rotation! It’ll keep me from getting bored with any one particular project and, if I follow through and finish them, those are finished pieces to add to my finish pile. I don’t know what kind of Rotation yet, but I will have one. We’ll just have to see whether it fizzles out in the end.

This year I think I will stick with just these three goals. They’re simple, they promote stitching, and I think they are all goals I can easily keep. The New Year fills me with so much excitement! I can’t wait to discover what the year has in store and get stitching on new projects. Here’s to 2015, and we’ll revisit this list again in another year!

What are you looking to accomplish with your stitching in 2015?

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“Random Corner” is a place for all articles related to all manners of cross-stitchery and the cross-stitch community that don’t fall into the topics covered in the regular segments. There is no set schedule for Random Corner articles, they’re just random!

2015, crafts, cross-stitch, diy, embroidery, little thread crafts, needlework, Random Corner

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