Welcome to Episode Five of The Five-Minute Stitch!
This is probably the last time you’ll see me stitching the butterfly on camera… I’ll finish it over the weekend and start on my cousin’s bookmark birthday present by the time the next few videos go up!
Welcome to Episode Four of The Five-Minute Stitch!
We continue our discussion from last time and I make a mistake I have to frog out. The first real mistake in this piece! But at least I caught up and took it out.
Welcome to Episode Three of The Five-Minute Stitch!
Today I discuss some of the most popular articles on the blog… as well as make progress on the butterfly!
This is part 2 of a multi-part series. This article was originally posted in August of 2013. All information below may have changed!
Read Part 1: Looking For a Cross-Stitch Community? Try Facebook!
One of the first articles I wrote for my blog revolved around the various cross-stitch groups I had just discovered on Facebook. And people are still reading it, almost nine months later! So, I wanted to do a follow-up to the previous article. I’ve found a lot more groups since December of 2012 and discovered a lot more about my groups. Skip around to the ones you want to read and maybe join!
There are 5,902 members in this group at the time of this writing. (There will probably be over 6,000 by next week.) It is one of the fastest growing (and fastest moving) cross-stitch groups on Facebook. I have yet to find one with as many or more members. It was the first group I discovered and the first group I was a member of.
This group is closed, meaning you can’t see the posts until you become a member. That’s not a bad thing! It means that your friends and family can’t see what you’re posting, so if you want to post a picture of a WIP that you’re making as a Christmas present for your family, they can’t see it and you can post without needing to wait.
There are two admins, Margaret and Robin, and they do fantastic jobs of running the group for only two people to 6,000 members. All in all it’s a group I highly recommend! 6,000 members post a lot so there’s always something new to see in this group.
There are 1,706 members in this group at the time of this writing. This group is dedicated as a group to host all of your finished pieces and display them for others to see and fawn over. Each member is asked to post the name of the pattern, the designer, the fabric count, and all that good stuff when you post your completed projects.
This groups is open, meaning that you can see the posts if you aren’t a member. It also means that friends and family can see what you post when you post in the group. It will show up in their news feed like you had shared something on your wall. (My boyfriend often complains because I post my articles in all my groups, and it shows up on his news feed in the open groups for each one I posted in.)
There are six admins in this group, Rebecca being the main one, and they do a great job of running the group. If you like looking at other people’s finishes, then this is the perfect group for you! It’s a great place to go when you’re looking for some stitchy motivation (or to increase your stash)!
There is only 132 members in this group at the time of this writing, but despite that this group is my absolute favorite. This group is dedicated to completing UFOs as well as acting as a stitching (and general life) support group. This is the group Birdie Stitching originally wrote about (and how I discovered Facebook cross-stitch groups!).
This group is closed, meaning you can’t see the posts until you become a member. That’s not a bad thing! It means that your friends and family can’t see what you’re posting, so if you want to post a picture of a WIP that you’re making as a Christmas present for your family, they can’t see it and you can post without needing to wait.
There is one admin, Micki, and the group’s creator is Elizabeth. They are both absolutely fantastic and very supportive of everyone who posts in their group. I would love to see this group grow! It is a tight-knit but welcoming community and we would love to have more stitchy members. 🙂
There are 50 members in this group at the time of writing. This group is small, and dedicated to all things creative, though it was made with cross-stitch in mind. It’s mostly a group of stitchers but posting about other crafty things are allowed and welcome!
This group is closed, meaning you can’t see the posts until you become a member. That’s not a bad thing! It means that your friends and family can’t see what you’re posting, so if you want to post a picture of a WIP that you’re making as a Christmas present for your family, they can’t see it and you can post without needing to wait.
There are two admins, Jane and Susan, and they are both extremely active within the group. This is a nice group and I would recommend joining it if you are interested in all things crafty, not just cross-stitch!
There are 1,300 members in this group at the time of writing. This group is just about sharing the love of cross-stitch with one another, asking questions, sharing your WIPs and finishes, and everything else. This group loves to acquire more stash!
This groups is open, meaning that you can see the posts if you aren’t a member. It also means that friends and family can see what you post when you post in the group. It will show up in their news feed like you had shared something on your wall. (My boyfriend often complains because I post my articles in all my groups, and it shows up on his news feed in the open groups for each one I posted in.)
There is one admin, Dianne, who is very quick to accept any new members who are looking to join. This group is always looking for more members and would love to have new stitchy members!
There are 1,130 members in this group at the time of writing. This group’s goal is to have every stitcher on Facebook join it, in an attempt to count how many stitchers there are on Facebook. They’re still quite a ways off, but if you’re a stitcher, you should join this group to help the count! They talk about all things cross-stitch all the time.
This groups is open, meaning that you can see the posts if you aren’t a member. It also means that friends and family can see what you post when you post in the group. It will show up in their news feed like you had shared something on your wall. (My boyfriend often complains because I post my articles in all my groups, and it shows up on his news feed in the open groups for each one I posted in.)
There are two admins, Carrol and Bianca, and they are wonderful in interacting with the group and its community. If you are a stitcher you need to join this group and help their count of how many stitchers exist on Facebook! It’s an interesting experiment and they should have more members. 🙂
There are 1,225 members in this group at the time of writing. This group is just a fun club that’s open to all stitchers to join. They like to hold community events that are totally free to join and not mandatory to participate, just a fun thing to do.
This groups is open, meaning that you can see the posts if you aren’t a member. It also means that friends and family can see what you post when you post in the group. It will show up in their news feed like you had shared something on your wall. (My boyfriend often complains because I post my articles in all my groups, and it shows up on his news feed in the open groups for each one I posted in.)
There are three admins, Lisa, Heather and Amanda, and they are all very nice and are quick to add new members who want to join. All in all a fun little group to join. 🙂
There are 2,802 members in this group at the time of writing. This group has been around for nine years and is still going strong today. It’s a very welcoming community – no negativity is tolerated! (Unless it’s about the dreaded frog.)
This groups is open, meaning that you can see the posts if you aren’t a member. It also means that friends and family can see what you post when you post in the group. It will show up in their news feed like you had shared something on your wall. (My boyfriend often complains because I post my articles in all my groups, and it shows up on his news feed in the open groups for each one I posted in.)
There is one admin, Lauren, and she’s very awesome about running and maintaining the community. I have spoken to her first hand and she is always receptive to any issues you may have about something in the group. She handles things quickly and quietly. This group is very friendly and I highly recommend it!
There are 2,238 members in this group at the time of writing. As the title says, this group is for all types of embroidery and needlework, not just cross-stitch. It’s a great group if you’re looking to get into needlepoint or into cross-stitch! They cater to anything you can do with a needle.
This groups is open, meaning that you can see the posts if you aren’t a member. It also means that friends and family can see what you post when you post in the group. It will show up in their news feed like you had shared something on your wall. (My boyfriend often complains because I post my articles in all my groups, and it shows up on his news feed in the open groups for each one I posted in.)
There are six admins in this group, Jolene, Grace, Holly, Cynthia, Christina, and Emma, and with that many admins they have a good handle on running the group! All the admins are friendly and inviting, and because there are so many, you’re sure to get accepted into the group quickly.
There are 1,473 members in this group at the time of this writing. This group is all about cross-stitching and how addictive it is! It’s also a group dedicated to teaching others about cross-stitch and other forms of embroidery, as well as expand the horizons of other stitchers.
This group is closed, meaning you can’t see the posts until you become a member. That’s not a bad thing! It means that your friends and family can’t see what you’re posting, so if you want to post a picture of a WIP that you’re making as a Christmas present for your family, they can’t see it and you can post without needing to wait.
There is one admin, Michele, and she is very quick about accepting new members! I think I was accepted within an hour of requesting an invite (which is just Facebook’s fancy way of people joining groups). I really like this group and what it stands for. If you like it as well, you should join!
And there you have it: a comprehensive list of every Facebook group I have been a part of. There are many, many more that I’m not in, and I’m sure there are even more that I don’t even know exist! If you have any groups of your own, feel free to share, either in a comment below or on our Facebook page.
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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 weekly schedule. There is no set schedule for Random Corner articles, they’re just random!
For some reason I thought I had done this Term of the Week already… it’s such a common one to see! When I realized I hadn’t I immediately put it in the queue as the next article!
To put it quickly and simply, LNS stands for Local Needlework Shop. In general, the term is used for the small business, ‘mom and pop’ stores that offer almost exclusive cross-stitch or needlework supplies. But over the years, especially with a lot of local shops closing in the US, the term has evolved to mean any sort of shop or store nearby that carries cross-stitch supplies.
Sometimes there aren’t even any big retail chains (Michael’s, Joann’s, Hobby Lobby) anywhere near stitchers, and the big superstore chains (Wal-Mart, Meijers) don’t offer needlework supplies at all. At this point, stitchers have turned to the Internet and online stores, and now even those are being referred to as LNS. The term is evolving to mean cross-stitch shops in general, rather than just local needlework shops.
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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!
So, for this Term of the Week we’re pulling a little-used acronym out of our stitchy bag. (At least, I haven’t seen it very often.)
SINS – other than being an actual word, what does it mean? Well, to stitchers, it means Stuff I‘ll Never Stitch. Looking at it, it’s got two connotations: a negative one, literally something you would not stitch, but in most cases it uses the positive connotation.
Stuff I’ll Never Stitch, when used in a positive connotation, is just lamenting the size of your stash – you’ve bought it because you love it, but with the amount of charts, kits, and patterns you have, you’ll never get around to stitching it. Or, from a different perspective, you want to buy it – your mouse is hovering over ‘Add to Cart’ – but you know that it’ll end up as “stuff you’ll never stitch”. Or, another example, you bought a chart because you loved it, but your tastes changed and now it’s become a SINS.
Basically SINS is referring to an overwhelming amount of stash. It’s mostly used as an excuse to sell some staff: “All of this fabric and these Christmas charts are SINS now and I need to clear up space in my stash area”, that sort of thing. I haven’t really seen it used that often… probably because no one wants to give up their stash!
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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!
I figured, since we’re on an acronym trend why break it now? So we’ve got another popular acronym for this week’s Term of the Week!
SAL is a well-known, popular term among stitchers. It’s an acronym that means Stitch-A–Long.
A Stitch-A-Long is an event similar to UFO Wednesdays. It’s usually structured like this: a group of stitchers choose a pattern, and week by week they stitch the design. A finish date is set, and everyone is encouraged to share their progress each week and finish the design by the set date. Once the SAL is done, a group of people have now all stitched the same design.
It started out in groups of stitchers meeting in person each week to stitch the design, but with the rise of technology and the Internet, stitchers from all over the world can participate in a SAL without ever actually meeting each other.
Designers and cross-stitch companies have picked up on this SAL trend, and nowadays several designers will sometimes do what is called Mystery SALs. It follows the same rules as a SAL, but the entire chart is a mystery; each week, the designer releases a new part of the chart for the stitchers, and the design is revealed over time. There are some downsides to this: some stitchers don’t like the mystery behind the design, because once finished, they may not like the design, and they wouldn’t have stitched it had they known what it was.
Other designers do Private SALs. They design a chart for the stitchers on their fan page or in their Facebook group, give it to them to do as a SAL, but only the stitchers who were in the group or signed up for the SAL get the design. The chart may or may not be released later for the general public.
I’ve never participated in a SAL myself, but I know a lot of people who have, and they enjoy them! Have you participated in a SAL before?
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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!
This is part 1 of a multi-part series. This article was originally posted in December of 2012. All information below may have changed!
Read Part 2: Facebook Cross-Stitch Groups Revisited
My mother taught me how to cross-stitch when I was 8 years old. She bought a little cartoon smiling flower, showed me what to do, and let me at it. It took a very long time to finish for how simple it was, I would guess around a year – but that’s what you get when you’ve got an eight year old trying to do a task that does require some time and patience. But finish I did, and after my mother did the backstitch for me (and added a tongue on the smile per my request) I proudly stuck it on my wall for many years.
I faded in and out of the craft until I was 17, after a rough year where I dropped most of my hobbies and activities and was looking for something new to set my sights on. Once I got back into it I got back into it bad. I fell in love with everything about, devoured project after project, and made stores like Joann Fabrics (which I was blessed enough to have only five minutes away) my new favorite place to shop.
But do you know what I believed? Beyond my mother and my grandmother, neither of whom cross-stitch anymore, I never met one person who cross-stitched or even knew what cross-stitch was. I knew I couldn’t be alone in liking it, considering there was still a market for it, but I figured there couldn’t be anyone in my area as I would’ve run into them in the last ten years, surely.
I first discovered that there were cross-stitch groups on Facebook through a blog called Birdie Stitching, my favorite video game cross-stitch blog by someone I had been following on deviantART. She mentioned a group she was in in one of her weekly blog posts, and I decided to check it out.
It was the best decision of my life! For the first time I had a group of well over 5,000 people who all loved and adored cross-stitch as much as I did. I loved seeing all their work and seeing answers to questions I had. From there I discovered several more groups and joined them all as well. I now have a community to share my passion with, all for the first time!
So, if you’re searching for a cross-stitch community to share your passion with, and you’re on Facebook, join one and give it a shot! Here are some of the groups I’m a part of:
Note: All of these groups are “closed” to non-members. This just means you can’t see what people have posted in the group unless you’re in the group as well. This is so people can post pictures of presents they’re working on that they don’t want the present receiver to see. 🙂 You can still join all of them!
Now that you’ve heard about a few groups, do you have any plans to join one? Or are you part of some already and have more to recommend? Make sure you leave a comment below with a link to the group!
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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 weekly schedule. There is no set schedule for Random Corner articles, they’re just random!
For this week’s Term of the Week we’re diving into our stitchy acronyms and pulling out another well-known word!
So, OOP – what does it mean? This is mostly used to refer to charts and booklets that are very old or just a bit outdated. Maybe you’ve seen it on websites when you’ve tried to purchase a chart or a kit and they were out of stock?
OOP basically just means Out Of Print. Usually these are for old kits and charts that are several years old, the publishing company no longer publishes the chart, or (in some cases) the publishing company went out of business. It can be very difficult to obtain a chart because of it, unless the company still exists and they’re willing to send you a replacement copy. (Dimensions is known for doing this; if someone is stitching an OOP chart and something happens to it, Dimensions have been known to go into their records and send that person a copy to replace the one they lost, provided they still have it on record.)
There’s a well-known “Why I Cross-Stitch” chart (I think that’s what it’s called) that’s very popular among stitchers. But, it was a limited distribution and the company quickly went out of business for some unknown reason. Due to this, the chart is out of print, or OOP, and it’s now extremely rare and hard to find. I remember a conversation where someone said it was going for almost $100 at an auction. People want the chart and they kept bidding it up until it was well over how much the original cost!
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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!
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!
There was a poll posted in one of my Facebook cross-stitch groups last week. The question was, how old is everyone? There were some options – 30 through 40, 45 and up – and then people began adding their own. “Old enough” one option said; “retired with free time” said another. The majority was split between two groups – most were in their late 30s or early 40s, and then 55 and up. There were hundreds of comments discussing ages, when they started stitching, how much they stitch now, and more.
Out of a group of more than one thousand people, with hundreds of voters and comments, I was one of three people in the “20 and under” category.
I was introduced into cross-stitching by my mother and grandmother when I was eight years old, which was eleven years ago. I’m now nineteen. And prior to discovering that the Internet held groups for people who stitched, I was the only kid who cross-stitched. I never knew anyone my age who stitched. Most of them didn’t even know what that was. The ones who did knew it because it was something a grandmother or an aunt worked on and they had been given gifts.
Maybe my lack of fellow stitchers had something to do with the fact that my class didn’t have a Home Economics course in school; we were a transitional class, the old Home Ec. teacher having retired the year before, and the teacher that replaced her turned the class into an experimental “Life and Mathematical Sciences” class, where we made food once every two weeks and did math worksheets every other day. The sewing and “life skills” had been cut out completely. To this day I have a sewing machine sitting in my closet that I don’t know how to use. That class was such a let-down.
Counted cross-stitch is most often associated with “being old.” It’s something a grandmother does in her free time as she knits hats and sweaters and plucks away at her sewing machine. It’s reflected in samplers hung in frames on a wall from a long-dead relative and the bookmarks and pillows and holiday ornaments strewn throughout the house. I once rescued a gorgeous framed Paula Vaughan piece from being thrown away. It’s used in marketing and graphic design to bring up memories of home and “days gone by” – a cookbook I bought from a local festival had cross-stitch art as its cover design for “the best homemade recipes.”
Cross-stitch reflects back to the days when girls learned needlework in school and covered samplers and clothing and anything else with their own designs because that was how a girl demonstrated her sewing skills. She would have to make her own clothes and it was how she added detail to an otherwise plain design. (If you ever have the fortune to visit Ellis Island in New York, a lot of the cloth in the exhibits are covered in cross stitch.)
People may consider cross-stitching a “grandmother’s hobby,” but that just isn’t the case. Everyone has to start somewhere, and, like me, the majority of the group said they had been stitching since they were young children. I just happen to be a kid among history, one of the youngest to enter into the age-old craft. And at least among a group of one thousand there were two others like me. I’ve been stitching for eleven years but I’m still more than 30 years younger than the rest of the group! Where are all the other kids? Where is the rest of my generation, the ones who learned from their grandmothers and sit at home and stitch in their free time?
Maybe I am the only one. I certainly feel like I am at times.
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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!
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!
