Term of the Week: HAED

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For this week’s Term of the Week we head back into our stack of stitchy acronyms and pull out one that is arguably becoming a household name among stitchers.

HAED stands for Heaven And Earth Designs. Heaven and Earth Designs is an online company based out of Seaside, Oregon, USA. They work with local and international artists to turn works of art into cross-stitch pieces. They are known for several things: the size of their projects (HAEDs are known for being enormous, with charts often between 20 and 30 pages long), the types of charts they offer, and the cross-stitch they use to work the designs: all HAED projects are done in full crosses and full crosses only, no back-stitch, french knots, partial stitches, or blended threads.

HAEDs have exploded in popularity since the company’s creation in 2002. This is likely due to the number and style of the charts they offer; their website states,

“These are not your grandmother’s cross stitch designs, such as cute little bears and standard samplers. We offer you unadulterated cross stitch in its purest and most beautiful form.”

HAED charts can be expensive, and they only offer charts, not kits – you must supply everything you need for the project yourself. But the website runs sales frequently and if you get coupons and only buy during sales you can get a number of charts quite cheap. But be warned! Due to the massive size of most of these projects every chart you buy requires a large time investment. If you love large charts and you’re up for beautiful projects, then you may want to try an HAED!

I personally have never bought a chart from them, just because large projects aren’t my thing, but I have heard nothing but good things about them. Several stitchers consider it a “rite of passage” to stitch an HAED. For myself I’m going to stick to my “grandmother’s designs” because they’re smaller.

You can find the Heaven and Earth Designs website here: http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/

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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!

Term of the Week: Stitching “In Hand”

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This week’s Term of the Week is something that all stitchers have done at one point or another, and may still do it today – I’m physically unable to stitch in hand but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t!

So what does “stitching ‘in hand'” mean exactly? It’s actually extremely simple.

When you are working on a piece, if you stitch without anything but your fabric, needle, and thread – so no hoops, frames, stands, or q-snaps – then you are stitching in hand. It literally means to hold your fabric in your hand and stitch with nothing else attached.

Most of the time, stitchers only stitch in hand on small and/or irregularly shaped projects, the ones that are hard to use hoops on. But for some people it hurts or isn’t comfortable to hold a hoop or use a stand, so stitching in hand is the easiest way to get your stitching done.

For me, I find it extremely uncomfortable to stitch in hand for long periods of time. If I don’t use a hoop my left hand will cramp up and my left wrist will become irritated, making me unable to stitch. On anything other than small, 2 inch projects I have to use a hoop. Stitching in hand is physically not good for me.

What about you? Do you like stitching in hand or do you prefer a hoop or frame? Leave a comment below!

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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!

Friday Finishes #15: Frog and Bee

The finished piece!

Today’s Finish!

Ahh it’s the dreaded frog! Just kidding! This frog won’t make you rip up your stitches. Today’s Friday Finishes is about all number five in the Mini Kits Series, a cute frog with a little bee!

Name of Piece: Item #021-1389 Froggie (Frog and Bee)

Designed by: Kit doesn’t say! (I don’t think any of these kits are ever going to say, are they?)

Distributed as a kit by Janlynn Company under their Design for the Needle series

Kit Contains: 18-count aida fabric, 6 strands embroidery floss, needle, graph, instructions, self-adhesive mounting board, & frame.

Finished Size: 2.5 inches round.

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Friday Finishes #14: Noah’s Ark

The finished piece!

Today’s Finish!

Today’s Friday Finishes is a really cute little piece and is number four in the Mini Kits Series!

Name of Piece: Item #021-1389 Noah’s Ark

Designed by: Kit still doesn’t say.

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

Kit Contains: 18-count aida fabric, 6 strands embroidery floss, frame, self-adhesive mounting board, needle, graph, & instructions

Finished Size: 2.5 inches round

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Friday Finishes #13: Lyrical Music

The finished piece!

Today’s finish!

Today’s Friday Finishes jumps back to a gift I made for my very musically inclined friend! It also happens to be number three in the Mini Kits Series.

Name of Piece: Item #021-1389 Musical Notes (Lyrical Music)

Designed by: Kit doesn’t say!

Distributed as a kit by Janlynn Company under their Design for a Needle series.

Kit Contains: 18-count aida fabric, 6 strands embroidery floss, frame, self-adhesive mounting board, needle, graph, & instructions

Finished Size: 2.25 inches x 2.75 inches oval

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Salvaged Stash: A Rescued Paula Vaughan

The signature on today's Salvaged Stash piece.

The signature on today’s Salvaged Stash piece.

Welcome to the second Salvaged Stash article!

This is the one that was meant to be the first article, but I was so excited about the pillow cases I pushed this article to second instead of first. This piece is also what began my Save the Stash from the Trash mantra that sparked the whole ‘revolution’ that’s been going on with me in regards to that. So if you’re ready for an unbelievable origin story, then this is the perfect article for you!

Stitchers be warned: there is horrible stash abuse from non-stitchers in this. It may make you angry. I know I certainly was.

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Progress Report: Cat Rotation #3, BAP, Part 1

CatsinKitchenCoverSo remember that little thing that I called my Cat Rotation that I talked about a long, long time ago?

It was a complete and utter failure. Which is why this particular article is coming now rather than in February like it was supposed to.

I think I set myself up for failure with a scheduled routine. There was no way I was going to be able to find consistent time to stitch; the week I was supposed to be stitching on this, for example, I didn’t end up stitching at all that week. And then I went on vacation and was supposed to take my stitching with me to work on, which I did… but I never once picked up my needle. And then there’s the fact that large projects and I don’t agree with each other and yeah, this rotation went nowhere fast.

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Progress Report: Cat Rotation #2, God Sent Special Things, Part 1

GHSCoverThis is the second project in my Cat-Themed Rotation, “God Sent Special Things” by Janlynn.

I have had this kit for quite a while now, I don’t distinctly remember buying it but it must have been on one of my usual kit-buying sessions. I have always thought the kit was really pretty though! Before I decided on doing my rotation I was seriously considering doing this piece on its own. I love the cat motif and the colors are pretty and appealing and I only hesitated with not starting it before because of the size, 5″ by 7″, because I’m used to doing lots of little projects instead of one larger one.

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Progress Report: Cat Rotation #1, I Don’t Do Mornings, Part 1

IDDMCoverThe first piece in my Cat-Themed Rotation is this one, “I Don’t Do Mornings” by Dimensions.

I picked up this kit on my first (and so far only) trip to Michael’s, where I was determined to walk out with a kit of some kind. I am a cat person so I loved cat-themed projects, and I love the phrasing on this since I’m not a morning person in the least, and one of my cats Shyloh essentially does this every morning once you open your door: climbs all over you chattering saying, “good morning, good morning, good morning!” and demanding love and attention the moment you roll out of bed. So I can definitely relate to this poor mother cat!

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