Term of the Week: Rotation

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This week’s Term of the Week is an interesting one. It’s a term a lot of stitchers might actively do without actually knowing the name for it!

As always, let’s first turn to our handy Dictionary.Reference.com for our technical definition before we dive into the stitchy definition:

Rotation
1. the act of rotating; rotary motion
2. a regular cycle of events in a set order or sequence

The stitcher’s definition combines a lot of the technical definition into one big definition rather than all those separate ones. A rotation involves a set number of WIPs or UFOs you are working on at a time, and you cycle, or rotate, through them at a set pace.

For example, I have three cat-themed WIPs that I’m working on. When I sit down to work on them, I work on them all, and rotate through them once I’ve worked on one for a certain amount of time or gotten a certain amount of stitches done. I call these cat-themed pieces my “Cat Rotation”. I originally had it on a schedule that I’d work on one piece for one week, another piece the next week, and then spend the next two weeks working on my big cat piece. It was my ‘Rotation Schedule.’

Some people use ‘rotation’ in a much broader sense. They may have 15 WIPs going at a time, and they use the term ‘rotation’ to refer to all of them, and they work on whatever piece they feel like working on at the time. “I’m working on my tiger piece right now! Hopefully I don’t have any more to add to the rotation or I’ll never get done!” Other people follow a much stricter definition, only working on a small number at a time, rotating every week or every other week or after 100 stitches.

However you view ‘rotation’, if you happen to have a bunch of pieces you’re working on, and you cycle between them, you might have a rotation and not even know it!

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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!

Term of the Week: ORT

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Our Term of the Week this week is a fun one, and one that can be useful to those who like making projects from bits and pieces!

The word “ort” means different things depending on the context it’s being used in. To stitchers, the word is an acronym (hence why I capitalized the letters), but before we dive into the stitchy definition let’s take a look at the common definition through Dictionary.Reference.com:

ORT
Usually, orts. a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

The stitcher’s definition matches up for the most part with the actual definition. “ORT” is an acronym meaning “Old Raggedy Threads.” What are old raggedy threads? They are the bits and pieces, the “scraps” if you will, of the threads that you cut away when you’re stitching. They are the leftover threads from kits or extra bits and bobs of fabric and thread you have lying around.

Really any leftover waste material that you can’t (or don’t want to) reuse is considered an ort. The stitcher’s definition is so close to the actual definition of the word (except referring to crafting instead of food) that some people don’t even think of it as an acronym.

This is the fun bit: stitchers most use the word “ort” when they are talking about their ORT jars. What are ORT jars? Jars to hold your ort, of course! People will fill their jars with their leftover bits of fabric and thread. Some people will use them as display items when they get full, others will empty the jars outside for the birds to use in their nests, and others will use the pile as stuffing for pin cushions or mini pillows.

It’s a fun and creative way to turn what would otherwise be trash into a beautiful display piece that helps the environment!

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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!

Term of the Week: BAP

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For this Term of the Week we start into our stitchy acronyms, and this week’s is a fun one, albeit not something you would want to say around the kids!

BAP stands for a couple different things, depending on the version you want to use.

The original version of BAP stands for Big Ass Project. I’ve also heard it stand for Bad Ass Project. The more family-friendly version stands for Big Awesome Project or Big Ambitious Project.

The definition means pretty much exactly what one would think it means: a very large or unusual project that will be a grand undertaking on some level.

What qualifies as a BAP depends on the stitcher. For some, like me, anything over the standard 5 x 7 project size can be considered a BAP. For others, a project has to be truly enormous to be considered a BAP. For others still, as long as the piece is ambitious or different from what they usually stitch, it’s a BAP!

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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!

Term of the Week: Frogging

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Frogging

Ah, the dreaded frog. This term is despised among stitchers and once we go over the definition hopefully you’ll understand why. And we’ll put a name to the deed, because we all do it.

So what is frogging? Frogging is the act of having to undo all the prior stitches due to an error or mistake of some sort. It can also be called picking, or unpicking, but frogging seems to be the most popular term for the act.

In case the definition still seems a little confusing here’s an example: say you’re working on a cross-stitch project of an angel and stitch the wings. After you’ve done about half the wing you realize you missed a few stitches! So now the whole count is off AND you stitched in the wrong color! Oh no! You have to take out all of the stitches (or even cut them out) and start all over again.

That is called “frogging,” and that’s why everyone hates it. It is a representation of having to re-do a ton of work on your project. It’s also unavoidable; very rarely can you get through a project without having to frog at least once.

Why do people call it “frogging”? I just discovered this while planning the article. In English, the sound a frog makes is written and vocalized as “ribbit.” Change a few letters around and you get “rip it, rip it,” which is what you have to do when pulling out your stitches! Hence the frog has become the mascot of the dreaded act.

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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!

Little Thread Crafts Has Moved!

Hey guys! If you didn’t read the last news post, you can check it out here: Little Thread Crafts Is Upgrading!

But long story short, Little Thread Crafts has moved to a new location! We’re off WordPress.com and we’re self-hosted as our very own website! Yay!

We’re still at the old domain, so you can check us out below by going to the usual place:

http://www.LittleThreadCrafts.com

However, there have been some… complications. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve never done this before and something goes wrong. Basically, the importer that was supposed to transfer all of the articles, pictures, videos, comments, etc. from this blog to the new one didn’t work. All of the links to the old articles are broken. I also don’t think it transferred over any of the email or general blog subscribers.

What that means is that I’m having to copy+paste and repost all of my articles by hand… so there are a lot of articles missing on the new blog. But don’t worry, they’re coming! Slowly but surely we’ll get back on track.

If you are a fan of Little Thread Crafts and you have NOT received any notifications about new posts in the last few days… PLEASE go to http://www.LittleThreadCrafts.com and re-subscribe! There will not be anything else coming from this blog from now on!

I’m sorry there were issues, I apparently had a problem no one else had… so things are a little broken right now. But they will get better! In the meantime, there are lots of features on the new blog to enjoy, so feel free to look around and fix your bookmarks for any of your favorite articles!

I hope to see you all at the new blog! Happy Stitching.

Friday Finishes #8: 1 Corinthians

The finished piece, all framed!

1 Corinthians

Now it’s time for one of my favorite Friday Finishes! There’s not much of an introduction for this one, so let’s dive right in!

Name of Piece: #187-0301 Love Is Patient (taken from 1 Corinthians)

Designed by: (c) 2003 Licensed From Current USA Inc. (No kidding, that’s who it says it’s designed by.)

Distributed as a kit by Janlynn under their Stamped Cross Stitch series.

Kit Contains: screen-printed fabric, 6-strand cotton floss, needle, floss card, graph, and instructions.

Finished Size: 12 in by 10 in

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Friday Finishes #7: Friends Indeed

The finished piece!

Friends Indeed

This week’s Friday Finishes is the second gift I ever stitched for someone! (The first being the Dolphin piece I made for my sister.)

Name of Piece: Art. 1879, Friends

Designed by: This kit follows the trend of not listing designers.

Distributed as a kit by NeedleMagic, Inc. under their Stitch A Card series.

Kit Contains: 18 ct. aida, embroidery floss, needle, embossed card, envelope, backing card, and complete instructions.

Finished Size: 4 in. by 6 in.

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Friday Finishes #6: Too Many Books Bookmark

The finished bookmark!

Too Many Books Bookmark

Okay… from this Friday Finishes there should be no missing information on the charts. Unless something went missing, I do believe I kept every chart and the information that went with it. No more problems like Sleepy Moon! I don’t know what clicked within me to start keeping my info, but I stopped throwing them away after the Dolphin piece. I think. We’ll find out as I keep writing the articles, I suppose.

Now on to this week’s Friday Finishes!

Name of Piece: Item 4572 Books

Designed by: The kit doesn’t say!

Distributed as a kit by NeedleMagic Inc. under their Bookmark series

Kit Contains: 18 ct. aida fabric, embroidery floss, needle, graph, and easy to follow instructions.

Finished Size: 2 in. x 6.75 in.

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Friday Finishes #5: Dolphin

The finished piece!

Our Dolphin

Today’s Friday Finishes was very nearly a bust again, stitchers!

Why did I throw away the information on my finishes? I wish I hadn’t, I was so stupid to do so… once again I sat down to write an article on my finish and once again, didn’t have the information. And I was almost unable to find it. Thank you eBay, after I searched a couple of different keywords I just started scrolling through and I found it!

Name of Piece: Dolphin #4112

Designed by: The kit doesn’t say!

Distributed as a kit by NeedleMagic Inc. under their “Stitch ‘N’ Frame” series.

Kit Contains:  14 ct. Aida fabric, thread, needle, graph, frame, self-adhesive mounting board, and easy to follow instructions.

Finished Size: 2.5 inches round.

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