Reflections on 2016

So.....here we are again - end of another year and the New Year looming!.  And if you're like me you may well ask yourself just what you achieved this year.  When I checked my diary it turned out to be very quiet on the designing front - something which I intend to work on in 2017.  But I won't be too hard on myself because I achieved a lot in other areas.  

At the beginning of the year I was privileged to be accepted as a tutor with the Queensland Embroiderers' Guild for their children's holiday classes.  It was a most enjoyable experience as the two young girls in my charge were well mannered young ladies who were focussed and worked diligently enough to finish their project in the 2 day workshop and felt justifiably proud of themselves.  

  
Soon after, our neighbours were having a massive clean-out in preparation for a downsizing move and when lengths of fabrics, threads or craft of any type were found I was fortunate enough to be the lucky recipient.  But it was the plastic bag containing cut-out shapes for a large stuffed teddy bear that had already begun to be embellished with lace, ribbons and embroidery that caught my eye and I decided to surprise my lovely neighbour by creating a keepsake for her out of those pieces.  A crazy patchwork cushion came to mind and so I set about painstakingly sewing the fabrics together and then using the embellishments and varying stitches and techniques to create a proud masterpiece.  I can't begin to tell you how happy and amazed my neighbour was when I presented her with the cushion and the tears that sprang to her eyes were definitely appreciative ones .  I can tell you though that this cushion has it's own special place in her new home - that's reward enough for me.

For a while I had been entertaining the idea of updating my cross stitch software (cost was a major factor here) to enable the ability to provide symbol on colour charts with my kits and charts that I sell.  I finally took the plunge and set about the massive task of re-configuring instruction sheets for all designs.  I had under-estimated the time involved for the graphic and administrative work required and I am pretty sure that as a result of constantly using the computer mouse that I gave myself RSI in my forearm and elbow.  All is fine now but it took a little while to heal. Despite the time-consuming effort and injury sustained I am now so very happy with what I can offer my customers.

A new design - the West Australian Seahorse - was released and I set about stitching needlebooks for my Etsy shop.  Six in total have been stitched and proven to be quite popular with all needlebooks receiving good reviews.  

 
Early in the year my web designer wisely suggested the advantages of setting up an Instagram account to highlight my work which was met with a lukewarm response on my behalf (more technology to get my head around!!!).  But with the encouragement of my Gen Y daughter, I made the plunge and am now a total and utter convert.  I simply love seeing the work of other like-minded crafters and have followers from all around the world making for a wonderfully interesting network of stitchers and lovers of flora and fauna.  Instagram has also helped with my photography skills and of course, you can still follow me on Facebook.

Arguably one of the biggest decisions I made this year was to exhibit and sell my work by manning a table at the Brisbane Hustlin' Women's market.  In August I set myself a target and schedule of products to sell and stitched like a 'mad woman' to meet my self-imposed deadlines.  The products not only included what was already listed in my Etsy shop, but new ideas of framed stitched work and spectacle cases which required the tweaking of some of the original designs.  I am pleased to report that I was able to not only complete all of my targeted stitched projects but on market day covered stallholder costs and managed to make a worthwhile profit.  Woohoo!  The experience also gave me a good insight into customer interest of certain products which I can now use when planning for the next market which, at this stage, will be in April.  Spending the day with like-minded crafters just made the day so much more enjoyable too.

I've also been attending monthly stitching afternoons with the Guild and oddly enough tending to administrative work for Etsy and the website is something I don't mind.  It's where my articulate secretarial background comes into play, but I must admit though that if don't keep on top of it, problems can certainly arise.

Next year, I plan to make opportunities to pursue the designing of many more subjects as I feel I've set some very good foundations this year on which to continue.  Already I've looked into other avenues of community craft teaching or at the very least mentoring and sharing the gift of stitching and crafting.

For now my best wishes to everyone for a safe and Happy New Year.  

Ros
'There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind' - C.S. Lewis

Posing a Stitchy Question

At the beginning of the year my website designer suggested that I should probably be using more social media platforms like Instagram or Pinterest to help gain followers for my designs as I have such a visual product and my first reaction was .... oh no more technology to get my head around!  It just takes me a little time to get the hang of it all.  My Gen Y daughter (who seems to be across all forms of social media) thought it would be a good idea too and tried to explain how it all worked, how to set it up, etc. and I was left with my head spinning and so the whole idea was put in the 'too hard basket' - at least for a little while.  But never let it be said that I don't give things a try.  With a bit of googling here and there I had soon set up my own Instagram account and posted my first photo.

If I can be totally honest I love Instagram because I am following some absolutely amazing stitchers and embroiderers and their work is so beautiful. From small and simple projects to large and stunning designs I feel like I am part of a global community where we share a common interest and gain inspiration from each other and that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  One of the things I love in particular is seeing photos of other stitchers' WIP's (Works in Progress) of the larger projects as it's always lovely to watch the design come to life and I've been interested to notice how some stitchers work differently.  What I am talking about is the technique of 'parking' threads.  I've noticed how the stitching is started in the top left corner and worked either line by line or grid by grid down the design with the threads 'parked' or left loose on the front of the fabric ready to be re-threaded when needed again.  

This photo is courtesy of crossstitchforum.com. 

Now, I have worked on a number of large projects myself over the years and was always informed that it is vital to start your stitching in the centre of the fabric so as to ensure that your work has left an even border and sufficient fabric needed for framing or trimming.  And I have always worked with one colour at a time within a certain space and in a certain direction to help get the feel for the design whilst at the same time marking off the symbols on the pattern with a coloured pencil.  Perhaps I should have taken the time to grid the fabric but I managed quite okay working this way.   I understand that by gridding the fabric with thread or marking with a pen that it is possible to use mathematics to count up the design and match where on the fabric that the design would start on Line 1 and then logically work down from there.  That I get.  But I look at the technique of 'parking' the threads and I have to wonder how not only do they not become tangled, but if it really does save time if you are having to re-thread the needle each time and be careful that the 'parked' threads are kept out of the way. 

When I was stitching my large projects I had a cross stitch needle organiser which allowed me to thread all the colours required for the project on a needle and when not in use placed into foam which had been wedged on to a frame-like device against a very small window where the corresponding symbol for that colour could be written.  




Perhaps this thread parking technique has been around for quite a while and I've just not been aware of it, but I have to say that in all the workshops and groups of stitching that I have been a part of, this is something I've not seen before.

So I would be very interested to hear from anyone in the cyber stitching community with their thoughts on this stitching method and its advantages.  I would also be interested to hear of any other helpful ideas for working on large projects with regards to using different colours over a small area within the design.  It's always great to be able to help each other.

Ros

'Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens' - Jim Hendrix