cross stitch lovers: to grid or not to grid?

On the piece for the top, if you omit the floral part in the center it is just the right size for the hole. It wasn't really all that hard putting them together, either, iirc. I just overcast the edges with the perle cotton. I really should take a pic of it, come to think of it...

Go for it!

The stuff that comes in the precut packages is pretty cheap...very stiff to work with. The stuff from Charles Craft (in the tubes at places like Michael's or Hobby Lobby) is okay stuff. If you order it from the bolt from somewhere like Nordic Needle, it's nicer to work with. Some aida cloth is made from blended fibers and has a different name, like Salem cloth. That's a *dream* to work with, nice and soft, especially if you want it for something like bread cloths that will drape. I use that for the baptism cloths I make for our church.

HTH!

Thanks Joan for the excellent tips! I'm thinking the higher count aida coul d really be the ticket for me...I'll see how it goes as I stitch up the "No winter lasts forever" project. Since the craft stores around here only car ry that cheap, pre-cut stuff you mentioned (which is as stiff as cardboard) , I didn't realize there were better Aidas out there. I'm going to stitch t he Rabbit Run Spool on 20ct aida too...I simply can't suffer 40ct linen at my age. :)

uld really be the ticket for me...I'll see how it goes as I stitch up the " No winter lasts forever" project. Since the craft stores around here only c arry that cheap, pre-cut stuff you mentioned (which is as stiff as cardboar d), I didn't realize there were better Aidas out there. I'm going to stitch the Rabbit Run Spool on 20ct aida too...I simply can't suffer 40ct linen a t my age. :)

Inserting myself in the conversation here - Zweigart and Wichelt are proba bly the best manufacturers of Aida. I don't stitch on Aida anymore. I lov e linen - Belfast (32) or Cashel (28) from Zweigart and Lugana, also from Z weigart.

Arliss (in North Dakota, same as Joan, but in a completely different area) (Hi, Joan!)

.... Zweigart and Wichelt are probably the best manufacturers of Aida. I don't stitch on Aida anymore. I love linen - Belfast (32) or Cashel (28) from Zweigart and Lugana, also from Zweigart.

Thanks Arliss! I did just order some Wichelt Aida, but it hasn't arrived yet. I want to see it and touch it to compare it to the linen I usually work on. I'll keep those brand names in mind if I decide to stick with the Aida. :)

yet. I want to see it and touch it to compare it to the linen I usually wor k on. I'll keep those brand names in mind if I decide to stick with the Aid a. :)

Most shops will carry either Zweigart or Wichelt, but they might not carry Aida from both companies. I personally prefer Zweigart's linen to Wichelt' s, but, as they say, Your Mileage May Vary.

Aida and linen don't feel or look anything alike. I think it took me about 10 years to transition from Aida to linen or other even weave, but once I was over that hump, there has been no going back. I did try to stitch some thing on Aida for an outreach program for my ANG chapter, and I hated it. LOL I recently stitched a Mirabilia on 32 count linen, but my current proj ect is on 25 count Lugana.

How far are you from Fargo? Nordic Needle carries quality fabrics (and a m yriad of other stitching supplies). I haven't been there for a couple of y ears; Joan and I used to meet there on occasion. Might have to do it again sometime. . .

Arliss

Hey Arliss. I live on the SE boarder of Minnesota in Rochester, so it's abo ut a 5 hour drive to Fargo for me (boohoo!). There are no stitchy shops wit hin 100 miles of me so I have to order everything online, which makes it di fficult for me to pick out fabrics.

I've ordered some aida (hasn't arrived yet) but don't know if I'm going to like stitching on it or not...we'll see how it goes. My eyesight is getting worse and I'm getting headaches from stitching on linen, particularly high er counts of linen, so I'm looking for options that would be easier for me. All of my pieces have been done on various kinds of linen or cashel, but I 've never used Laguna. How do you like it?

Well it looks like my habit of only reading this group once a week has got me way behind. It is nice to see!

I have stitched on aida but I don't care for it because I find the holes hard to hit from the back side. With linen the needles always comes up somewhere close and then I can usually find the right hole on the next poke.

I have never done a grid so I am no help with that topic.

Rich

Update of thread: stitching on different fabrics with bad eyes

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I ordered a bunch of fabrics online which arrived a couple days go and spen t some time experimenting with stitching on them. If anyone else is having eye trouble this post might help you.

Aida: I ordered various fabrics from 14ct to 20ct. These fabrics were very high quality from Picture This Plus and Wichelt...they were wonderfully sof t, hand-dyed, and a couple had some lovely opalescent sparkle. Surprisingly I found the lower count Aida (14-16) more difficult to stitch on as the tr eads are father apart and it's easy to get your needle caught "between" thr eads (if that makes any sense). As Rich said, I also found it harder to pla ce the needle in the right spot when coming from the back of the fabric.

However the higher counts of Aida (18-20) I was very impressed with. They w ere about the same as stitching on any even weave except easier on the eyes . As far as looks go, it's really not that different looking from linen IMH O. I'm so glad someone here suggested higher count Aida to me!

Linen: Oddly enough I find stitching on 32ct linen to be easier than 28ct. I think the larger holes in the 28ct are playing some tricks on my eyes, pe rhaps because I can see through the linen and the shadows underneath my lap stand confuse the eye. 32ct linen is pretty much the only one I can comfor tably stitch on, as the higher counts (40ct especially) are simply impossib le for me between my bad eyesight and my wrecked hands.

So there you go...if any one is having trouble with their eyes I do encoura ge you to check out 18-20ct aida. There can be a bit of a stigma about sewi ng on aida, but the quality of the fabric has really gone up these days...i t's not the cheap, cardboard stiff fabric of the past. Give it a try!

Wow! You popped in on us! Hi stranger! :)

Thanks Violet, I will look at the aida at Strawberry Sampler next time I am there.

For a while I only stitched on 28 count, but now I am usually using 32 count. I think the smaller stitches look better on the birds and big cats that I like to do.

On the subject of eyesight, I always tell the eye doc that I do needlepoint (a lot of people don't know what cross stitch is) and need to be able to see up close. Stitching is a little different than reading a book or newspaper. I have progessive lens' and I love them.

Rich

Hey Rich. I too have progressive lenses, but for some reason they aren't qu ite good enough for stitching. I've had eye docs tweak my lenses several ti mes but it's still not quite right. I might try Mag Eyes...stitchers on Flo sstube seem to really like them.

I have had Mag eyes now for many years and still use them. My sight is not as good due to developing cataracts, which are not ready for removal. Still at 81 one can expect eyes to lose some of their sharpness. I have recommended Mag eyes to many friends and they love them.

Been on this ng since 1996 and still read it everyday. When I get time off from looking after my invalid DH I still do a bit of bead work and card making. Hugs Shirley

I put dollar-store reading glasses on over my prescription glasses for threading needles and so forth. It makes my niece giggle, but I can darn black on black.

I never buy less than 3.5, except for the folders I carry to read ingredient labels. I was so delighted to get folders without paying for custom work that I wasn't too picky, and 3.0 is strong enough for the six-point purple-on-navy type that food labels use.

t quite good enough for stitching. I've had eye docs tweak my lenses severa l times but it's still not quite right. I might try Mag Eyes...stitchers on Flosstube seem to really like them.

Thanks for letting me know the MagEyes worked for you too...I finally order ed a pair on Amazon.

I've tried putting a pair of cheap bifocals *over* my glasses, but then bot h glasses start sliding down my nose and I still can't see a thing. I'm onl y 43! Perhaps once my eyes stop changing and get to a "settled" point, I'll get my regular glasses perfected to the point where I can stitch with just those again. I had no idea what I was in for with middle aged eyes (or mid dle age in general). :)

In case anyone is curious about the MagEyes, I thought I'd update you on wh at I think about them. I'm so impressed! They don't grip my head too hard l ike other headband style magnifiers, and so they didn't give me a headache at all. This is the first "around the head" style I've been able to wear wi thout getting a migraine.

I'm also impressed that they didn't give me any eyestrain, even after a cou ple hours of stitching. I haven't been able to watch TV while stitching for years...other forms of magnifiers made it impossible to switch between the the close vision of stitching to the distance vision of TV. Since the MagE yes sits several inches away from your regular glasses, it only magnifies y our work...you can easily look up and focus on the TV or people. I watched two episodes of Big Little Lies while stitching and had zero eyestrain. Thi s is worth a bit of celebration!

They have several different lenses you can fit into the head frame. I've fo und the #2 & #4 lenses most useful for stitching as the magnification is mo derate. I also have the #5 & #7 lenses which are quite strong and they're g reat for seed beading, but I find them a bit too much for stitching.

The only downside: they do look a little weird on your head, and I think I might be a bit self conscious stitching in public with such a contraption o n my head. Fortunately I mostly stitch at home.

If anyone is having eye troubles, I do really recommend the MagEyes...I wis h I'd discovered them years ago.

PS No, I'm not affiliated with the company. :)