Hi everyone-I have a question about getting rid of stash

You could send it to me, or try listing it on the marketplace groups. There are also a few yahoo groups devoted to selling off stash.

Cheryl

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Unfortunately, cross stitch seems to be lower in popularity than it was, and I`m finding that Ebay doesn`t often have much to offer. It seems to be full of a reither the fiendishly expensive kits or the cheap and the often very badly done straight scan/chart conversions (usually of a copyright violation anyway!). At least, that seems to be the situation in the UK!

Pat P

Yeah, just maybe list the things you want to let go and for how much, = you'd be surprised how fast people will contact you. Just a thought, = Carol In WI

Carol, I see what Sheena is talking about with your posts. They are encoded by your news software (Outlook Express I'm guessing from your source code) in HTML instead of plain text. Unfortunately, while I know exactly how to make Thunderbird designate plain-text only for a recipient (such as RCTN), I do not know how to do the same in Outlook Express since I've never used that program.

While the HTML does not cause a problem for me (or for you since we are on different nodes of the same ISP), there are other newsagents that

*really* frown > Yeah, just maybe list the things you want to let go and for how much,

Brenda Lewis ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

Mine (Agent) allows it to be there but the servers just drop a dozen or so other posts as I understand it from IT friends. I always wonder if the other posts were ones I would rather have read.

(Outlook Express I'm guessing from your

In a new message go to Format, choose Plain Text.

To set Outlook Express to always use Plain Text for news, go to:

Tools Options Send News Sending Format Plain Text

That way it would always be plain text unless you changed the individual message format and it would revert back to plain text for the future.

Lucille>

That will work. There should be a way to set it up so you don't have to do that for every message you send to the newsgroup though.

And this would be the solution! Thanks, Lucille.

In addition to that..... Tools Options Send Uncheck the box that says ..... Reply to messages in the format in which they were sent

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Hi-I only had that happen once and I did successfully get refunded my money. Someone sold me a photo copy of Eeore...the Disney character. I simply told the person if I did not get my money back that I would notify the Attorneys for Disney copywrite...I even provided the address. You are right, Pat....there really is'nt much on Ebay. I wondered if the cross stitch enthusiasts moved to a different auction. Rec.craft merchandise did not seem to have much for needlework either....Hmmm, did so many of us hit a slump all at the same time? Marie in Delaware

Are you wanting to sell the stash to get the money or do you just want to free up space? If you don't care about money, there are lots of places where you can donate stash. Churches, youth groups, shelters, prisons, schools--all could make use of various items.

You may be able to get a tax deduction for your donation if 1) you donate the items to a registered charitable organization or governmental body (public schools, city/county/state/federal penal institutions) 2) you have an itemized list of what is donated which is signed and dated by the receiving party and has the full name and address of the charity and 3) you can calculate a reasonable "fair market value" for the donation. It doesn't hurt to photograph the items you are donating and keep the photo with your tax records. Of course this will only benefit you if you are able to itemize deductions on Schedule A of your tax return.

If there is something you want and don't own and you are willing to trade, I believe it is allowed to post trade offers on this newsgroup. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

I d> ....there really is'nt much on Ebay. I wondered if the cross stitch

At this point in time and to my great selfishness, I believe this is a good thing. Actually, I think most cycles are good things. It gives time to regroup, refocus, and redirect one's efforts in his chosen art/craft.

On the other hand, hand-dyers of both fabrics and fibers are springing up everywhere and there is demand for a greater variety of charts than I've ever seen before.

I think what we are witnessing is the a) dying of brick and mortar stores for reasons we've discussed before (including, but not limited to, crappy service and crappy hours), b) turning of brick and mortar needle-pulling-thread stores into knitting and crocheting stores--just cause it's "in vogue" right now, and c) the devaluation of the long-term craftsman for the short-term.

When this discussion came up on another board, a lady named Sisu posted this essay in response to the idea that people want "quick crafts" and stitching just isn't that. It (and its followup email) really touched me, and she said I could share her words:

US. In the time it takes to stitch even a small piece, you could knit a purse, scarf, even a sweater. You could fill an entire scrapbook, and make endless numbers of beaded baubles. People like fast crafts. I have a neighbor who is a very talented painter. She thinks taking 2 days for one painting is a long time. When she saw some of my pieces and asked me how long they took, I thought she was going to choke when I told her that an hour a day would get it done in 2 years. She said she would never get into a craft that took that long, and I think that is the increasing mentality among busy soccer moms and babysitting grandma's. No time, no time, no time.

samplers and things there are from the 1800's and even the 1700's. And that was before we knew about acids and such. Imagine how long our well cared for pieces may last. Much longer than a sweater or a scrap book page I believe. And with greater value. Sisu

and its email followup:

more down the road that I will never know. My family is horribly short lived (my father died at 42, my mother at 56) and I was in my 30's before I had my first child, so there is a good chance I may never see my grandchildren. But I want to leave them something that speaks of my time, my life, and my love. Something my hands created. Something that may speak to them of patience and determination, that shows them that perseverance is the road to success. It may do none of that. They may look at it and say "It's nice, but just not my style". But I can hope. How many of us stitchers have looked at an antique sampler and wondered about the girl or woman who stitched it? Looked at the year and tried to picture the clothing she may have worn. Was her hair up? Did she wear a bonnet? Was she the daughter of a farmer, a merchant, a priest? Did she enjoy her stitching or was it a chore, simply a task to be completed? Were her mistakes a sign of carelessness or a sign or stitching by the too dim light of an oil lantern?

for immortality. Perhaps it is selfish. But I want them to think, to wonder, to feel connected to the past and to me.

children of course. They had no hobbies other than drinking. I have nothing that speaks of who they were as a person. I think that is what makes me desire to leave something. I know when I die, my parents will be forgotten. Just another branch that the storms of time broke from the family tree, leaving no trace other than a scar. I intend to attach my branch firmly. In threads of many colors and with row upon row of tiny little x's. Sisu

In my recent venture I've had occasion to cross paths with some older ladies who are needlepointers from way before I was born, who shared with me some of the history behind it and some reasons for the contempt I had been feeling from needlepointers as being "only a cross stitcher." It was an interesting history.

But needlepoint is alive and thriving here in the US, and there are shops that cater to the needlepointer, so I don't see any reason to weep for seemingly being out of favor (I know you didn't, Brenda--but I've seen it elsewhere!).

Now, I have a dual-pronged purpose to opening up shop (right now with charts and later with a shop). One is to make money doing what I love (stitching and crunching numbers) and not being a slave to my keyboard (medical transcription) anymore. The second is to be on the crest of the new wave of brick and mortar stores that do what the current ones (you know, the ones I gripe about constantly) don't.

I refuse to believe that an economy with as many people spending as much money on leisure activities as they do is in any danger of being suddenly unable to support needlework.

/rant

And that was my little philosophical needlework nonsense for the day. Back to the grind.

cross-stitching addiction has become complacent in the past couple of years and I just cannot seem to get back my enthusiasm. Please do not flame me...it is an innocent question...Ebay no longer seems to be the place to unload stash. Can anyone tell me where one goes to buy stash that someone else doesn't want. Thanks for your help. Marie in Pa now in Delaware

Sorry to be posting back to an old post, but I just have access to Internet for a few days.

Marie, I agree that Ebay is really not the place to unload anymore; it is really full of "commercial" sellers. You may want to try a site where I buy and sell quite a bit. This is Quin's O&I auction, and there is NO fee to either buy or sell. One doesn't get as much for an item as one did in the old Ebay days, but stash DOES rotate, and they are a very friendly group of folk, who are all stitchers and stash-hounds.. The website is

. I don't know if you were ever on the old Cross Stitch Auction, which went belly-up a couple of years or so back. Actually, Pam the owner, sorta disappeared........big mystery there for Mary Monica. Anyway, many of that friendly group moved over to Quins, and we sell our stuff there.

There is also the 123 Board ( gotta Google that), but I am not comfy there.

Hope this helps, and welcome back

Off Topic, for those who have wondered where I am, currently in Niagara, ON. We leave here next Sunday, and have changed the itinerary. Instead of going through New York state we will go to Kingston, ON, a nice town and great campground for a few days, and then to Granby Quebec. DH remembers being taken to the Granby zoo as a litle kid, back when he lived in VT. I doubt that the cigarette smoking chimp is still there. After that we will cut back into VT and NH, and plan to be in Warner, NH on Wednesday before Columbus Day. We have had a wonderful four months away from home, but should be back in Florida at the end of October.

Gill/Gillian