Now what?

You might want to purchase a small cross stitch kit 8" x 8", with that a small frame to hold the cloth, some needles if they do not come with the cs kit and a needle threader. I would try a cs kit that is simple (10 - 15) colors and one in which the subject matter is something that you will like when the kit is finished. All this would not be too expensive in case you lose interest. Don't be afraid of lousing things up - JUST DO IT!! There are loads of accessories that you can buy later once the cross stitch bug has really bit you.LOL

Fred

nothing changes, nothing changes.Don't back stitch to email, just stitchit.

Actually, take Fred's advice down a notch and start with one of the "kid" projects - I might even have one to send you Alex. Very few colors and you get a sense of the rhythm of CS. Then move on to a small kit and then a larger kit.

But just do and trust me, I understand about the stings.

Cheryl

Another way would to be practice on a spare piece of cloth with the book. Try any stitches which take your fancy. Originally little girls did samplers for just this reason.

Many stitches take quite a bit of practice before you are satisfied with them - I think the worst is long and short stitch but once you catch on, it's very useful.

I know, practicing does not sound very exciting, but it works !

Nordic Needle's newsletter the last few weeks have a column on dealing with disabilities. Maybe you could find some suggestions there. You might need to log on to get their back issues, but here's a link to one of them.

down about half way and look for "Stitching with infirmities"Of course, you'll find *lots* of other things to look at there! :):):)

OW OW OW OW!!! I got stung right on the tip of my nose by a bee once. I hope it's feeling much better now.

Joan

I have some scraps, hoops, needles and some older DNC threads. I thought I'd lay out some simple florals and give it a shot. After all, one can do a lot with chain stitch, stem stitch and satin stitch. A question occured to me....... if I'm embroidering a leaf, should I do the leaf body first and *then* the outlines and main vein? Or vice versa? I'm thinking the former. I'm using plain cotton right now, but I think I'll need to get a ground material with a bit more body. I can trace some old style patterns from my library (!) and see how it turns out.

Ertem! (Hungarian, "ertem!" means "I hear/understand you"). Trying to make uniform chain stitches was an eye-opener.

Um, years ago I studied the piano. I had to do Czerny exercises. They drove me crazy, but they were effective. To me, playing Czerny still means something like a Hell for musicians.

I have a hand needlework shop about a mile from where I live. I think I'll nip over there this afternoon and pick up a beginners kit.

Thanks.

Alex

Quite improved, thank you. Was able to get my WRing back on this am, so swelling is much reduced. The digit is still warm to the touch, but residual pain is negligible . I can now type on my laptop without much difficulty. Just a litle joint pain, for which I'm taking glucosamine and chondroitin, plus ibuprofen. It was weird. I saw that an empty plastic juice bottle has bounced out of the recycle bin, so I picked it up by the neck with my left hand. I did not see the red wasp on the opposite side of the bottle's neck, but she announced her presence immediately my stinging me just under the fingernail. I couldn't drop the bottle AND the wasp fast enough (LOL). No conscious thought was required; no decisions needed to be made.

Alex, ready to pick up his needles.

Sometimes we do get stung when we infringe on female domains. LOL

Fred

nothing changes, nothing changes.Don't back stitch to email, just stitchit.

I was just suggesting a design that was somewhere between *too big for starters* and *bored out of one's gourd*. The main thing is to JUST DO IT!!

Fred

nothing changes, nothing changes.Don't back stitch to email, just stitchit.

OH yeah, do I hear THAT! ROTFLMAO!!!

Fred, you made my day!

Alex, rubbing tears from his eyes, giggling.

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Gender Roles are getting Blurry: Hannibal Lecter cooks, Jame Gumb sews, and Clarice Starling is a cop!

Since you are just starting, I would outline the leaf, fill it, then do the veins. This is the most common Euro-centric method. Asian will outline, vein and then cover the outline with fill, which is a method that takes more practice.

Good idea, and they should be quite happy to help if you run into issues.

But Fred, it's male wasps that have have stingers!

Why don't you poke around here on the DMC website's blog?

Or even just on the DMC website. There's a place to join the DMC club and they have many, many free patterns.

It really sounds like you are wanting to learn embroidery and truly the art of this is in practicing.

Mary Corbett's blog, Needle 'N Thread has some terrific tutorials. And even better, lots of inspiration.

luck!

Donna in Virginia

Alex says the wasp was a *she* and most males know a female when they see one so who are we to question his judgement??

Fred

nothing changes, nothing changes.Don't back stitch to email, just stitchit.

The wasp was building a nest. Do males to that? She didn't like being groped. Do males do that? She was exploring sweet stuff around the neck of the juice jar. Sound like female to me. Didn't mind *too* much, as males are used to rejection and my finger needed a Benadryl bath anyway. Speaking of females, the Husky wants to inspect the back yard. It's almost 5 am, so gotta go.

Cheers,

Alex

Trouble maker...

Cheryl

IME, yes...much moreso than females!

Joan r,d,h!

OK, I'll dig out my entomology books. IF it turns out that only male wasps sting (with modified ovipositors) I'll eat crow, or something.

I heard that at least one other time in history, a male was wrong.... His name is lost.

Alex

I like you Alex

OK, the votes are in.

I'll not try to make sly jokes about male stingers and the like.

See:

may make stinging comments, females actually sting. Makes sense to any male who has had any interaction with a human female. But we're lucky. We could be male anglerfish..... EEEwwwww!

But we love you ladies anyway. We're just wired that way, I suppose.

Alex, who agrees with the author of "a walk on the wild side", when he wrote "If God made anything more beautiful than a woman, he kept it to himself!"

Amen.

Why was the first woman named Eve? She was the end of Adams' only perfect day.