Oh, my....

I don't "look" at the # as much as I "feel" the bump bump from sort of dragging my needle diagonally from the up hole to the hole to the down hole. I see where I want to go but I still drag my needle from one point to the next. When doing things like long-arm cross or other oddly spaced cross stitches, the whole dragging the needle & counting threads thing works the best for MOI :-). CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I'll second that. I have a problem with depth perception. People have been telling me for years "the vertical thread just jumps out at you". Not for me. I have to look really really closely to see which is the vertical thread. Literally scrutinize the fabric with each stitch.

That level of concentration takes all the fun out of stitching. I do it to relax, not to drive myself batty when my inability to see the vertical thread results in a row of 3x2 stitches that have to be pulled out.

Go ahead, look down your nose at me because I stitch mostly on Aida. I'm 48 years old and still stitching over-one on Linen without magnification; can I look down my nose at those of you who won't even attempt over-one?

When I say blended fiber I mean it isn't 100% linen. Often I use a linen/rayon blend. There are also cotton fabrics and cotton blends that are pleasant to work with. Besides the slub issue, 100% linen also irritates my skin more than the blends. This probably isn't a big issue if you mount your fabric in a hoop or frame for stitching.

Soooo....How do you find those fabrics? Are there brand names/trade names that are common that I can look for? Or do I have to bribe the craft supply salespeople to tutor me? :P

Tracey

To be honest, I have a huge stash so haven't bought fabric outside of a kit for several years. I bought bags of fabric when the Spirit of Cross-Stitch festivals ceased. Zweigart fabrics are commonly carried in US needlework shops so their website

Karen, I didn't think anybody was looking down their noses at you. I think people have their preferences for different reasons.

I was recently told that a linen I love is an "inferior fabric," (thought possibly in the context of hand-dying) and who'd'a knew? Feels wonderful to me, and I can see it being particularly useful as a clothing fabric that you can, by the way, stitch on. I didn't take offense, but realized that it was someone else's opinion and they may actually be right that it's inferior, but...that doesn't mean I feel any differently about it.

Thanks for the tips and tutorial. :) I'm heading out to the one and only 'real' needlework shop I've found so far on the island here in a few minutes so will let you all know what they have.

Tracey

Have faith, Tracey. Jim is right. Eventually your eye will see the two by two groupings of thread automatically, the way it easily sees the aida blocks. For me, I find that my eyes have to readjust each time I pick up the linen, but it does come more quickly with a little experience, believe me. Dawne

On Fri, 30 Jun 2006 16:40:12 GMT, Tracey wrote: Hi Tracey - I don't stitch on linen much either. I do use the other evenweaves. My favorites are Lugana (28 count) and Jubilee (also 28 count, all cotton.) Jubilee has a nice heft to it, not transparent at all, very easy to see the holes and to stitch on (IMHO of course.) The colors are limited though...

Alison PS which island?

A little sensitive today, are we? Skyhooks only said that she hasn't stitched on Aida in years. That was actually a very neutral statement. I said that I like linen better than Aida and think it's worth the extra effort. That's a statement of preference.

Where exactly do you infer that there is nose-looking-down going on here?

Elizabeth

Yah. Quilting's big here. Can't figure out why though. It's not like you *need* 'em.

I did find a store called Fiddlesticks and it's totally needlework. Small but they get lots of stuff in their little shop. :) Just went today and picked up some floss, needles, a couple of patterns and got a quick course in fabric. :)

Tracey

Yay! Hooray for LNSes now matter how small!

Elizabeth

Thanks for all the information. I'm feeling a little better about this fabric. Worked a little bit on it today and it's getting easier.

I also won some auctions on eBay and got a piece of Cashel (12x17), a piece of Lugana (13x17) and a piece of Jobelan (13x17) all for $5.50 (including shipping) so I will be able to compare and work with those three at least and see if I like them better. Also had a nice talk with the worker at the LNS today and got more info on the different fabrics, got to feel a few different kinds, etc.

Thanks again. :)

Tracey

Wow! Sounds like you had a great day. I've seen a lot of fabric go unsold on eBay so that is a good place for deals if you don't mind being unable to fondle your fabric before buying. Congratulations!

Thanks. :)

Tracey

Maybethey do it becuase they like doing it for the fun , and it becomes more `Artistic` , just because they don`t NEED it ? mirjam

Why not open a small home based buisiness for needlework stuff yourself ? mirjam

Only saw it second hand But i must say this is a strange statement , i thought people make their own craft, or handwork because they enjoy it themselves , and should respect others for what they enjoy to make ,,,, who cares What technique or what materials an other person uses ? either one like the finnished artifact , or not ,,, and that is that. mirjam

While in Brusseles i was luckyto find a piece of light blue Aida, which pleased me very much [here we have only white and Beize]. Price was also rather reasonable, And she said she is willing to send by post ,,, But i calculated that if i add the postage it comes to same price i have here if not more ... Thus Next time i will plan to purchase more colors. mirjam

Because I'm basically clueless. :P

Tracey