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Uncommon Embroidery Floss

I think this is a typification ( is there a word, or did I invent it?) of the way people look at things now. We ARE a throw away, or recycle culture.

I learned to knit at age 4, and by 13 could do fairisle. However, there was nowhere to buy inexpensive fashionable items. It was WW2. You swapped things, or you bought wool, and learned to make items that would really last. How many of you know how to darn socks?? We learned in the Brownies.

I used to make matinee jackets, shawls, booties etc for everyone who was having a baby. There were no "cheapo" places, so they were greatly appreciated. When Orlon came in, and other washable synthetic fibres hand made gifts were even more welcome.

And then came the "gender neutral" kids with their little all-in-one outfits; at the same time came disposable diapers.. This is when the handcrafted for baby concept disappeared.

I still make each grandkid ( well 9 of them) a birth picture, with dates etc. I hope they will value it. I am also making a Victoria Sampler "needleroll", but as a picture, for each girl's 13th birthday. A note is attached to the back, saying for whom, and by whom ( too many mms there). I hope they will be around long after I am gone.

Well one soapbox lead to another..that is life, right??

Gill

Reply to
Gill Murray
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Little House Needleworks is one of the designers of such kits - they have a series of fruits that are really lovely. And - they don't come with fabric at all. Use the stash. They come with a nice chart (easy to read) and the Crescent Colors (or Colours) threads.

Alison

Reply to
Alison

Which is precisely why there are needlepoint shops in Manhattan but no cross stitch shops.

Alison

Reply to
Alison

Reply to
mirjam

Well said. I suspect that is the reason that there needlepoint shops on Cape Cod, but not much for other needlecrafts.

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

apologies for a little snipping, cutting and pasting.........

" Madeira has been with us a long time. They're nicer than soie d'Alger. . Has anyone here used Presencia floss?" & "I can readily understand why people are hesitant to change brands, which inevitably results in changing colors . . . which most people are loathe to mess around with. It always seemed a shame to me that more designers didn't pick up on them. They are used in Australia for many designs.

I know that some people feel the packets are a nuisance, but I like them. We all work differently."

I have used the Presencia floss, and it makes up very well........much like any other stranded cotton, though I tend to think it has a little more lustre than DMC, and it also tends to be a little more tightly twisted, neither thing bad, from where I sit.

Maderia is not widely available but is well worth looking out for. The silk is luscious, and the cotton is lovely to use. The packaging is a little quirky, but I find it great as your thread doesn't escape.

As to why Australians seem to have a better take up of things that might not be main stream I think the answer is rather simple - needlework supplies are in short supply in most states with only a couple of excellent stores in each state, so we tend to take what we can get, when we can get it and thus necessity becomes the mother of invention, or at least a close aunt to the art of "make do".

Joanne in Perth, where the heat is ghastly (and has been for the last 7 weeks)

Reply to
The Lady Gardener

Somewhat random observations made with flu-ish symptoms that make it hard to follow the other comments:

Availability of 'new' and 'different' seems to be a chicken and egg thing -- which comes first -- designs and materials or people clamoring for something different?

Cost to duplicate and distribute a xs chart is miniscule when compared to a kit that includes preprinted fabric and threads or a handpainted canvas.

I find it somewhat ironic that the people in my neck of the woods who shop the craft stores armed with ubiquitious (sp??) coupons spend big $$$ on framing that sometimes overpowers the stitching.

The odds are against shop owners making a go of it in the long run. Case in point -- a store that specialized in hand painted canvases and gorgeous fibers opened in an upscale location and only lasted 2 years, despite being the only place that carried these things.

Reply to
anne

That is great news. C

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

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