Thursday, February 28, 2008

A Warm Welcome

Today Michele posted the nicest welcome to me over at her blog X Marks My Spot! She is really too sweet! The mention drew some readers over here today and while the idea of others reading my blog did make my heart race a little, it was also very exciting.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful feedback! I so appreciate all the positive comments and support! Michele was right - the cross-stitching community is very warm to newbies and I'm glad I started this!

I didn't get any stitching done today. I have a meeting at my church tonight so I spent my afternoon doing some reading to get ready. DH has promised to go out with me Saturday for some linen, though! I am really looking forward to giving it a try!

9 comments:

Aussie Stitcher said...

Welcome to the world of blogging Kim, and to the community of stitchers. It is full of wonderful ladies, and some men, who do some amazing work.

Jennifer said...

If you're apprehensive about your first trip into an LNS, you can go right to someone that works there and explain you are new to the craft and are seeking some guidance on less complicated projects. You can also just walk around the store and enjoy the stitched models, and pick a few that appeal to you, then go to the salesperson and ask for help. In fact, this might be an even better way to approach it because it gives them an idea of what your interests are.

Another good thing to do is set a budget or a limit for yourself, and know that you can always come back for other things. You don't want to overwhelm yourself right away, so maybe choose one chart (with or without the help of a salesperson) and the floss and fabric to complete the chart. By focusing on one piece (and knowing you can come back!), you're taking a small bite that's easier to handle.

staci said...

Have fun linen shopping!

Nicki said...

Welcome to the blogging world and welcome to cross stitch! It's so lovely to see people taking up new hobbies - I hope you keep loving it as much as I do! :) You've done some great things so far.

Linen is lovely to use and I bet you'll get used to it really fast. You might like to try evenweave too - some people prefer that to linen. You still stitch over two threads but the weave is even so stitches are all the same size. A very rough linen can have 'slubs' in it, so occasionally you get a fatter or thinner stitch. I prefer linen but not everyone does. There are no rules, use what you enjoy :)

Oh, and try your LNS. Tell the ladies you're new. Hopefully they'll be really excited and happy to help! :)

Jenn said...

I just came across your blog and I wanted to say hi! Welcome to our little blogging community.

Unknown said...

No worries, it was inevitable :-) I'm happy to pass it on to you, and I've gotten some very interesting feedback so far. So thank you for prompting the change!

Sally said...

Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging Kim:)

Linen Stitcher said...

Kim, I found you through Michele's blog and just wanted to say, "Nice to meet you!" Don't hesitate to ask questions, either on your blog or at a LNS. In my experience, stitchers are a wonderful group of people who are more than happy to talk about their craft and especially to share information with a new stitcher.

When you try out linen for the first time, start small with a fairly simple project. In no time, you'll be ready to take on more challenging projects. I remember one stitcher suggesting this tip for stitchers who are new to linen: Think of a tic-tac-toe grid, where you stitch from corner to corner, skipping the spot in the middle. As a linen-only stitcher, I thought that made a lot of sense. Hope it helps you as well!

lena-lou said...

nxpvkxnWelcome to blogging land and to cross-stitching, I know you will like it here :-) Hope you have had a good time today choosing your 'first' linen. I think you will take to stitching on linen just fine seen as you have really taken off with your stitching so well since only starting at Christmas time.
I only did a couple of little things ever on aida and went straight to linen, I think it is easier to use and I am excited for you :-)) Enjoy your weekend with some happy stitching!