Something I think this thread will appreciate: I have the opportunity to get extra credit by embroidering a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry. Specifically, the bit with a guy with his dick out. I am so excited, and going to learn embroidery for it.
Quick laptop selfies of my most recent finished project and the hat I made ages ago that nonetheless matches
Now that I have sunlight and my phone camera, back with better pictures of, y'know, the actual shawl laid out, and not just my happy self wrapped in it. Spoiler: shawl photos Going to be doing a bit of experimenting to see if I can't improve the pattern, but I definitely want to sell these in my etsy store now.
*chirps happily* My counselor brought me a big bag of yarn that she got from a friend that was giving away her dead mother's yarn. And by big bag, I mean one of those big black trash bags stuffed with yarn. I'm wallowing in a pile of yarn skeins. *continues to chirp happily*
Also, I have been trying to get nice pictures of the shawl I finished, and finally gave up, I hope these are clear enough. Spoiler: Lace shawl I'm still kind of in shock that this is something I made, and not, Idk, some magical knit wizard? Also that I managed to make it from reclaimed yarn from a sweater.
I just spent FOUR HOURS trying to untangle an entire skein of yarn because I dropped it before i could wind it. My rage could topple mountains. I spend a year and a half knitting a sweater to transfer to this?!?!?!? I just want to make a hat damnit! DX
i totally forgot to post pics of the poncho I made @spockandawe for Christmas! Spoiler: the front Spoiler: the inside Spoiler: me wearing it! note: it is definitely red, not pink. my camera hates taking pictures of red.
Ahh, I only just realized I completely forgot to ever post pictures of the poncho, but I love it a lot! It's super comfortable, and I especially love wearing it while I sit and craft. Thank you again!!
Any advice on how to clean cross stitching projects? The last project I did had a lot of white and I'm worried it doesn't look good. :( Also, for my next project, the cloth I have is kinda dirty and I want to wash that before trying to start.
Before I say anything, just know that my experience is very limited and I'm horrible at researching the best way to do things before I dive in, but here's what's worked for me! For cleaning cross-stitch, I first go over the back of the piece with fabric-friendly glue (I bought mine at Joann) and let that dry overnight. It's good to test the glue on an inconspicuous corner first, to be sure it doesn't show through, but I've never had an issue with Aida cloth, or the one project I did on quilting-weight cotton. After the glue is dry, I run a sink with water as cold as I can get it, to prevent the color from running (though I've never had a problem with the floss colors bleeding, including the white in my Megatron piece or the paler colors in my Cascade piece). Then I go to town with some baby shampoo and very careful fingers. With the backs glued, I've never had a problem, though I've never tried it without the glue. In general, you want to use a gentle detergent, and I don't recall where I saw baby shampoo recommended, but it's done well for me so far. When that's done and I've rinsed it pretty thoroughly, I find somewhere flat to lay it to dry. Then I worry about ironing and framing and all that. The only time I have had trouble with color running was in my Undertale piece, where I used black fabric and white floss, and after washing, the white is kind of a paleish pink-grey color. It also stained my ironing board cover when I laid it there to dry. For the Tarn+Fulcrum piece, also done on black fabric, I rinsed it very, very thoroughly before I started working. However, comma, I don't know how well that actually worked, because that piece was so much work that at the end I chickened out and didn't wash it at all, just in case. I've seen some things on the net telling you not to pre-wash your cloth, and it did end up making the Aida fabric less stiff and more difficult to work with. But my instinct is that it isn't a huge deal either way. I think I have vague memories of once upon a time taping the edges of my unused fabric and putting it through a washing machine, though I don't remember how well that worked out.
...when I've done X stitch projects bigger than my tiny portraits I've used a hoop. Is that not normal? Edit: it's been a long time, and I taught myself to stitch with those little beginners kits, so I genuinely have no idea what common practice is.
I usually use scroll frames because hoops frustrate me and are harder on my gripping hand, but using a frame of some kind is pretty normal! I don't think I've done anything without either a hoop or a scroll frame. The stiffer fabric works better in the scroll frames, so ultimately, washing my black fabric made it harder to keep the tension nice and slowed me down. It's harder to get a hoop onto the fabric when it's unwashed, but I'm pretty sure it works washed or unwashed.
Ooo I used to glue gun my work, but people pointed out that's probably not a good idea since it might yellow and also it might peel off. Right now I'm putting some fusible interfacing on the back to make sure nothing comes undone. (I know you're not supposed to, but I work with a lot of knots and sometimes they come undone...) I'll have to look for fabric glue :o I don't have baby shampoo right now, but I'll look into getting some. Thanks for the advice!
Today I learned that using a cable needle isn't nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be! (After finding a youtube tutorial that showed me what the pattern was talking about, but still!) In related news, I am making good progress on my Sylvi coat. I've finished the left sleeve and I'm currently working on the back. Which, as you might guess, requires cabling. This is both the first project I've done that's this size ("one really large thing intended for being worn") and the first project I've done that's required cabling. The size daunted me less at the start because I knew that I could do big projects, but I just hadn't found anything of significant size before that I wanted to do that wasn't a blanket or a shawl. The cabling made me more nervous, but I talked myself into it with "I learned how to knit at all by watching youtube videos; there are going to be tutorials on how to do this for when I get to the bit where I need to do it. And I have a friend I can ask for help explaining how to do things, if the videos don't help". And so far, I'm glad that I talked myself into it. I'm going to have a fantastic-looking Red Riding Hood coat once it's done, and I may just embroider the embellishment on the back so that it pops out better; I've never done embroidery before, but it can't be that much harder than what I've done so far. I'll even have a ready-made outline to work with.
my hands are very unhappy with me, but I finished my mom's birthday present! it's an asymmetrical hat crocheted with my handspun out of silk and merino, with silk trim. the broach is the first time I've done wire work in this style, and I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out
