Cross-Stitch, etc.

Ahhhhh, cross-stitch.  I love to work with my hands, especially when it is with needle and floss (or later, needle/hook and yarn).  My first ever project was when I was nine years old.  I was learning to latch hook at the time and was working on a rug that would end up taking the entire summer to finish.  I was at my grandparents' house in Georgia for the summer and my grandmother loved to crochet.  My aunt loved to latch hook and she is the one that taught me this craft.  (I think it might even have been my first real crafting project too, aside from macaroni bead necklaces that is.)

I was weary of latch hooking and wanted something else to work on for a little while.  My grandmother and I went to the store one day and I say a stamped cross stitch pair of pillow cases and asked if I could try my hand at that.  My grandmother agreed and that became my first project as a present for my parents when they came to take me back home at the end of the summer.  I didn't do anymore cross stitch until years later while I was pregnant with my first child. I was at Wal Mart with my mother and found the cutest stamped bibs.  I bought those along with my choices of floss and a hoop and needle.  I enjoyed it, but seem to recall it was a bit tedious being unable to tell where I was coming up through the cloth from the underside.  Later that year, I was introduced to my first counted cross-stitch project through a baby's first CHRISTmas ornament.  I fell in love!  I had been avoiding counted because it looked like it would be so complicated.  Little did I know it was worlds easier than stamped.  (Something I was recently reminded of when I decided to tackle a set of stamped pot holders.)

I was so excited when I was blessed to find a husband that also enjoys cross-stitch and numerous other crafts.  Now we are always on the lookout for new cross-stitch projects and special deals.  One of our favorite sources is the surprise stitchers boxes we order from Herrschners (go here and search for surprise). Another, more recent find, favorite is the Scrap Exchange in Durham, NC (find them here).  They have some of the neatest stuff and they also have awesome deals on cross-stitch kits.

Another find that we really enjoy is a freeware app called Ryijy Stitch Designer (here) that allows you to use any picture you liked to create a cross-stitch pattern.  It will even tell you what colors of floss to buy to get the colors you want from the picture.  

We will post to this page as we find more great places to go for cross-stitch supplies, patterns and other resources.  I have a ton in my bookmarks folder right now but I would prefer to review and organize them a bit to make sure the links are all still valid and it is easier to use and find what you are looking for.  Look for those to be updated here soon.  If you have a favorite resource, please leave a comment below with a message as to why you like it and what types of resources you find there.  We are always looking for new and improved places to shop and peruse.