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Cross-Stitch Fever

I’m very much infected with Cross-Stitch Fever. I’m sure it’s a real disease. Cross-stitching is all I think about. Today I giggled a bit thinking . . what if I start it and I don’t even like it?

What’s weird is that it seems like a while that I’ve been ordering but yet nothing is here! It really was just the weekend when I started ordering and with the holidays and COVID, mail is slow.

I bought a few patterns off Etsy that are downloads (pdfs). I wish all patterns were available in pdf format. But, even those . . I don’t have the cloth to make them. I can find 14 count Aida in white and navy locally and that’s about it.

I really want to make these cats for Addie but I don’t want to use white. I couldn’t get the same fabric the cats are done on so I ordered something I hope will work.

I’ve ordered trim, cloth/fabric, floss. I’ve ordered a lamp with a magnifier. I’ve ordered a magnetic thing for holding the paper pattern in place. I don’t even know what I’ve ordered. Once it starts arriving, I’m going to (hopefully) match up fabric/floss/pattern and try to keep it all together and organized. Who believes that will happen?

Vince was concerned about the cost and where we’ll put it all. Compared to quilting fabric and yarn, cross-stitching supplies are fairly inexpensive, even if buying some of the fancier floss. Silk brings it up close to the cost of knitting yarn but I don’t see me using a lot of silk. I put his mind at ease that there wouldn’t be a lot of expense, especially after the initial “start up costs” until . . I read about Pattern Keeper. It’s an app and I think currently, it’s only available for Android. I know that I can import charts from pdf patterns into Knit Companion but Pattern Keeper does so much. It keeps up with how many stitches I make per day. It has the “legend” opn the side and it’s really easy to keep up with the colors.

I am not an Apple fan and neither is Vince. I have an iPad because of Knit Companion. There is an Android version of Knit Companion but it doesn’t do as much as the IOS version. When I first began using Knit Companion, I bought an iPad mini and I loved it. I kept it, updated it, took fairly decent care of it but it got so old that some of the newer features wouldn’t work on it. At the time we were going to get a new one, it was cheaper to get a full size iPad than a mini. I squawked about it but now I’m glad I did. Vince wasn’t happy about having to buy a new Apple product but he understood so he bought the new iPad. I hadn’t had it two months and I dropped it. There were a couple of cracks, even though it was in the case. I didn’t mention that to Vince. Then, a couple of months later, I had to go to the bathroom. I always wait til the last minute. I came running in the house, grabbed the iPad on my way to the bathroom, tucked it under my chin as I was unzipping my pants and the darned thing slipped and hit the tile floor again. It splintered in several places but, to its credit, it kept working. Now it was time to tell Vince what I had done. He was super not happy about that but, we ordered a new one.

He patched and glued and epoxied the cracked iPad and while you have to hold it just right and speak softly when it’s on (not really!), that’s now Addie’s iPad that she uses when she’s here. She does some of her school work on it, she watched her favorite youtube videos on it. She plays a few games on it and, at this point, I feel like we’ve gotten our money’s worth out of it. The iPad I’m using is working fine and I have not dropped it.

But, if I want to use Pattern Keeper, and I do, then I need an Android tablet. Kindle Fire tablets will work but the reviews of using the app on a Kindle aren’t great. So, it was time to talk to Vince about a Samsung tablet . . for the cross-stitching . . that is going to be so inexpensive! Who knew I’d need a new tablet?

You may remember that in 2018, I had a Samsung tablet that I loved. It was probably four or five years old and I kept that tablet with me all day. It had my recipe apps, I didn’t even mind typing blog posts on it. Then the battery got to where it wouldn’t hold a charge. Vince decided he could change the battery. I kept saying “I don’t think that’s a good idea” and it wasn’t. The tablet never worked again and no one would work on it. I was so sad but I didn’t want Vince to feel bad so I didn’t say much about it. We had gotten that tablet when it was on sale at Walmart when a new model was coming out and we hadn’t paid that much for it but new ones similar to it were about $500 and that was no way we were paying that. We debated what to do. I kept telling him I didn’t really need another tablet but he felt bad about ruining the old tablet so he ordered a lower end Samsung. It was around Christmas and an empty box was delivered. Someone else apparently got my tablet for Christmas that year and we got a refund but we never ordered a replacement.

When I told him I might need a new Samsung tablet, he got right on the computer, found one at Sam’s Club that was on sale and . . the rest is history. There’s a 14 day free trial on the app so I’m not going to set it all up until I actually have something to cross-stitch.

I think I’m done with ordering, except I may need some floss and I won’t be going out shopping . . for sure til after Christmas so I may have to order floss.

Speaking of ordering, there’s a needlework shop in Branson. It’s too far for us to go just to waste an afternoon but it’s not to far to go for a day trip so maybe in the early spring, before Branson turns into a zoo for the summer months, we’ll make a trip over there. There’s also one in Tulsa. Branson and Tulsa are each less than two hours from us but both require traveling on I-44 and neither of us love that so . . we may stick to mail ordering. Obviously, I don’t have any trouble finding what I want online.

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Comments

  2. Keep an eye out at auctions- in this area there are regularly people getting out of the hobby and so they sell all their supplies. The patterns are often outdated but it is a great source to build up your floss stash and sometimes accessories too.

    • I’m too afraid of bringing bugs in so I generally won’t buy anything at auctions or used that has a possibility of bringing in various types of bugs.

    • Oh, you don’t want to know how much I’ve ordered from there in the past week. They are quick with shipping but I’m kinda hoping those packages don’t start rolling in til Vince leaves. 🙂

  4. If we’re talking about the same shop in Tulsa, that’s a really dangerous place for me. Been going there for I want to say 20 years and I can spend all day in there. Now I want to go to Tulsa. About 2 hours for me too.

    • Holler at me and we could meet there. I don’t even remember the name of it but it’s probably about 2 hours for me because I can get to the outer side of Tulsa in just under 1 hour, 45 minutes.

        • Count me in – if just for an excursion out of the home. I’m 90 minutes from Edmond/OKC to Tulsa. I may not buy anything, but there is always West Marine for me to stop and check for needed boat stuff (41st and Sheridan so just up the street).

          Boat stores are also very dangerous to the pocketbook… add “marine” to the description and increase the price many $$. Give me enough warning and I can save shipping by sending it to Tulsa. Hmm, need to check sail inventory to see if I need to drop something off to the sail loft… Oh no – this could be an expensive trip!!!

  5. Looks like you’re all set once everything arrives. What magnifying lamp did you buy? I am sure I need one with my old tired eyes.

    • We just got a cheap one. Vince got it at Hobby Lobby and likes it but that was the last one so I ordered mine from Amazon. I’ll take a picture of it after while. We liked it because it works off ac or dc, so that gives us more options.

  6. The color on the kitty cross stich looks like it could be tea dyed. You could always try to tea dye and see how it looks.

    • My kitties are going to be gray so I want a very light gray or platinum colored cloth.

  7. I am wondering how the app works. Do you have to have a PDF of your pattern? Can you use a photo of your pattern? I have a bunch of older paper patterns that I would like to use, so I can mark the done stitches/rows as I go. Is this possible?

    • If you have a scanner option of your printer you can try to scan to a pdf and then print it out or send it to the app?

      I have a HP printer that scans but I also have an Epson ES-50 scanner. It is about the size of a three ring hole puncher and works off the laptop power. Best purchase for scanning purposes. I am using it to scan quilt patterns and pictures from magazines. I can then recycle the magazine and be able to find the pattern via file name, folder location, or however I mark the file. I’m also using the scanner for recipes, financial papers, etc.

      • The cross stitch app will only work with a pdf that has some kind of code in it for that app. Our printer will scan and will save as a pdf but it won’t work with the Stitch Keeper app.

    • You do have to have a pdf but my understanding, at least for now, is that it has to be a pdf generated by the designer and there has to be some kind of “code” in it for Stitch Keeper to work. Not all new pdfs will work and I think there’s no way we can do it ourselves to create a pdf of an older chart that will work.

      • I did a little more research, and was looking at MACstitch (I use a Mac). I seems like re-creating the chart would be the only option. Too much work and the possibility of me messing up the pattern is likely. I should probably invest in a magnetic chart reader/place marker.

  8. What is the cross stitch shop in Branson called? I went to one there 20+ years ago … doubt it’s still around, but I really liked it. I don’t recall the name.

  10. Cecelia’s Samplers Is AWESOME! We’ve visited Branson several times from OH and now from south TX, and we always stop in. The shop is family run, owners are nice and very knowledgeable. They’ll also mail orders to you. In addition to cross-stitch, they have knitting supplies and a few other things. Very nice shop!

  11. You may have already thought of this, but just in case you didn’t: when I’m working a large or complicated pattern I make a copy and color in what I’ve done with pencil. I use the magnetic holder and the long strip to keep my place, but when it’s big or intricate I find it much easier to find my place if I’ve colored. Since it’s on a duplicate you still have the original if you want to make it again.

    • The Stitch Keeper app will color in what I’ve already done but thanks because I will need to do that for pieces I can’t import into Stitch Keeper.

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