I love it to bits, and I can't stop!

Hello to you!


Following on from the first article on the beginners level of cross stitch and embroidery and the need to pass our passion for embroidery on to the younger generations (see the article here if you haven't read it yet), here is the rest of the series.

Yesterday we were new to stitching and beginners in the world of embroidery, and maybe today we are at the next level? and if it's been a while since you've been a stitcher ... do you remember?

Apprentice Stitcher

After learning the basics, here we are as an apprentice stitcher! What do I do now?! I've had enough of embroidering my initial or doing mini kits ... but what should I do now? What type of patterns should I stitch?
When I started, there was no internet yet so we didn't have the resources or designers that we have now.

So I bought as many magazines as I could! Les Idées de Marianne.. gosh it was so kitsch..but there wasn't much else in France then...

Les Idées de Marianne

After collecting hundreds of magazines and not always stitching anything from them, I got a little tired of them. So I turned to complete kits and invested in them. They were treasures to me, although they seem a bit kitsch to me now! Fashion changes all the time, even within the stitching world!

LANARTE - Marjolin Bastin

or Mirabilia, Lizzie Kate and Lavender and Lace

L & L - Oh Christmas Tree (that I never finished!)

These kits filled my afternoons with joy! The colour changes didn't scare me anymore! As I stitched I gained confidence and my fingers and eyes began to anticipate the crosses. I only bought from cross stitch shops or in department stores and so my choice of designs depended on the taste of the haberdashery owner and what was in fashion at the time! With a little luck I would find an American chart from time to time!

The time for Aida is over ...

That's when I also discovered linen fabric! An important passage in the life of a stitcher ... go shifting from Aida canvas to counted fabric!

The embroidery on linen is refined and tighter and you get used to this finesse very quickly and the beauty of the crosses on it.

Once you reach this step, you can't go back (or very rarely) to aida!

Learning Curve

I stayed in this "apprenticeship" for a long time, 10 years or so. I really continued to enjoy myself in this phase, saving to buy the latest kits from Lanarte. Any stitching anything that dropped into my lap!

I stitched incessantly and without even realising the good that it was doing to me .. I was addicted and nothing gave me more pleasure to than to curl up on the sofa and stitch comfortably at home..usually with a cup of tea in front of the TV :)


Now how about you?

• Have any of my memories echoed within you?
• Are you at this level right now?
• At what stage did you leave Aida for tighter weave fabric?
• Which magazines did you buy?
• What were the designers you embroidered at the beginning and during your "apprenticeship"?

I would be really pleased to read your answers to these questions, and to know your opinions in the comments below ;)


See you soon for more, and the next level!


Feel free to share this article on your social networks and with your friends!

Happy Stitching!

Melanie
xxxxxx