Cross stitch - where to start on the fabric

One question that comes up in a lot of groups on-line is: I am new to cross stitch and where do I start the pattern? 

There are so many different spots that you can start a pattern and in a lot of cases the pattern itself can sometimes help you determine where to start it. I have my preference, but it does change depending on the pattern because sometimes I just start in my normal spot.

Here are the standard stops that you can start a cross stitch pattern:

Centre – starting right in the middle of your pattern and your fabric means that if you have cut your fabric correctly you will make sure that the design is centered on the fabric which is a good idea sometimes. Some patterns are best to start in the middle and those are patterns that don’t have stitches close to the edge of the design. Some stitch-alongs will start in the middle so that is where you will need to start unless you wait until your preferred location is released.

Upper left corner – I see a lot of people start here and it is one of the corners that is good to start with. In a lot of cases this means that you will be working from the top down on your pattern and that is a good place to start. This is a good spot to start for some stitch-alongs because they normally provide pages in this layout.

Bottom left corner – this is another spot to start, and it is where I do most of my starts. It means that I can work across the pattern of the design, and I can then if using a scroll frame roll it up as I work. This works good for a lot of patterns except for when doing a stitch-along and the design is released from top down or center out.

Upper right corner – I don’t see a lot of people starting here but there is nothing wrong with starting in the upper right corner and working done. This could be a good spot to start if you have the top rows of a stitch along and the right is where you like starting. Some people that stitch in hand will stitch from right to left, especially if they are right-handed.

Bottom right corner – this is similar to the bottom left corner as it means you can scroll your work up when you finish the lower pages of the design. This has the same benefits and challenges as a bottom left corner start.

Summary

As you can see there are five spots that are generally where you can start a pattern, but it is entirely up to the individual where they start. If you get the pattern stitched on the fabric and have enough fabric around the piece for finishing it, you are doing what is right for you. Knowing where to start a project really does depend on the pattern itself as well as who is stitching it.

 

Why a free SAL isn't a free SAL any longer?

A lot of groups will have a stitch a long which will be free for a specific amount of time but once that time is over it isn’t free any longer.

It is amazing how many people will say that they have missed a couple of the sections that they expect someone to just send them the prices they are missing. Well to put it cleanly, if you are sending parts of a pattern to someone else you are breaking copyright laws.

It may be difficult to tell someone that either that they missed the pieces totally or not they have to purchase the entire pattern, but it is something that needs to be done. A lot of the stitch a-longs (SAL’s) have an end date, and you must understand that once that date is passed that pattern is no long available for free. It is amazing how many times I have seen on Facebook someone that says that “I have missed section x and can someone send it to me.” Well, to make it very simple, no one should be sending you that section because they are breaking copyright laws. I have seen too many messages on Facebooks that have said “I will send you that section.” If you are publicly telling someone t hat you will send them the missing section or sections, you are cleanly breaking copyright laws.

I understand it can be difficult when someone is saying that they are just missing one section of the piece to not immediately figure out how to get them the missing section but we all have to understand that patterns are only available for a specific amount of time and if someone missing the opportunity to acquire the pattern for free we can only provide the information of where to get the entire pattern or let them know that they have missed those sections and there is nothing that can be done to get those missing sections.

I know that I have seen quite a few times that people have said "just message me and I will send you the missing sections". If you are doing that you have now just reported to everyone that you are willing to break copyright laws. I normally will try and let these individuals know that they are breaking the law but I also know that they will probably ignore me and just continue to break the law whenever someone asks for help.

Remember that a free SAL is normally only free for a specific amount of time and if someone is asking for a piece or pieces after that deadline you cannot share those parts even if you think it is just between the two of you. It is still breaking the copyright laws, and you can get into a lot of problem if you are discovered to be providing pattern without the right to do so.

When you are in a group but you aren't within the area

As a moderator of a community group, I have found that so many people don’t understand what within an area means. 

When a group says “We are happy to allow local business owners and content creators to post here for exposure *on Thursdays only* and meeting the following criteria: For business owners – it is a physical business, ongoing service or charitable organization location in and/or at least primarily serving the * area. Or for content creators – the purpose or theme of the content has a significant relation to *. Content considered to be unrelated ads or spam will be removed”. Why do people think they can post and not have their posts removed?

What I have noticed while being a moderator is so many people think that they can post within multiple communities within a region and think they are local for each of the areas. It is very interesting being a moderator within the GTA and people think that areas 30 km is still within the area but is isn’t within the focus group. It can be such a challenge to figure out who is local and who isn’t because people have started hiding their location. As a moderator what I have started to do is when I see you post in the group, I am part of I will also search your name to see where else you are posting. If I find you are posting outside the area and especially outside a few minutes of this group, you will be removed from the group because you are no longer considered local.

I have found that so many people will join multiple groups within a region and not think that someone will do some homework to see there they are located. If you are posting in multiple areas and the rule is your business must be local, know that you are going to be deleted and banned from a number of groups. A number of groups within Facebook do not do automatic approval so you need to understand that someone is going to be checking who you are. I know that that there are lots of groups that if you answer the questions correctly you will be automatically approved but there are still groups that have a human that does the actual approval.

So, if you are posting a job/service within multiple areas please know that there are going to be groups that have someone that will do the occasional search and see where else you are posting. If you are removed from groups because of this understand you cannot complain because you are the person that broke the rules.

 

 

Why I write

Why do I write is very simple and that is because I love writing about the different things that are going on in our life. Of course, some of the blogs that I write are not entirely non-fiction, but I try and give the feeling of what is going on around me and what are some of the thoughts and feelings that I am dealing with.

For me writing is something that I have enjoyed doing for years and years and I hope to be able to continue to get more writing achieved in the next while. I do have some goals that I would like to achieve with my writing so that is something that I am going to be working towards in the next little while. I am going to say what it is because I don’t want the pressure as I don’t know how long it is going to take me to get the goals achieved. 

My writing is a way to sometimes escape from the daily routine as I can sit and put my earplugs in and just write and let the rest of the world disappear. Of course, there are times when the rest of the world is part of what makes me write more because of what is happening around me at a given time. I am someone that normally has something to write on with me when we are out and about because I never know what a thought or idea will hit and I need to get it down.

I try and capture a thought when I get it and even if it isn’t a big idea when the thought initially hits it can sometimes grow into something a lot bigger so that is why I try and capture even the smallest of ideas. I do have a document with a bunch of blog ideas that I would like to write and if I could sit and write all those ideas, I would probably have blogs written for at least a year or more.

My writing in some ways is my escape and a way to relax, and I do enjoy it a lot. Knowing that I have been able to continue to write at least a little bit each day for almost 12 years makes me feel wonderful. Probably by the time this entry is posted I will have surpassed the 12 years of not missing a day of writing. The total might not be the greatest some days but at least finding that little bit of time to put some words down helps a lot. My writing is what brings me joy and just continuing to write the different blogs and such makes me happy and that is why I write.

Parking/entrance lighting

What we have been seeing lately is that the lighting in a neighbouring apartment building leaves a lot to be desired. When it comes to safety when either walking into the apartment building or parking a vehicle in the visitor parking area I would be extremely concerned. 

Imagine trying to park your vehicle and there are no overhead lights within the area so that means that once you leave your vehicle you have to hope that any other vehicle coming into the area has their full headlights on. We have seen that quite a few vehicles will come into this area without any lights on not even the daytime running lights. 

What bothers me is there are three lights that are from the building and two of them don't shine very well and the third actually shines onto one of the balcony units on the main floor so that isn't helping anyone else at all.  You can see the outside light that shines on the balcony on both of these pictures but that isn't helping anyone other than disturbing the resident that lives in that unit.

When you are looking at moving into an apartment building what you need to ensure you do is park close by and then try and walk up to the entrance after dark and see if you feel secure doing so. It can make such a big difference because just seeing what an area looks like during the day and than after dark can really impact where you move.

Whenever you are thinking of moving into an apartment building you need to look at the areas both during the daylight and at night because that can give you an idea of what you might be dealing with. This building isn't our building and the pictures we took don't show how dark it was because the camera adjusted for some of the other lighting around. 

What this post is showing is that you need to be aware of your surroundings both during the day and in the evening because it can make a bit difference. If you don't feel safe walking into a building in the evenings when lighting isn't the greatest what would you feel like walking into that building if there was a power failure? These are all the different things that need to be figured out before you move into a building and then find out you don't feel secure.

Why shouldn't I take the offer

Recently we watched someone that had an offer given to them and they simply walked away because they figured that they could do better than the offer. Well, I can honestly say that if I had of known that the patent was running out in the next 5 years, I probably would have taken the offer and run away happy. 

If you are saying that you can make $10,000 in profit in the next year but someone is offering you $100,000 for the business I think I would be thinking very hard and probably taking the offer because yes it might be something that I am attached too but can I make that profit quickly compared to what I could get right how.

One of the other issues that I have noted is that the patent is going to run out within the next 5 years so that isn’t going to help you at all and there are already people trying to copy the device so that isn’t good either. What you aren’t seeing is that you could walk away from this idea and then spend the money figuring out a new project where you could get a current patent and move it forward.

When I first found out about this product, I thought it was a newish idea, but little did I know that the project has been around for at least 19 years, and they haven’t been able to make a name for themselves. Sure, you can do the local markets and hope that you can sell some products, and you can also do some trade shows but what is the post of each of these booths versus the revenue to you making for each of these events. My biggest question is where I can purchase this project when I cannot attend an event. If you are saying that your product is only available at specific markets, you are eliminating a lot of people.

If you have a product that you would like to sell either through markets or online, you need to ensure that you have an online presence otherwise you are going to be eliminating a lot of sales. If I was to purchase an idea at a market, and I like it and want to share it with friends and family, I need to know how I can purchase the item online other wise it is a failure. If I can only purchase at item at an event/show that you are attending that doesn’t show that you are willing to make it available to a mass market.

In this case, we watched someone appear at Dragon’s Den and simply walk away from an offer because they felt they could make more money. The offer was something that I probably would have accepted because the cost versus the project wasn’t worth the time and energy.

 

Hearing the works "thanks"

It can be such a challenge when you are working within a community group and hearing the works “thanks”. It doesn’t have to be publicly but at least hearing it from someone that it from the committee can make a big difference.

What made me happy is someone from within the community thanked both my husband and I for the work we do for the community and that makes me feel so good. It shows that someone sees what we are doing and appreciates it. I know that is just such a small thing isn’t that major but when you haven’t heard from the committee or other individuals for a while it makes such a difference.

We have been involved with this community for over 15 years now and we do spend quite a bit of time working on various things and donate quite a few hours a year to helping them out. I know that not everyone is going to fall all over and thank us for what we do but at least getting an occasion thanks would make a bit difference. There are times when we either can't be at a meeting, or we get to a meeting a little later than planned because of work or transit so we can't help that time and it needs to be understood that we cannot do everything every time.

I know that a lot of people think that it is a given that you are thanks for what you do, but honestly if you don’t hear the works “thanks” it is hard to know that you are appreciated, especially when someone else is fallen all over for the little bits of stuff they do. Hearing the words “thanks” or “thank you” can make a lot of difference. There are going to be times when you cannot help at an event for a given reason and needed to know that the committee understands why makes a big difference instead of feeling that you should be helping no matter what.

Yes, hearing the works “thanks” does make a big difference and it can either keep someone helping within a community or the lack of thanks can make the person walk away because they don’t feel they are being appreciated.