The Husband Quiz for Cross Stitch

Over the weekend I discovered that there was a husband quiz with regards to the various items that people that cross-stitch use. I asked my husband these questions and yes I knew he would do well and he did. I have added some links to some of the words to give a better explanation than I wrote.

Now here is the list of questions and I will explain what each of them are.

Floss – this is the thread that we use to do our cross-stitching with.

Flosstube – a youtube channel for people that cross-stitch

ORTs – old running threads or the little bits of threads that are left over after you have done your piece of thread and normally throw out. I actually put my orts into a jar and it is fun looking at it throughout the year to remind me of some of the projects that I have worked on.

Needleminder – a magnet normally with something on the front of it to make it look nice where you can put your needle when you are not using it while stitching.

Stash – the items that you have in your collection are considering your stash.

SAL – a stitch along is a project that is either released in sections or a bunch of people working on the same project at the same time.

Haul – the items that you have picked up during a shopping trip or an order that you receive in the mail is considered a haul.

Skein – a length of thread or yarn that is loosely coiled.

Kreinik – this are metallic threads that are used also for various stitches when you cross stitch.

WIP – as a stitch I have a lot of these currently. These are Work in Progress so yes some stitchers have more than one project on the go at a time.

Frogging – This is another name for unpicking your stitches when you discover an error and need to take some of the stitches out. It is called frogging because you are ripping, ripping.

UFO – stitchers also normally have some of these and they are unfinished objects. Normally these are projects that have been put aside for a while because of either being tired of the project or you no longer find the project interesting.

FFO – When I asked my husband this one I got an answer that made me laugh and he said “Finally Finished Object” but what the quiz was calling it was a fully finished object so yes I think both of them are correct.

Q-snap – This is one type of frame that stitches use to hold their fabric to keep it tight when they are stitching. There are also scroll frames, hoops and just in hand.

Grime Guard – A grime guard is some fabric that goes over the edges of your q-snap or scroll frame to keep the dirt off the project while you are stitching.

HAED – Now this is something that not a lot of guys are going to know unless you stitch one specific type of project and this is Heaven and Earth Designs. A lot of these designs are rather large and involve a lot of colours.

Stitchy spot – This one was extremely easy because it where you normally do your stitching and for me it is sitting on the chesterfield.

HPI – This one even had me thinking for a couple of minutes because I always consider it as count for my fabric instead of holes per inch.

Aida – a type of fabric that stitchers use for their projects. This normally comes in 11, 14, 16, 18 and 22 count.

Evenweave – a type of fabric similar to linen fabric also used for projects and can come in 25, 28, 32, 36 and 40 count or holes per inch. I like using 28 count for a lot of my projects.

Biscornu – A biscornu is a small, 8-sided, stuffed ornamental pincushion. It usually made out of Aida cloth or linen. Embroidery and/or cross-stitch are used to decorate the top and bottom of the cushion. A button is typically secured in the center of the cushion to give a small depression on the top. This is the official definition of a biscornu but as my husband called it a handmade voodoo doll where you can stick pins or needles in it.

Railroading – For cross-stitching specifically, to “railroad” your stitches means to place your needle between your two strands of thread before pulling it through the fabric. This forces the stitches to lie flatter on the fabric, rather than bunch up one on top of the other. I’ve found it also keeps the thread from tangling as easily because it also forces the thread to straighten as it is being pulled through the fabric.

Parking – this is a technique where you don’t end your thread as often and you pull up the thread to the front of your work in a spot where you are not currently working. For some people it is just off to the side and to others it is in the whole that you are going to be using this thread next time to start stitching with this colour.

So these are the difficult words that were part of the quiz and it was a lot of fun both asking my husband the answers and also watching the various videos that I found on this. Hopefully if you are a stitcher or know someone that is you now have some new words to add to your vocabulary.