Secured Needle Stitching

This NaBoPoMo thingie is driving me mad!  So many of the blogs I follow are taking part this year that my reader is filling up even faster than usual.  The trouble is, it's all so interesting I can't miss one of the posts!  Why don't you all blog about your laundry or something dull so I can bypass the posts?

Anyway, Daffycat has made some great posts this week, one about tea-dyeing and another about the loop method of stitching.  I commented on both posts.  The first to mention using fruit teas to dye fabric, a great alternative to the usual standard teas and lovely natural colours too.

The second comment was about MY method of starting stitching.  I tried explaining it in words once before and people either said "??????" or "Oh, like sewing".  So here are some pictures:

Step 1 - thread your needle onto the middle of a piece of floss twice the length you usually stitch with:

Put the two tail ends together:

Secure the tails under the first stitch you make as you usually would stitching with two strands of floss:

You can see in this picture the needle is secured to the fabric and can't come unthreaded .

This is perfect if you stitch while travelling or have animals/children who like to jump up and grab your stitching.  Even if they throw the stitching across the room the needle stays attached and can't be lost.

You can also stitch right to the very end of the floss without it coming unthreaded every 2 stitches (or is that just me?!)  Obviously this only works with plain floss and when stitching with 2 strands.  I use the normal method with variegated threads and when using an odd number of strands.

Another advantage is when you don't use the whole length up.  With this method you snip the thread off and still have a usable length left.  eg if you snip at 4 inches left then you still have 4 usable inches next time you want that colour.  With the loop start method then you have 2 x 4 inch pieces or 2 lots of 2 inch usable stitching floss.  Make sense?  I hope so!

It's also good when you're stitching on fine linen, as there are only 2 strands going through each hole it doesn't "stretch" the holes so much.  With 2 separate strands there are actually 4 strands going through each hole each time.  And that annoying habit floss has when the 2 strands end up different lengths?  Doesn't happen, because needle just adjusts itself to the centre of the floss every stitch!

My only wish is that I'd invented this method and patented it!

Can anyone guess what is the piece of stitching I'm demonstrating on?  Unfortunately you can't see the front today because my scanner is bleaching the picture out.  So I have to find the camera and do it properly.

Finally, remember this Hallowe'en PIF I got from Erica?  It is now being PIFed onto Rachel, in plenty of time for next Hallowe'en!

Lucky, Lucky, Lucky, I have been so lucky!

First I win Cucki's Travelling Pattern, then I get to host the Travelling Granny!

Cucki's Stitching Cove can be found here.  She loves following the various Travelling Patterns around the world and decided to start one of her own.  This is a Lizzie*Kate design, a first for me, which says "Love is Best when you give it away".  How appropriate for a Travelling Pattern!

It's a very sweet, very Cucki pattern and will look great with some variegated reds and maybe some of the hearts charms I picked up.

The next VIP is Madame Muriel Flat Flossie, the Travelling Granny.  This very special elder person started her journey with Anna the Stitch Bitch, travelled to spend time with Stewie and his pet spinster then went all the way to New Zealand to see Margaret.  And now she's coming to the Old Country to visit me!  I'm a little nervous as Margaret has shown her all the sites of New Zealand and MM seems to be expecting to visit with Royalty on her UK trip, we'll have to see what we can do...

Read all about Madame Muriel Flat Flossie, the Travelling Granny here:

• Arrived in Pennsylvania to visit with the Stitch Bitch
• Had adventures in Indiana with Stewie and the Spinster Stitcher. (Her farewell to Indiana here.)
• Arrived in New Zealand to visit Margaret. A birthday dinner. A bus trip to the city. A trip to the farm. Out to see sheep and wool. A trip to Mickey D's. A visit to Devenport and another to the exhibition. Hanging out with needleworkers. Ready to go.

I have just explained to hubby about Travelling Granny, he was initially under the impression that Anna's actual Grandma was coming a-visiting!  Mind you, it would be great to meet Maggie in person.  I explained it's like the Bear at Primary School, a different child has the bear each weekend and has to keep a diary of it's actitivities.  If you're lucky the previous person took it to MacDonalds and watched TV, if you're unlucky then the previous child took it pony-riding and to the museum and the theatre then fed the homeless on Sunday so you feel rather inadequate!

I finished this little stitch last week, another PIF from Erica this time.  Erica's Places.  It's been quite hard getting a decent picture of it as it's stitched on black aida with LOADS of beads.  Probably 50% of the design is beads but that's Mill Hill for you!

Erica sent me the chart, the leftover beads and the threads.  There was plenty of thread and almost enough beads.  I had some of the purple and magenta but not the green so I subbed a slightly different green for the "O".  There was just enough orange and plenty of ice.  I didn't have a tiny star but I did have a witch!  This is one of the charms I got from Ang's Attic (remember when I ordered 1 of each charm but actually ordered 1 packet of each!).

I'd like to PIF again, there's some thread left but not enough to stitch again so I'll add the extra in from my stash.  I could also add a piece of black aida unless you are violently opposed to aida or prefer to stitch it on perforated paper.  I will also pop in a witch charm (I had 10 after all!).  You will need to get more beads however.

If you'd like this little chart and extras then leave a comment telling me your favourite myth about English people, for example that we all personally know the Queen, the whole country has tea at 3 o'clock, Northerners keep coal in their bath tubs etc.  You know the sort of thing.  Madame Muriel will help me debunk some of the myths when she arrives!  If you don't know any myths think of English films and TV programmes that make you wonder "Do all English people do that?"

If you don't want the chart then say so but leave a myth comment anyway, the more the merrier!

And finally, for those bobbin users who said they put the unused strands on the table, by the side etc until they need them - this is why I could never do that:

This is not a Quaker sampler, this is my carpet.  It was in the house when we moved in and is in perfect condition.  It is also very large (covers the entire Lounge and all the Hall and Stairs.  We could never afford to replace it with the same quality.  As you can imagine it is very difficult to find dropped items on it.  Unless you are the small boy and have dropped food in which case you can spot a raisin at 50 paces!  Lego is NOT allowed on this carpet as the pattern eats Lego.  Luckily the large boy has a plain carpet in his room.  What you can of it under the Lego carpet.