How to Make the Most of Your Precious Stitching Time

We are all busy ladies and gentlemen. We have jobs, school, family, Fiances to pay attention to. As much as we dearly would like to, few of us will be able to spend all day every day stitching. For those of you who do, I both adore you and envy you with deep, mottled forest green envy.

So when we do have a few precious minutes to spend, we must make sure the environment is optimal and the time is right. This is different for everyone. Many of us fiendish stitchers are non-medically classified in the OCD spectrum  and must have a routine. This is mine, and anyone who disrupts it gets bared teeth and a snarl. Fiance knows.

1. Proper lighting
Never underestimate the importance of proper lighting. When I come home from a long day of peering into tiny holes in the dark recesses of people's mouths, the apartment is often a cozy, pitch black cave (mostly because Fiance is a hobbity-hermit) and I go into a frenzy, lighting every lamp until I can see again. I also thought I was going blind (perils of entering a health care field) because of eye strain. 

2. Comfy couch
 My end of the couch is so worn that the back cushion is filled with molecules of cotton candy and is as supportive as cotton candy. My equally crafty and perfectionista mother made me pillow covers to make my toybox apartment more stylish and pulled together, so I now have back support.

My end of the couch is ready and primed for me to pick up Tiny Rose Garden!

3. An entertaining show on the television.
I like to pop in a DVD or wrestle with hulu (my internet is evil) to provide the tempo and background for my stitching. This also means that I am quite on the up and up with certain TV shows, which goes against my self-righteous eighth grade statement that I "never watch TV." I am a hypocrite and I can live with that. Shows that keep my needle flying have and currently include: Game of Thrones (oh Tyrion Lannister, you hilarious character), True Blood (Lafayette is brilliant), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Spike is quite magical), Greys Anatomy (I love it) and Masterchef (Step aside, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot should be the star).

Doesn't Graham Elliot look like so much fun to hang out with!?

4. My trusty floss, highlighter and scissors
I was never a scissor person until I bought Elizabeth I scissors which are the most amazing stitching item so far. I'm a scissor monogamist, though, so I will stay with one pair right now. Usually everything is scattered on my couch, but sometimes I have to pick up when Fiance wants to sit down (the nerve!).

5. A certain period of uninterrupted time
You know how cranky you got when someone kept asking you questions when you were reading a book? Yeah, it's the same for stitching. I have to frog so much more when there is a lot of background activity. So if I know I have to be somewhere or make dinner or go to sleep quite soon, I'll do something else instead.

6. Clean hands
Enough said.

What is your stitching environment like?

How to become an excellent Stash Acquisition Specialist

There are a few things that I think I'm good at: lifting heavy weights, baking cakes, driving really fast. The activity that I am the very best at is buying stash. Specifically, charts and fabrics. In fact, I am so damn good at it that I have divided my stash up into four or five discrete boxes and distributed them throughout my toybox apartment to fool others (Fiance) that I am actually a paltry stash acquisitionist.

LIES.

Ask me how many Heaven and Earth Designs charts I have. Go ahead, I won't fib. Really, that low? Okay, deep breath...

I SHALL NEVER TELL!

What I will say is that while there is no such thing as too much stash (Fiance will scoff at this but I shall point to his fishing minivan that doubles as his everyday vehicle with a raised eyebrow), I am happy to report that I have enough projects to keep me busy for a few years.

So why do I buy more if I have so much? Irrelevant question.

What only you understand is that there are certain standards that a cross stitching fiend must rise to. For instance, my lifelong goal is to paper every inch of my free wall space with a finished project that radiates with love. Since I live in the aforementioned toybox apartment and have three projects on the wall, I am well on my way. When I marry Fiance, the long suffering man of my dreams, we shall move into a larger abode with more wall space and thus the standards rise. Additionally, with the variety of threads, fabrics and designers out there clamoring for our attention, it is our responsibility to support and nurture their businesses and help the stitching community grow. I'd say it's rather generous of us, no?

In fact, I feel so generous that I will demonstrate my stash purchasing abilities for you all.

1. First, I surf facebook for the latest update in my favorite stitching groups. If there is a chart that someone has stitched that I adore or some fabric that is quite lovely, without any time to waste I zip over to the website.

Enablers on Facebook, the best kind of stitching friends

2. Today, I feel like buying some fabric. Luckily, Dawn Munday at Crafty Kitten has a 10% off sale on her website (see, the stitching community is exceedingly generous!) so I select my fabric, change the currency and browse the lovely colors.

 

Those cotton clouds look simply divine

3. Hmm I like the looks of that Sunlit pool. Into the cart you go!

What an excellent addition to my "paltry" fabric box

4. Since the shipping is going to be high, may as well make the best of it and combine multiple purchases! Also, now is the time to try out something I've been interested in for a while - hand dyed threads. Why is now the time? Why do you ask so many questions?

Spring Crocus. It's environmental.

5. And another fabric jumps in the cart... Seriously, I don't know how this happens to me!

It's going to be so fun to sniff them when they arrive.

6. Okay, enough is enough. I am on a budget, after all. I'll just have this purchase applied to my August stash budget. Time to check out!

7. Now it's time to wait by the door and check my mailbox obsessively every single day, mostly to get to the package before Fiance, that wonderful man, asks me why I need more threads and cloths.

Your turn!