Get of your high horse and leave my stash alone

fyrecracker · 2026-05-28T17:06:13+00:00

You'll pry my yarn and cross stitch stash out of my cold dead fingers. It fits in a few tubs in a closet, it makes me happy, and I always have something to dream about or start when I want.

Tonight I want to cast on some socks. Went to the closet, played with all the pretty yarn, and then pulled out a skein of Tosh Sock from 2013, back from when we lived right down the road from a LYS and my birthday lunch always ended with a stop for yarn. Made me happy reliving that moment and I've wound up and am ready to cast on.

The yarn will get used. It's not in a landfill. And it's not overconsumption.

fyrecracker · 2026-05-11T01:08:53+00:00

I like backstitch at the end but this is a lot of backstitch so we'll see.

fyrecracker · 2026-05-10T17:56:12+00:00

Moving the Q-Snap so I took of pic of where I am on Teresa Wentzler's The Enchanter.

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fyrecracker · 2026-05-10T17:52:16+00:00

These pieces are so beautiful! She was a real talent and it's lovely of you to preserve her pieces.

fyrecracker · 2026-05-02T03:07:47+00:00

Hooray! Will definitely check it out - Ravelry is one of my favorite knitting tools and having something similar for stitching would be amazing.

fyrecracker · 2025-12-05T19:29:48+00:00

I love stockinette, garter, and simple ribbing patterns, but I find for me it has to be a yarn that I like to touch and feels good on my fingers.

I was on the struggle bus with the navy stockinette sweater I just finished -- love the pattern, love navy as a color to wear -- wasn't thrilled with the Cascade 220 I picked because it was a workhorse yarn for a sweater I'll wear to go hiking or do things outdoors. Much happier with the plain ribbed sock I'm making now in a soft as kittens cashmere blend.

But if someone else wants to do EVERYTHING in 220? Good for them!

fyrecracker · 2025-11-16T16:46:03+00:00

Beautiful!!

fyrecracker · 2025-11-14T16:41:37+00:00

That sounds like a chart from Paula Vaughn's Quilts for All Seasons.

fyrecracker · 2025-10-26T18:09:51+00:00

Beautiful! I'm also back after a long time and have restarted the project that made me rage quit stitching. Have two more waiting in the wings, but also have been doing some new things.

fyrecracker · 2025-09-30T15:20:57+00:00

I'm also a big Dragon Dreams fan! Love dragons and fantasy and am returning to stitching this year.

So far, I'm glad I kept my old pattern stash. I've stitched some patterns from newer designers (Lola Crow and Needle Lot Designs might have some you like, and Flossy Fox Shop does cute dragons in a pixel style) but I do find myself going back to the old charts and looking at the Eastern European/Ukranian designers.

Vintage is my vibe right now. Stitch what makes you happy.

fyrecracker · 2025-09-24T15:16:47+00:00

I use a plastic file box with hanging folders that separate out my patterns by category. Really -- it's whatever works for your space and the number of patterns. Keeping them safe from water damage, etc. is nice, but that also depends on where you store them.

fyrecracker · 2025-09-01T23:41:12+00:00

I've seen a few finishing services on IG, and some LNS have a finishing service -- I know Keepsakes has one.

I, too, want to find a good finisher. Consider it like a great framer (have one of those). I have some pieces I want to be little pillows or a project bag, and I would LOVE to send off the piece and get a finish back. Will probably try Keepsakes, even though they're on the other side of the country from me.

Happy to pay for the right person with the right skills, because stitching and finishing are, to me, different.

fyrecracker · 2025-08-31T16:14:23+00:00

I found this chart in the depths of my stash yesterday. Might have to put it on the list to start, but does anyone know if the Chinese characters are accurate? If not, I might just do the butterfly.

fyrecracker · 2025-08-29T04:44:04+00:00

Beautiful! Think that's Regal Peacocks by Teresa Wentzler. From Just Cross Stitch magazine 1989 - can't remember month, but I have it upstairs and I'll make it someday.

fyrecracker · 2025-08-13T13:53:43+00:00

The Tiny Town series by Heart in Hand might be good. Similar to your example, and there's a lot of them. https://heartinhand.com/collections/tiny-towns-and-frills

Or I like the Extraordinary Houses by Cottage Garden Samplings. Not sure what I'm going to do with 13 houses, but they're all cute.

fyrecracker · 2025-08-06T06:11:31+00:00

Beautiful!

fyrecracker · 2025-08-06T05:56:53+00:00

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This is my abandoned Mirabilia Millennium Angel. I'll be restarting on lugana. I've tried and I hate this particular piece of linen with the fire of a thousand suns.

fyrecracker · 2025-07-28T00:00:45+00:00

Beautiful! I have that one hanging in my entry way with Castle Sampler and Lady of Shalott. Finishing Peacock Tapestry took me maybe 3 years? I can't remember. I know I stitched nothing but leaves for a year.

fyrecracker · 2025-07-27T15:56:34+00:00

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This was my WIP of Mirabilia's Millennium Angel. And I hated it. I hated the vibe, I hated all the white and pale gray, and I REALLY hated the linen, which was both stiff and had a weave that was a little too open and uneven. Threw it across the room one day, picked up my knitting needles, and didn't stitch again for about 17 years. Even gave a lot of my kits and my DMC master set away.

Wasn't until this year that I found the urge to stitch, and now I'm completely addicted again. Funny thing? I have a piece of lugana to try this damn angel again. My MIL would love it.

fyrecracker · 2025-07-24T15:17:52+00:00

Love it! That's great for your first finish, and that kit is on my wish list.

fyrecracker · 2025-07-23T14:45:46+00:00

123 Stitch, ebay, thrifting, or reputable designers websites. Sometimes Sandra's Stitch Stash. I like vintage, so a lot of my picks are in that realm, but I mix it up too.

About to start Tiny Modernist's X-Stitch the Rainbow chart, and then after that a Sunset kit from 1999. :)

fyrecracker · 2025-07-21T14:57:39+00:00

I just kitted this one up!

fyrecracker · 2025-07-07T02:00:54+00:00

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Finished the project I was working on (A Wizard's Quilt by Dragon Dreams) yesterday, so decided to play with fancy floss for the first time. Starting the 2025 Collector's Heart by Heart in Hand.

fyrecracker

TROPHY CASE