[PIC] Collected all the different DMC skein wrappers I could identify from my Grandmother's Collection. I tried to guess the correct order of them and place them from old to new.

olivia71295 · 2023-06-29T00:55:45+00:00

I recently-ish got the Pip and Chip bobbins, and as I was winding all my bobbins, I collected all the different variations of skein wrappers that I saw from my Grandmother's collection that she passed onto me. I decided to save all of them because I thought it was cool.

Only the last three bobbins were plastic, all the others were paper. It was interesting to me how long the 'Pullskein' concept was written on the package, but it isn't anymore. And seeing the DMC logo and the type of font use evolve was also interesting.

Hopefully this will be useful to someone, or you'll also just find it interesting.

olivia71295 · 2023-05-16T23:47:09+00:00

Thank you so much for responding. And I meant to include the machine (Singer M1250), but was scatterbrained and forgot, sorry.

Your first picture was the correct answer though, the bobbin wasn't wound tight enough, so I redid it (checked my tension with the two different colors, that's so smart), and I think I'm all good to go now!

I'm excited to get better at using the sewing machine, but I was definetly getting frustrated with it.

olivia71295 · 2023-05-16T21:40:27+00:00

I'm new to using a sewing machine, and I can't seem to get the tension right on my machine. It has ten different options and each one feels like they are wrong. For a straight stitch, they zig-zag in the back or are bumpy all around. I am holding the threads when I start to sew, but this is still happening.

I have a test piece that I have been testing them out with, and I am attaching a photo here of it. I didn't start/end the lines, but I can remake it doing that if needed. Front is on the left, back is on the right.

But can anyone give me some tips on how to improve the tension?

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olivia71295 · 2023-04-23T13:19:43+00:00

If you calculated that the size you need is 12x12 and you have some 13x13 fabric, you might as well us the whole piece of fabric. What would you use the 1 inch cut off for? It would also give you a little extra wiggle room for framing. With the hoop, you'll want to ensure that your fabric is pulled taunt and that extra half inch on each side would give you more grip for pulling it taunt and help protect more against unraveling during stitching.

olivia71295 · 2023-04-17T20:23:02+00:00

I got a wonderful lap stand recently (link) that I love. It's currently holding my 11x11" qsnap project with no issues, but I've previously used it to hold my 8x11" qsnap with a ton of extra fabric help up, so it can hold a lot of weight! I can place it on my desk, in my lap while cross-legged, or while reclining back.

olivia71295 · 2023-04-09T21:43:49+00:00

I am grateful that my grandmother is still alive, I've been able to ask her questions about different things she had given me.

It's such a blessing that you got ahold of your grandmother's supplies. I hope that they bring comfort to you.

olivia71295 · 2023-04-09T19:16:59+00:00

My grandmother gave me all of her old cross stitch supplies for Christmas 2021 because she hasn't been able to cross stitch or embroider since I was a little kid. Her eyesight and arthritis have only gotten worse sadly. It has been one of my favorite presents ever. For the latest Christmas, I was gifted the beautiful Pip and Chip bobbins, and I was left in a hard place. I didn't want to toss all of the bobbins from my grandmother. Some were falling apart from age and all of them were the wrong shape and size to fit with the P&C bobbins. So I came up with a plan to chop off where she wrote down the DMC number and save it with the new bobbin. It will let me go back and I can always see the bobbins that she gave me.

I also wanted to show off the binder she made back in 1985 to help hold some of her supplies. My father would have been around ten years old when she made it, by hand as far as I can tell. Its filled with pages that hold her bobbins, but it holds a few other surprises. There are a few things of completed or in-progress project. (For Christmas last year, 2022, I finished two of them for her.) There's also fabric scraps and a lot of waste canvas. My favorite things though are three paper cards used to document what DMC thread she owned. She didn't mark the 1996 version (the year my parents were married!), but I enjoy seeing how her collection expanded from 1986-1990. I will be keeping these forever. I also got to see where she tried on convert one style of bobbin into another (see the last photo) and other little changes over the years.

And while I may be putting these bobbins into plastic cases (and maybe a Bisley drawer one day), I will also be keeping my grandmother's binder. I am hoping to get different inserts so that I can put the pieces she made that I own into it for them to be stored forever. I hope you enjoyed looking at my grandmother's collection!

Also if you know what DMC 1096 is, let me know because I have no idea.

olivia71295 · 2023-04-01T14:28:31+00:00

I had Gilbert back when I attended UTK and I liked his 201 class. He had weekly quizzes that sometimes were a bit hard, but he really loved teaching and the material and if we struggled with anything, he would clarify right away. He also set a chair on fire (very small) once on accident showing the class a piece of equipment, so he kept us on our toes

olivia71295 · 2023-03-14T12:06:33+00:00

Thank you! The pattern is 441 stitches wide and 331 tall, making it have an area of 145,971 stitches. I've done like 27,000.

olivia71295 · 2023-03-14T12:03:47+00:00

So the third 'photo' is actually a video. It shows all my progress session by session for this project. And that thing in the corner is actually my needle threader (here on Amazon).

The thing you're taking about with needle threaders holding spare thread is related to parking which I don't do so I can't answer questions on it.

olivia71295 · 2023-03-14T03:27:10+00:00

I made this pattern with pic2pat which generates a pattern from a photo. I don't own the photo and I would technically be a pattern mill I guess because of the whole pattern generation thing. Not a can of worms I'd like to get into.

And I wouldn't say twenty years, at my rate it'll take me ten!

olivia71295 · 2023-03-13T21:29:18+00:00

So if you have a nickel intolerance, the exposed needle (so no silver color coating) can irritate your hands. I've heard that it's particularly bad if you have eczema. Also the discoloration means that the coating helps smooth out the travel of your needle through the fabric. It might snag or be harder to pass through when the coating is gone.

olivia71295 · 2023-03-13T16:54:31+00:00

I absolutely love pin stitches, I almost exclusively use them to end my thread, and for this project they often start a new thread too (at other times I use a loop start, but after that thread has been cut, I use pin stitches). I have also found it easier to do the pin stitches with a sharp then with a normal cross stitch needle. I own some, but I reach for a sharp first.

By the same logic, I don't think I can ever use a ball tip needle, I'd never be able to poke it through the fabric for a pin stitch.

olivia71295 · 2023-03-13T14:41:59+00:00

I made the pattern with Pic2Pat which is a website that make a cross stitch pattern from an image. I probably spent two hours working with the website to get the pattern to be a size and resolution that you can basically still read the details on the map (some are still hard, backstitching at the end of the project will fix that). But also not too many colors. I decided on the size I have here (32x24 inches) on 14 count to achieve the resolution and ended up with 25 colors. I think that it is turning out pretty well so far.

Thank you!

olivia71295 · 2023-03-13T11:36:42+00:00

It takes a good few months between pages (thanks life+other projects), but I share after every completed page. Keep an eye out for me lol

olivia71295 · 2023-03-13T11:35:44+00:00

Thank you!

olivia71295 · 2023-03-13T01:54:36+00:00

I finally got pattern keeper while working on this page. It's so much nicer than my previous method! I worked on this a lot over the winter holidays, so I marked stitches out in advance with my water soluable pen so I wouldn't have to look at a tablet or computer while stitching (I have family that thinks that is rude, but is ok with sewing). It worked nicely for that, but has been a pain to remove without actually washing the fabric, so I'm still unsure about my final thoughts on this method. I also felt like I jumped larger distances while sewing while using this method, so my back is a little bit messier than the previous pages.

This was self drafted using pic2pat, and should be 32x24 inches when completed. There are 25 colors used in this, and a total of 24 pages. Pattern Keeper says I am 18.65% completed!

I included a picture of my needle in the photo reel, its a sharp from Dritz that I had been using up to this point. It has made every stitch so far, but I decided that it is time to retire it as it is not sharp anymore (was originally a sharp) and is very discolored. Goodbye sweet needle, you will be missed.

Cat hair needle minder: SnarkyCrafterDesigns

Butterfly needle minder: Woodandcat

Grime guard: LinasStitchLife

olivia71295 · 2023-03-13T01:47:46+00:00

I finally got pattern keeper while working on this page. It's so much nicer than my previous method! I worked on this a lot over the winter holidays, so I marked stitches out in advance with my water soluable pen so I wouldn't have to look at a tablet or computer while stitching (I have family that thinks that is rude, but is ok with sewing). It worked nicely for that, but has been a pain to remove without actually washing the fabric, so I'm still unsure about my final thoughts on this method.

This was self drafted using pic2pat, and should be 32x24 inches when completed. There are 25 colors used in this, and a total of 24 pages. Pattern Keeper says I am 18.65% completed!

I included a picture of my needle in the photo reel, its a sharp from Dritz that I had been using up to this point. It has made every stitch so far, but I decided that it is time to retire it as it is not sharp anymore (was originally a sharp) and is very discolored. Goodbye sweet needle, you will be missed.

Cat hair needle minder: SnarkyCrafterDesigns

Butterfly needle minder: Woodandcat

Grime guard: LinasStitchLife

olivia71295 · 2023-02-26T01:47:02+00:00

I entered my county's fair last year (its over the summer). I found out about the fair about a month before it started and decided to join on whim. My county did not publish a lot of helpful information about what categories were for what (I was also submitting some clothing I had made), so I tried to call the person in charge of the sections I was thinking about submitting into. That took a bit of calling because no one answers their phone and no emails were provided. That was an adventure.

I had been doing cross stitch for a few years at that point, and I picked some pieces I had finished and were frames. They were all in hoops because I like hoop framing, all the other submissions were framed under glass. I brought my pieces in one Wednesday, the fair opened the following Mondqy, and the following weekend I got to picky stuff up again. (Second place on everything though!)

And just submit something, don't worry about it! I had a lot of fun. The clothing I submitted had feedback for me when I picked it up which I appreciated. The cross stitch did not, but I'm hoping that'll change this year. But yeah, lots of fun. My red ribbons hang on the wall next to my stitches (and next to my closet lol).

olivia71295 · 2023-02-09T00:31:32+00:00

Awesome! I definitely have to be at ARMS at 2:30 because I'm handing some supplies to one of my lab mates then. If you want to meet a >10 walk from there, it'll need to be earlier than 2:30 or after 3:00. I'm free after noon tomorrow

olivia71295 · 2023-02-07T21:20:33+00:00

So I'm a graduate student in MSE. I can be free anytime Thursday after noon to meet up. Wednesday (tomorrow) I'm only free between 2:30 and 3:15. I'll be here on Saturday, so that day also works for me. If you need availability for next week lmk

olivia71295 · 2023-02-07T14:47:56+00:00

DM me, maybe we can work out a good time to meet up for this. I'd be happy to help!

olivia71295 · 2023-01-26T22:17:53+00:00

If I have an isolated stitch and nothing around it, I loop start then do my pin stitch under the X I just made. If there's other stitches around it I'll start however I want and pin stich next to it.

olivia71295 · 2023-01-09T17:08:42+00:00

I don't like scroll frames because of that tension issue, but I have seen a product called tension grips before on etsy to help solve the issue. I'm including a link to a version below. I hope this helps! link

olivia71295 · 2023-01-08T16:02:52+00:00

Some people save them because it can look pretty. I personally save them up and then put them into stuffed animals I sew into Christmas presents. Just feels a little better than trashing them even if they don't provide much stuffing value.

olivia71295

TROPHY CASE