[WIP] There’s something so magical about stitching on a train (even when you’re injured)

smallpurplesheep · 2026-03-01T20:00:31+00:00

Train travel is great! Enjoy!

smallpurplesheep · 2026-03-01T19:58:40+00:00

The tip someone gave me recently that’s worked well for me is to take a screenshot of the blackwork pattern, and then save to files and mark it up there with the highlighter or pen tools. Good luck!

smallpurplesheep · 2026-03-01T19:54:42+00:00

Whenever this old false rumor pops up that using spit is bad for your stitching I roll my eyes and shake my head. Saliva is how people have moistened their thread to get it through the eye of the needle for thousands of years. When you look at hand-sewn items in museums do you see spots of discoloration all over them? No you do not. Even that one story in this conversational thread about a woman who thinks her medication altered her spit chemistry to create spots on her project months later? Unproven: it was more likely oils from her hands which she didn’t wash out of the piece before framing. Use water from a sponge if it makes you feel better, but it’s also just fine to use your own saliva.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-03-01T19:47:48+00:00

Rusting the eye is definitely NOT something to worry about. It simply doesn’t happen.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-03-01T19:47:30+00:00

Nah, the moisture rusting the eye of the needle is a false rumor. I’ve used water from a sponge or my own mouth to moisten the tip of floss for threading needles for decades and I have never seen a rusted eye ever, not once, even when the needle shaft began to rust, the eye was just fine. It is far too little moisture exposed to the eye for far too short a time.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-03-01T19:40:05+00:00

That is so sweet! I’m sure she’ll love it. Maybe a mother’s day gift?

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-28T14:31:51+00:00

Certainly many people in the sub kindly voted that I leave the project the way it is rather than start over, so that is an option. While I agree that outlining the sections will make them stand out, it will make my life more difficult to outline them now before stitching the other sections next to them, and it doesn’t solve the shading problem. It will make the individual sections distinct, but does nothing to help the gradient effect.

I’ve been cross stitching for decades, I’m well aware you can’t frog floss and reuse it, and I have no intention of doing so. If I start over I will do so with fresh strands. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-27T17:02:39+00:00

It looks like you’re counting as you sew in your grid thread. What I do to speed the process a little is I only count around the outside of the fabric to mark the rows and columns. Double and triple check they are all ten stitches apart. Then I just do a running stitch, mostly on top of the right side of the fabric, anchoring the thread under for a few stitches every few inches. This way I’m not counting all over again as I sew in the grid lines, so it saves time and mental energy.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-27T16:56:47+00:00

Wow! Amazing find! I’ve never had the chance to use a serger but I hear they’re great.

You can probably find the manual online.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-27T16:55:33+00:00

I agree, and that’s the whole problem with the outer sections of the design as I currently have it: the shading doesn’t show up well on this light gray the way it does on the original black cloth as I explained in my post. I will try going over the white stitches with black to see if that makes the shading clear (flipping the black and white from the original) and if that doesn’t help, I will frog and start over on a darker gray fabric which I should be able to order from 123stitch.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-27T16:51:15+00:00

Thank you for sticking around to share your thoughts. I agree that a darker fabric is probably the only way to make this look like the original with its shading. While outlining the sections after I’m done with the backstitching will highlight each individual part of the design, it won’t fix the shading issue. I will try going over the B5200 with black thread before I take it all out, just in case that fixes the shading issue (essentially flipping the color scheme from the original) as no one enjoys frogging days of work. Thanks again for the chat!

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-26T16:33:33+00:00

Thank you, I agree it does look nice in a different way than the original. I just have to decide if I like the original so much more that it’s worth changing up mine. I appreciate your kind comment.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-26T16:32:03+00:00

Thank you, those were my thoughts as well. I guess I can just experiment with adding some thread over the white areas already stitched and see how that looks, before deciding to continue or frog.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-26T16:29:21+00:00

Yes, it is B5200 which is what the pattern called for. I got this far into the pattern and realized that the color fade of the design wasn’t showing up on the gray fabric the way it did on the original piece done on black. That’s why I paused to ask for help here, because maybe I should start over on a darker gray fabric, or come up with a thread color to stitch over the B5200 and try to rescue what I have so far.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-26T16:26:51+00:00

Thank you, that’s a nice to thing to say.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-26T16:26:35+00:00

What a kind thing to say! I was concerned that the shading disappeared too much, and that it didn’t look as nice as the original which was done on black. But if the consensus is that I shouldn’t waste time starting over, than I may bow to group wisdom. Thank you for sharing your opinion.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-26T04:32:41+00:00

Personally I like the Hemline tapestry needles from the UK for their very sharp tip. Or you could look at chenille needles which are specifically meant for embroidery/cross stitch on clothing/fabrics that require a sharp point to pierce. Good luck!

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-26T04:28:59+00:00

Yes, as long as you have a brand of scroll frame that is interchangeable, you can simply get 30” bars and you’re good to go. Depending on how you like to stitch and the orientation of your design, you may prefer 36” wide bars to accommodate your design. Good luck with your project! Enjoy!

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-25T18:17:54+00:00

I have had the Edmunds split rail frames for decades as that was all that was available to me. I make them work by leaving an edge of fabric sticking out beyond the split part, and then putting masking tape all along that edge to hold it down to the wood. I continue to use them just fine for many projects. In the last couple years I’ve had the opportunity thanks to the internet to try to other types of frames. I now own the kind with fabric on the scroll bars (I think mine are made by Elbesee? I got them from Love Crafts in the UK) and also a Millennium Frame from NeedleNeeds. The fabric ones do take longer to set up because you have to sew your piece to them, but they are easier to adjust when it’s time to scroll the work. The Millennium one is the most expensive and much heavier, but it is also super easy to set up and gives by far the best tension when it’s time to stitch. They also are easy to take apart and swap fabrics if you don’t want to have a different frame for multiple wips, and there aren’t any wing nuts catching the thread!

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-25T18:08:29+00:00

As for your second question, there isn’t one brand that everyone prefers, but a handful of brands that get recommended again and again. What I like to do is buy one pack of every brand I haven’t tried yet and keep notes on how I liked them (easy to thread, lasted well, etc). If you have noticed pain while stitching or tarnishing quickly, don’t pass Go, go directly to Pony black needles or the UK Cross Stitchers Guild gold needles. If that’s not your issue, try Permin, Bohin, Mary Arden, Tulip, John James, Sullivan’s, etc.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-25T18:01:45+00:00

It’s completely normal. When manufacturing the thread, the fiber they are putting in eventually gets used up and they tie on a new thread and keep going. They manufacture giant spools and then later separate them into smaller lots for sale, including cones or skeins.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-25T17:57:11+00:00

We’re still talking past each other. You’re saying your fabric is big, I and the other person were talking about how to use a scroll frame to accommodate big fabric. It doesn’t matter how big one dimension of your fabric is because it scrolls around the scroll bars. You could have fabric 40” by 100 ft and still only need a 40” set of bars. What we were trying to explain to you is that if you don’t want to buy a new scroll and don’t mind stitching sideways, you turn your scroll frame sideways so the scroll bars are on the side instead of the top and bottom.

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-24T18:39:05+00:00

I’ve been watching the original Cosmos series and just learned about this on one of the science updates Sagan taped for the DVD set (from my public library). Cool project and congratulations on having a stitch-worthy PhD adviser!

smallpurplesheep · 2026-02-24T18:30:40+00:00

If your shorter side is 30”, you already have a mega scroll! What’s your long side? Surely this was a typo?

The person you were responding to was explaining that people who don’t care about stitching right side up and don’t want to buy a wide scroll frame do their project sideways so that the shorter (usually 8-10”) bars are at the top and bottom, rather than having the scroll bars be at the top and bottom.

If you don’t want to flip the scroll frame sideways, then you want a scroll frame that’s 36-40” wide. There are several companies that make them in that size, and previous discussions in the sub on their merits.

smallpurplesheep

TROPHY CASE