My Hobby
By: Luann Syers
I first began cross stitching 29 years ago, when I was 8 months pregnant with my oldest daughter. The reason I decided to start this hobby was that, my oldest step daughter had been doing some sample cross stitching and I thought wow that is something I could do.
So, after a visit to several craft stores I found a baby blanket with zoo animals on it to begin trying my hand at this. This blanket was going to be for my baby. I chose this blanket because it was a stamped cross stitch (one that has the imagines already printed on the blanket), so all I had to do was start by following the color chart and making the “x”;s that color. This seemed fun at first but, got very boring as all you had to do was follow the color chart and stitch.

After finishing this blanket, which consisted of using a backing material and sewing in different sections of the blanket to keep the backing on so that the baby could not pull out the stitches or hurt them. The material used to hold the backing on was yarn that you took a needle and threaded the needle with the yarn and then you stitched the yarn through both the cross stitch and the backing and tied it off in a knot and did this about 100 times to make sure the backing was tight and then you sewed with a sewing machine around the edges to make sure everything was secure.

This project was very nice and ready for my baby, but, after further investigation I found counted cross stitch, which is when you buy a book and different color threads to create your own bibs, blankets, wall hangings, Christmas ornaments, or book marks. You buy the canvas with nothing printed on it and you have to count over so many spaces to start your cross stitch. You begin by following the color chart and directions on how many “x”;s to make of one color and then you tie off that color and start with the next, until the project is complete.

Counted cross stitch is a lot of fun and takes a lot of time and patients. I have completed over 100 different items, from blankets, bibs, ornaments and wall hangings. I am currently working on a baby blanket in hopes that one of my girls will have a baby in the future.

You not only can buy books with project ideas, but, there are many websites that have ideas for things to make or you can also buy programs to create your own ideas.

Counted cross-stitch was very over whelming at first but, after doing my first project I have also started to make cross stitch projects with beads and ribbons in them which make the finished item look a lot nicer and more professional than just the counted cross stitch with the floss (that is what the thread is called).
The average project takes about a month if you have a lot of time, or can take up to 6 months, as I have taken up to six months to finish a blanket. I also, have some uncompleted projects that I need to finish, but, due to lack of interest or no time I have not completed them.

Many of the completed cross stitch projects I have done have been gifts to family members as Christmas presents or birthday presents. The idea of a homemade Christmas or birthday gift gives you a very satisfying feeling. The look on the family members face is worth a million to me, to realize they plan on using this for a long time. I have gone to my family and seen what I have made for them displayed on a wall or a blanket hanging over a chair that I had made for them. Some of my family would like me to make things and sell them at bazaars in the area, but, you need to make a lot of items to do that and I just am not willing to comment to that kind of time.

I feel that cross stitching is a very relaxing hobby and something that helps relieve a lot of stress and is very satisfying in the end. I would recommend that anyone who ever wanted to cross-stitch to at least first start with a beginner’s kit and a stamped cross-stitch just to get the idea of it and not to spend a lot of money on the project.

The cost of cross-stitching when you buy the stamped kit is around 40 dollars, but, when you do the counted cross-stitch it can be very expensive. The books costs anywhere from 4 dollars up to 18 dollars and the canvas runs anywhere from 8 dollars up to 40 dollars depending on the project you are doing. My most expensive project was a blanket I did for my mother that cost me over 90 dollars with the canvas, books, floss, needles, backing and yarn. The current project I am doing for one of my girls has cost me close to 50 dollars with the canvas, yarn and floss since I already had the book and the needles. You also, need hoops to put around the section of cross stitch you are working on to keep it tight and secure so the
Cross stitch does not wrinkle up and ruin the project.