Textiles Talk

Millenium Cutwork Sampler aka Newbie Delurks

Question:

Where are you at?  I was just at the store in Littleton last week.  One of the women at work said that her friend just opened a store somewhere near Marlborough.  I’ll be moving to Lowell next week.  As far as I know, there aren’t any stores in Boston proper.  My favorite LNS is in Cumberland, RI, ( http://www.withheartandsoul.com/ ) – I went to college in Providence. Meredith – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – OK, what’s wrong with this picture? Newbie and Millenium Cutwork Sampler in the same sentence? Please permit me to ramble for a moment . . . I’m a knitter/crocheter who put away her needles and hooks about 16 years ago after getting married. Now that my girls are old enough to do their own needlework (and let me alone to do my own!) I got back into crocheting (filet crochet and crochet imitations of quilt patterns like log cabins and double-ring). So I started to look for a newsgroup and found you folks. Of course I realized I was in the wrong place and eventually found rec.crafts.textiles.yarn but I kept coming back here. You are all so nice and so addicted to your work! So I started following suggested links and next thing I knew, I was making a Victorian silk needle roll from the Kreinik freebies page. Well, I made the top half. I finished the bottom in hardanger and then sewed it up as a needle case. I was now hooked.  I did a few more small things and then decided I was ready for the big time . After all my web surfing, I figured out that I am drawn to historical pieces. I’m also drawn to samplers, not because I am so enamoured of stitching my ABC’s over and over, but because I love using a lot of specialty stitches. So the next step was to order a chart for a Hebrew band sampler I admired. I took the chart to a [semi-]local store (I live in Boston — do I really have to drive 35 miles to find a wide assortment of specialty fibers? But the shop in Littleton was so nice . . .) where I started chatting with the woman and really getting into trouble . She showed me the Sampler & Antique Needlework magazine, and I (fool that I am) bought the summer issue. Now I can’t get the Millenium Cutwork Sampler out of my head. Am I crazy? Should I get one of Sharon Cohen’s other designs (I’m thinking about the Stuart England Sampler) as an easier way to get started on cutwork?  Is there a support group for people working on the Millenium Sampler?  I really am a newbie. Every stitch I learn is new. But I am a good learner and very patient with my work. Please help . . . Thanks, Beth

Response:

There is a store closer to Boston than Littleton, but it doesn’t have nearly the selection that The World In Stitches Has.  If you’re looking for fibers or painted canvas, B.F. Goodstitch in Salem is quite nice.  But it is much smaller than TWIS. I understand that there is also a needlework store just over the Arlington line on Mass Ave, but I haven’t been there.  Might be worth a trip. Elizabeth in Salem, MA – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Where are you at?  I was just at the store in Littleton last week.  One of the women at work said that her friend just opened a store somewhere near Marlborough.  I’ll be moving to Lowell next week.  As far as I know, there aren’t any stores in Boston proper.  My favorite LNS is in Cumberland, RI, ( http://www.withheartandsoul.com/ ) – I went to college in Providence. Meredith OK, what’s wrong with this picture? Newbie and Millenium Cutwork Sampler in the same sentence? Please permit me to ramble for a moment . . . I’m a knitter/crocheter who put away her needles and hooks about 16 years ago after getting married. Now that my girls are old enough to do their own needlework (and let me alone to do my own!) I got back into crocheting (filet crochet and crochet imitations of quilt patterns like log cabins and double-ring). So I started to look for a newsgroup and found you folks. Of course I realized I was in the wrong place and eventually found rec.crafts.textiles.yarn but I kept coming back here. You are all so nice and so addicted to your work! So I started following suggested links and next thing I knew, I was making a Victorian silk needle roll from the Kreinik freebies page. Well, I made the top half. I finished the bottom in hardanger and then sewed it up as a needle case. I was now hooked.  I did a few more small things and then decided I was ready for the big time . After all my web surfing, I figured out that I am drawn to historical pieces. I’m also drawn to samplers, not because I am so enamoured of stitching my ABC’s over and over, but because I love using a lot of specialty stitches. So the next step was to order a chart for a Hebrew band sampler I admired. I took the chart to a [semi-]local store (I live in Boston — do I really have to drive 35 miles to find a wide assortment of specialty fibers? But the shop in Littleton was so nice . . .) where I started chatting with the woman and really getting into trouble . She showed me the Sampler & Antique Needlework magazine, and I (fool that I am) bought the summer issue. Now I can’t get the Millenium Cutwork Sampler out of my head. Am I crazy? Should I get one of Sharon Cohen’s other designs (I’m thinking about the Stuart England Sampler) as an easier way to get started on cutwork?  Is there a support group for people working on the Millenium Sampler?  I really am a newbie. Every stitch I learn is new. But I am a good learner and very patient with my work. Please help . . . Thanks, Beth

Response:

Hi Beth, I can’t answer your questions re cutwork, but I would like to welcome you to the group! Tobie — WIP:   Tallit Bag Cover (NP); Lace Border & Name (Endearments Old & New Counted Canvas); Picture of 5 clowns (NP);  Ocean Princess (James Himsworth XS); Hanukkah Dreidel (NP); Millennium "Peace on Earth" by Ellen Maurer-Stroh Finished 3/22: Floral Wreath by Stoney Creek               4/24: NP Silhouette of Bride & Groom

Response:

OK, what’s wrong with this picture? Newbie and Millenium Cutwork Sampler in the same sentence? Please permit me to ramble for a moment . . .

<snip Am I crazy? Should I get one of Sharon Cohen’s other designs (I’m thinking about the Stuart England Sampler) as an easier way to get started on cutwork?  Is there a support group for people working on the Millenium Sampler?  I really am a newbie. Every stitch I learn is new. But I am a good learner and very patient with my work. Please help . . .

No, I don’t think you are crazy.  While you may not be familiar with this particular kind of needlework, you are familiar with other kinds of needlework.  That gives you a boost right there.  Most important, *that* design is calling to you. Just keep a doodle cloth close at hand so that you can practice the unfamiliar stitches before you try them on the real project. You’ll do fine. Kathy — Counted Cross Stitch, Needlework and Stitchery Page | do with infinity and    <http://www.dnai.com/~kdyer/                    | jelly doughnuts."

Response:

Am I crazy? Should I get one of Sharon Cohen’s other designs (I’m thinking about the Stuart England Sampler) as an easier way to get started on cutwork?  Is there a support group for people working on the Millenium Sampler?  I really am a newbie. Every stitch I learn is new. But I am a good learner and very patient with my work. Please help . . . Thanks, Beth

Hi Beth Yes there is a support group set up on e-group for the Millenium Cutwork Sampler.  Here’s a quote from the owner as to how to join it. "Please feel free to invite anyone else you may know from other needlework sites to join us at any time by dropping me an e-mail at I hope you decide to join and do the project!  Good luck! Happy stitchin’ Mavia

Response:

Allo Beth, and welcome to the "Funny Farm!" Please join us on the Millenium Cutwork Sampler e-group and e-mail me so I can send you an invitation to the e-circle. Make sure to check the file about the correction to the stitch count for the first band in that sampler. The list is a little slow at the moment partly because most of us seem to be busily basting over-4 and partly because "Yours truly" is still trying to retrain her eyes to 36-count linen after a series of eye surgeries. (I’m going to do this piece even if I have to use binoculars to see the threads, I swear!;) As a knitter/crocheter, you probably will find you have some advantages in working this piece as you are aware of the way stitches can be used to create a fabric rather than just embellish a surface. As a ‘recovering’ knitter myself, (it’s just too hot in Texas to really enjoy knitting;) I’ve found the detached buttonhole stitch (upon which most of these needlelace designs are built) resembles single crochet greatly and the concepts of increasing and decreasing to shape an area are very easy for me to grasp. Don’t be intimidated by a piece like this. I mean, the originals were done by teenage girls, right? How hard can it be? (Okay, so a 17-year- old has better eyesight but… We have magnifiers!;) Before you buy.

Response:

OK, what’s wrong with this picture? Newbie and Millenium Cutwork Sampler in the same sentence? Please permit me to ramble for a moment . . .

[snip] This was a very funny post, Beth! Thanks for the giggles! No, there’s nothing wrong with "newbie" and even "Bayeau Tapestry" in the same sentence, in my opinion. So I started following suggested links and next thing I knew, I was making a Victorian silk needle roll from the Kreinik freebies page. Well, I made the top half. I finished the bottom in hardanger and then sewed it up as a needle case. I was now hooked. I did a few more small things and then decided I was ready for the big time .

[snip] Clue #1: You’re definitely ready for the TIME (…big time…sorry for the pun)since you’ve shown a willingness to uh, improvise? Yeah, that’s the ticket! If you make an "error," you’ll be able to improvise, sometimes ripping out and re-doing, sometimes altering the pattern, sometimes letting the error be since antique samplers almost always have mistakes, improvisations, etc. …because I love using a lot of specialty stitches. So the next step was to order a chart for a Hebrew band sampler I admired. I took the chart to a [semi-]local store (I live in Boston — do I really have to drive 35 miles to find a wide assortment of specialty fibers? But the shop in Littleton was so nice . . .) where I started chatting with the woman and really getting into trouble .

[snip] Clue #2: The word "love" in the same sentence as "specialty stitches." No matter how simple the project, you’ll never finish it or enjoy stitching it if you don’t love it and what you’re doing. On the other hand, something beyond your current level of expertise will draw you back to it if you love doing it. and I (fool that I am) bought the summer issue. Now I can’t get the Millenium Cutwork Sampler out of my head.

[snip] Clue #3: Obsession with a piece is a clear sign that you must do it. Am I crazy? Should I get one of Sharon Cohen’s other designs (I’m thinking about the Stuart England Sampler) as an easier way to get started on cutwork?  Is there a support group for people working on the Millenium Sampler?  I really am a newbie. Every stitch I learn is new. But I am a good learner and very patient with my work. Please help . . . Thanks, Beth

The solution to the case: You are just crazy enough to be a needleworker! My opinion: Get the Millenium Sampler right away, and prepare the fabric, threads, etc. for beginning it. BUT, before you start on it, use some of your extra fabric/fiber and have that ready to go as a "test" piece. Then when you run into directions you don’t understand, or a stitch you haven’t worked, do a little trial of it on the test piece, especially with anything permanent (more or less) such as cutwork, etc. Good luck and let us know what you decide. Shisha Before you buy.

Response:

OK, what’s wrong with this picture? Newbie and Millenium Cutwork Sampler in the same sentence? Please permit me to ramble for a moment . . . I’m a knitter/crocheter who put away her needles and hooks about 16 years ago after getting married. Now that my girls are old enough to do their own needlework (and let me alone to do my own!) I got back into crocheting (filet crochet and crochet imitations of quilt patterns like log cabins and double-ring). So I started to look for a newsgroup and found you folks. Of course I realized I was in the wrong place and eventually found rec.crafts.textiles.yarn but I kept coming back here. You are all so nice and so addicted to your work! So I started following suggested links and next thing I knew, I was making a Victorian silk needle roll from the Kreinik freebies page. Well, I made the top half. I finished the bottom in hardanger and then sewed it up as a needle case. I was now hooked.  I did a few more small things and then decided I was ready for the big time . After all my web surfing, I figured out that I am drawn to historical pieces. I’m also drawn to samplers, not because I am so enamoured of stitching my ABC’s over and over, but because I love using a lot of specialty stitches. So the next step was to order a chart for a Hebrew band sampler I admired. I took the chart to a [semi-]local store (I live in Boston — do I really have to drive 35 miles to find a wide assortment of specialty fibers? But the shop in Littleton was so nice . . .) where I started chatting with the woman and really getting into trouble . She showed me the Sampler & Antique Needlework magazine, and I (fool that I am) bought the summer issue. Now I can’t get the Millenium Cutwork Sampler out of my head. Am I crazy? Should I get one of Sharon Cohen’s other designs (I’m thinking about the Stuart England Sampler) as an easier way to get started on cutwork?  Is there a support group for people working on the Millenium Sampler?  I really am a newbie. Every stitch I learn is new. But I am a good learner and very patient with my work. Please help . . . Thanks, Beth

Response:

Filed under: Silk Fabric

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