Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

WhiMusical Stitcheries

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When I list my favorite Cross Stitch Designers (it’s not really supposed to be in caps, but that’s the way it is in my head because they are so important), Tracy Horner of Ink Circles is high on my list. I love her mandala designs, her fun western characters, and her smaller pieces. Recently she began a series based on musical clefs.

Tracy Horner Ink CirclesI was happy to notice that her latest – Alto Gether Now – is now available. The design joins Here Comes Treble and First Bass. Don’t you just love the names of the designs?

Tracy offers her designs through her Ink Circles site, but she gives you time to check your LNS (local needlecraft shop) first, so if you are like me and don’t have one (sob!) then check out your favorite online shop – I am partial to 123stitch because they offer the chart bundled with the floss you need – one handy click and I have all I need. Of course, I clicked on a few extra things too – like Tracy’s Four Seasonal Mandalas which is also new.

Tell us about your favorite designer(s) in the comments section.  I’d love to feature them here.

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Comments

  1. Brooke Nolan of Brooke’s Books. She is a wonderful artist with great designs. Her site has a generous selection of freebies too!

  2. It’s all your fault! LOL I just bought the musical patterns yesterday and I would have purchased the seasonal mandalas if I hadn’t run out of money. Now they’re at the top of my list of things to stitch (along with a couple hundred other things). Shame on you, shame on me. 🙂

  4. I love the musical patterns. I’m thinking that I can stitch them up and always hang them in the choir room at church if I can’t find a place at home. I to love Ink Circles. I just recently discovered Tracy’s designs when I finally found a sampler to do for my grandparent’s 50th anniversary (March 2013 – had to give myself plenty of time to work this 300 x 380 piece). I’m heading over to her site right now to get some new projects. You are dangerous Connie! lol

Have you read?

Everything You Need to Know About Embroidery Hoops

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark). 

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see. 

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops. 

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need. 

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way. 

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch. 

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]