Tag Archives: counted cross-stitch

    Yes I do teach counted cross stitch and needlepoint.  I also make special orders and commission pieces.  And I have learning disabilities, dyslexia and dyscalculia (and probably border-line Asperger’s).  When I was in school it was just called “being slow.”  Why would a person take up a craft that is based on counting when that person can barely count accurately?  Excellent question.  I have no answer.  I ended up finding these hobbies quite by accident, and they just stuck.  Now I teach them.  They are basically two of the simplest stitching techniques around.  In cross stitch the pattern is printed on a graph, each square representing a little X of two crossed stitches that you place on fabric, any even-weave will do.  Needlepoint is even easier, it’s pretty much just coloring with thread (or yard).  If you have a second-hand store close by, or run across one in your daily travels, pick up a kit for the cheapest price you see.  Does not matter what the picture is because this is only a tester, you are going to get the feel only.  Pick the ones someone has already started if you find those, they cost less than a dollar usually.  Just make sure the package has directions included.  Keep the instructions, and practice the stitching, then toss the mess you stitched and google around for something you actually want to make.  There are some really good companies that have on-line stores (with great sales).  Nordic Needle, ABC, Sampler Threads, DMC, Black Bird, Mill Hill, Herrschner’s, Prairie Schooler, even Ben Franklin Crafts, and Joann Fabrics.  If I had a great local shop here I would definitely vote with my dollar and buy that way.  There are now also some amazing and intricate designs out there, people who are making charts that are way past what the kits were when I started doing this over 26 years ago.  I’ve put a couple of pictures up here of a few examples, things I have done (and are posted other places on this blog, but you’ll have to do your own poking around, I’ve already lost this post once and am running out of hours tonight).  I’ve done pieces for the kids from Mystic Stitch, Scarlet Quince, and Heaven and Earth Designs.  The symbols on their charts are all done a bit differently, have to find what works the best for you.  Sadly, right now the only way I can teach these crafts is in person.  Kind of a hands-on deal.

Sisters of the Seasons ~ 17 ~ cycles of growth, natural flow, divine order.

   Drawing this card is a reminder that everything has a natural rhythm that obeys a higher law.  Just as the seasons magically pass, keep in mind that the nature of birth, growth, harvest, and decay cannot be altered.  Situations in our lives begin, mature, and end.  Recognizing these cycles and acknowledging this never-ending flow will assure our success.  Be mindful of which Sister greets us on our paths, for she is pointing directly at the next.

   This illustration has a disconnected feeling to me, doesn’t mesh as smoothly as I would have liked.  There are four Sisters in the scene.  Winter is in the sky, surrounded by snowflakes, holding her chin in her hands.  Spring is perched on a tree limb, playing a flute.  Autumn seems to be emerging from the tree trunk, clasping her hands in front of her.  And Summer is kneeling on the ground looking up at the others, with one arm down at her side, the other across her chest.  The message, I feel, is better than the representation of it.