January 13th 2007

Tip of the week is a day late this week because we've changed the format of the newsletter to combat the spam filters. -~- In this issue: 1) Organizing Our Busy Lives... 2) A Top Tip For Cross Stitch Heaven. 3) Recent Articles... 4) Excerpts From Our Forums. 5) Cross Stitch Patterns Added This Week. 6) This Week's Puzzle. Organizing Our Busy Lives This week's subject has been brought about by several unconnected events and brought to mind just how busy we all are, no matter where we live... and "Being busy" is nothing new. I can still hear my dear old Mother, chiding me as a child to, "Slow down our Johnny, you're always trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot!". It was years later before the true meaning of that gem became clear. Leni was busy over the Christmas and New Year break organizing her son Riaan's mammoth collection of photographs. Riaan, in addition to being a game warden and safari guide in South Africa, is also a prolific photographer and has amassed a huge collection of 'wild' Africa. Much of Leni's organizing has been to earmark suitable photos for conversion to Cross Stitch patterns, and boy has she found some beauties. Two of the more unusual include a Giraffe sleeping and elephants mating (yes! It is suitable). The first of Riaan's offerings "King of the Beasts" appeared in this week's Download Library  (there's a link to it later in this newsletter). You will always be able to identify these as "by 'Riaan" is appended to the title. -~- To view the range of FREE patterns in the Download Library: Scroll up to the menu bar and click on "Download Library", a new window will open. Scroll down the page a little to the table with three columns. In the left-hand column (entitled "All Categories" ), click on Cross Stitch Charts to open the library. Browse through the download library. A Top Tip For Cross Stitch Heaven Here's our top Cross Stitch tip of the week: #5. Add Sparkle to Your Stitches Every now and again, it's good to add some glitz and glamour to your stitching projects. Here are five ways to do just this: Beads: Add a bead just where you'd place a cross stitch on your project. Sequins: Stitch these onto your design using one strand of thread in the same shade of cotton as the background. Sew from front to back, making four stitches in a cross shape, going down into the centre of your sequin each time. Shimmering threads: 'Light Effects' range of threads can now be bought from DMC. These are light-reflecting threads that add highlights to your designs and make them sparkle and shine. The shades include precious metals, jewels, antiques, pearlescent, fluorescent and glow-in-the-dark, so there is a Light Effect to suit every occasion. Light Effect colors will have the letter 'E' before the color number. Metallic threads: These can add shine and sparkle to your stitching. They're rarely divisible, but can be combined with strands of other threads for a more subtle effect. Cards: You can buy many different card sizes and shapes as well as interesting and sparkly finishes, you need never be stuck for inspiration. You may also try writing a message on a cross stitched card with a sparkly pen, or add glittery peel-off stickers. For ideas, visit www.craftcreations.com    Recent Articles Here is a taster of some of our most recent Cross Stitch articles. There's a further selection of articles in our "Sample Articles" section and many more under "Feature Articles". Metallic Threads:  How to Get the Best Effects Some designs ask for you to use metallic threads, but they rarely tell you how to use them.  For the most part, the pattern makers will usually give you a floss number and style to use, so buying the thread becomes the easy part.  However, fraying or difficulty in threading the floss can present difficulties for the newcomer to metallic threads.  Here are some tips that will work to keep your stitching trouble-free... Keep Reading -~- Why Not Cross Stitch a Fantasy Dragon? This Could Be Your Next Big Project? Looking through some stitching catalogues recently, I came across a wealth of fantasy dragon designs. There was a great deal of choice of creatures and designs, and they all looked attractive and impressive. I decided to find out more about these amazing beasts before making my choice of chart to buy. In doing so, I entered an unexpected but very interesting world of myth and magic... Keep Reading -~- Using Beads in Cross Stitch: Five Things You Must Know Beads can add a wonderful touch to your cross-stitch project.  They bring dimension and beauty to any needlework.  However, there are some things you need to know about beads so you can make sure they are appropriate for your project.  There are also some tips you can use to ensure that cross stitching with beads is fun rather than frustrating... Keep Reading  Excerpts From Our Forums Here's a couple of popular discussion threads from our Tips & Techniques forum: Converting Photos into Cross Stitch Patterns? After reading an article in a cross-stitch magazine, member Rosa posed this question recently: "Has anyone ever tried any of the internet companies who claim to be able to convert your favourite photos into a cross stitch chart? I have some lovely family photos that would look great as finished works but I'd like to know what the quality of the chart is like before I go any further." This post caught the interest of several members. In the resulting discussion some interesting tips emerged... Read the discussion here -~- Physical Pattern or Download? Member SeeMe sparked off an interesting exchange of ideas with this topic: "Up until this point, I have always purchased my patterns in the store. I haven't ever downloaded a pattern, I guess because I don't know how it works and partly because I'm worried that the quality won't be the same. Do you recommend downloading patterns or do you prefer working with store bought patterns?"... Read the discussion here -~- To view the range of discussions and topics in the Tips & Techniques Forum: Scroll to the left nav panel and find Community Forums, then click on "Tips & Techniques Forum", a new window will open. Scroll down the page a little to the table with three columns. In the left-hand column (entitled "All Categories" ), click on Cross Stitch Charts to open the library. Browse through the download library.    Cross Stitch Patterns Added This Week  To view larger-sized illustrations of this week's FREE downloads Click Here. You'll find additional information and can also leave comments and rank (from 1 to 5) each download, if you wish. -~- * We Aint No Pussy Cats * Pattern Size: Measurements: 23.6" x 15.1" (60.1cm x 38.5cm) No. of Stitches: 331 x 212. -~- * The Lord Jesus * Pattern Size: Measurements: 17.2" x 14.9" (43.7cm x 37.9cm) No. of Stitches: 241 x 209. -~- * Fantasy Kingdom * Pattern Size: Measurements: 12.2" x 15.6" (31.0cm x 39.6cm) No. of Stitches: 171 x 218. -~- * King of the Beasts, by Riaan * Pattern Size: Measurements: 21.3" x 19.3" (49.0cm x 54.1cm) No. of Stitches: 298 x 270. -~- * Unicorns by the Magic Waterfall * Pattern Size: Measurements: 17.9" x 22.5" (45.5cm x 57.2cm) No. of Stitches: 251 x 315. -~- * Flaxen Haired Fairy * Pattern Size: Measurements: 6.2" x 12.5" (15.8cm x 31.8cm) No. of Stitches: 87 x 175. -~- Here's the link to view this week's FREE patterns. You'll find additional information, plus you can also leave  comments and rank how well you like each pattern's picture.   This Week's Puzzle This week we've got one of those logic puzzles for you to try. Next month, we'll start awarding prizes to the weekly winners. Xtreme Snowboarding Competition   The mountain resort of Mazama hosted the annual X-treme Snowboarding competition. Can you determine the position that each boarder placed, as well as their age and the color of their board? Competitors: Sandy, Brian, Annie, Kyle and Darla Ages: 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22 Colors: pink, green, purple, blue, red Kyle, who placed 4th, does not use a board that is red or pink. Annie is not the oldest but is older than Darla, who was not 2nd. The 18 year-old finished in 2nd place. The boarder that finished in 3rd place is older than the competitor with the purple board, who is 17. Brian is younger than the competitor with the blue board. The competitor with the pink board took 2nd place, ahead of the competitor with the green board, who did not place last. Kyle is older than both Brian and Annie but younger than Sandy. The girl with the blue board finished in 3rd place. The oldest competitor to place was on a red board and took 5th. You can make it a little easier for yourself if you figure the ages separately and then go back and add that information to your grid. Click Here for the Answer. -~- Here's a bonus tip for those busy people who spend a lot of time sitting at the computer. Organize your To-Do List Do yourself a favor and go visit Toodledo.com for an easy to use, web-based to-do list. Keeping track of all your tasks will help you avoid disorganization, stay motivated and be more productive... and what's more it's our favorite price (free). Visit Toodledo.com -~- Do you have any views or opinions you would like to see included in tip of the week? If so, send me an email at john@patternspatch.com ... and finally, if you have children, give them a hug and tell them you love them. Until next week, stay safe and be happy.