February 3rd 2007

Free Cross Stitch Tip Of The Week Newsletter -XXX- In this issue: 1) This week... 2) A Top Tip For Cross Stitch Heaven. 3) Recent Articles... 4) Extracts From Our Forums. 5) Cross Stitch Patterns Added This Week. 6) ... and Finally. This Week... Something strange has happened at Yahoo this week. Something approaching meltdown it would seem, although they're keeping a stiff upper lip with this message posted at the top of every Yahoo group right now... "We are currently experiencing a Groups email backlog. Messages posted yesterday or today may be delayed or delivered out of order. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please check the Yahoo! Groups Team Blog for updates. " What this actually means is if you try to send or receive an email to or from a Yahoo group OR if you use an email address at @Yahoo.com, you're unlikely to see much activity right now. Hopefully, they'll soon get on top of the problem, but if something can happen to a big hitter like Yahoo it shows you that none of use are can truly rely on our email service. So what? You might ask. What can I do about it? Well! What about an alternative or backup email address with another provider. "Hotmail" for a long time had a poor reputation and were considered by many to be little more than a spam magnet. However, they've been working hard to clean up their act and now provide a much better service than they used to. I don't know much about Hotmail, but I can recommend "gmail" wholeheartedly. Like Hotmail and Yahoo, it is Free. A couple of big bonuses with gmail is they store everything for you on their severs (and give you a highly generous 2+ gigabytes of storage space), which means you can log in on any PC anywhere in the world and access all of your old email. Also you can all of your email accounts from your gmail account. I have six regular accounts, all with different providers, and I never enter any of the others, only gmail. At present you need to be invited to open an account with gmail. So if you want to give gmail a try, send me an an email to john@patternspatch.com with the subject "Give me an invite to gmail" and it will be done... and no I'm not an affiliate and so don't get anything out of this, other than the satisfaction of having put you onto a good service. -XXX- The first of our new cross stitch tutorials is still on track for release by the middle of the month. We'll be starting off with the French knot followed by its close friend the Colonial knot. A Top Tip For Cross Stitch Heaven Here's our top Cross Stitch tip of the week: #8.  How to Organize Your Threads Time and money will be saved if you adopt good habits of organizing your threads for easy access in your workbox. An unused skein of thread will be labelled so that you will know instantly what shade and type of thread it contains. However, as soon as you start to use a skein, it is often the case that the threads just end up in jumble at the bottom of your box. Having an organizer system really does not take much time to set up and can save you lots of frustration if you can find exactly the thread you want when you want it.  You can buy thread organizers; they often come with cross stitch kits; additionally you can make your own. You will need some stiff plain cardboard -- the type that is often found with a new shirt, a pair of tights or curtains.  Using an office hole-punch, make holes at fairly regular intervals - down each side of the card. Taking a skein of stranded cotton (floss), cut the thread into manageable lengths (about 80 cm), double them and thread them though the holes, pushing the ends through the hole of the loop.  You will need to label the card to show the manufacturer's name and the shade number. Then when you are short of thread for a project, you will be able to see quickly what you have in stock. The neatness of this system is very pleasing too. 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". Have Great Fun Teaching Your Child How To Cross Stitch Cross stitching is a great hobby for children. It can help to develop hand to eye coordination, shape and color recognition, as well as encourage cooperative behaviour, patience and creativity. Most of all, it can be good fun for you and your child -- an interest to share together, and become a hobby that your child can enjoy without an adult being present, and a passion for life... Keep Reading -XXX- The One Essential Book For Cross Stitch Newbies There are currently hundreds of books on the market for lovers of cross stitch and other forms of needlework. Many of the available books however simply contain patterns and designs and so are aimed more at the advanced cross stitcher as opposed to the beginner... Keep Reading -XXX- What Different Materials Are Available For Cross Stitching? By "materials" most cross stitchers will be referring to the fabric and threads that they use in their designs. This article takes a look at a number of the different thread types and several types of fabric... Keep Reading  Extracts From Our Forums Here's a couple of popular discussion threads from our Tips & Techniques forum: Is Cross Stitching on Linen Difficult? Member Dolfinette started this interesting thread recently: "Does anybody cross stitch on linen? I read somewhere that it is better to cross each stitch as you go rather than doing half a stitch and then coming back to do the other half. Is this true? I've often thought about using linen so any information would be a help. Judging by the comments made by other members, Dolfinette  found that stitching on linen, while less easy than using, Aida or Evenweave, can produce some spectacular results...... Read the discussion here -XXX- Frame it Yourself? Member Angelique sparked off an thoughtful exchange of ideas with this question: "I've just finished my first (quite) big piece and now I want to get it framed as a present for my mother. Has anyone framed their work themselves, and if so was it easy or should I go to a qualified framer and have it done professionally? Actually does anyone know how much qualified framers charge?" It seems some cross stitchers do and others don't? Tackle framing their own projects. But what is the main reason many stitchers don't... Read the discussion here -XXX- To view the range of discussions and topics in the Tips & Techniques Forum: Scroll to the left nav panel and find the Community Forums section.  In the "Search Discussion" box, enter a Cross Stitch term of your choice, such as french knot, and click on the Search button. The Search Discussion Forums page will appear. In the "Enter Phrase to search for:" box, again enter the Cross Stitch term of your choice and click on the Start Search button. The system will list the results of your search. In the search results, click on any of the blue links to read the discussion.  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. -XXX- * I'se The Bigger * by Arthur Elsley (1870) Pattern Size: Measurements: 16.7" x 22.5" (42.5cm x 57.2cm) No. of Stitches: 234 x 315. -XXX- * First Touch Of My Guardian Angel * Pattern Size: Measurements: 12.1" x 15.3" (30.7cm x 38.8cm) No. of Stitches: 169 x 214. -XXX- * Princess Diana Carrying Daffodils * Pattern Size: Measurements: 13.6" x 17.4" (34.7cm x 44.1cm) No. of Stitches: 191 x 243. -XXX- * I Love My Puppy * Pattern Size: Measurements: 10.8" x 16.5" (27.4cm x 41.9cm) No. of Stitches: 151 x 231. -XXX- * Swan Love * Pattern Size: Measurements: 14.4" x 10.9" (36.5cm x 27.8cm) No. of Stitches: 201 x 153. -XXX- * I'm Mad, Bad, and Dangerous! by Nanae * Pattern Size: Measurements: 8.1" x 12.1" (20.7cm x 30.8cm) No. of Stitches: 114 x 170. -XXX- 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.  -XXX- 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.  ... and Finally  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 a kiss, and tell them you love them. Until next week, stay safe and be happy.