Nancy L. Haydon

Cross stitching is often thought of as being a solitary pastime, perhaps sitting alone while everyone else is out having a great time. But this is not so! Cross stitch can be the ticket to make many new friends and have lots of fun -- and yes, complete those cross stitch projects too.

First, you can investigate whether there is a local stitching club. The best way to find this information is to ask at your local craft or needlework store. Many stores hold courses and club meetings on-site, and they are the best places to advertise clubs. If there is no local club, then consider starting one yourself!

This will require more thought and planning than you may at first realise, but will reward you many times over. Do not cut any corners here. You'll have to decide where you will meet (think: good lighting, comfortable chairs, refreshment facilities, car parking, and so on) and whether you wish to focus on cross stitch or whether you should include other embroidery or craftwork too. Finding a meeting time that suits most people is one of the biggest decisions.

You'll also have to think about the subscription rate, the aims of the club and any specific rules for members. It may be a good idea to discuss initial plans with your first members so that your club can be fine-tuned to meet most people's needs. Don't forget that cross stitch uses your hands and your eyes -- so you can chat and listen at the same time.

If the thought of organising a club seems a bit ambitious, then why not ask some friends and acquaintances round for an evening and suggest some stitching together. ou can even show a newbie how it's done. Before long, you may end up with a regular club -- so much more sociable than just meeting up to drink and eat.

So much for the locals… Let's move on to making new friends elsewhere.

The most obvious way to cast the net of friendship is to seek out penpals. There are many stitching websites that have a penpal section, and many popular magazines contain find-a-penpal pages. This is wonderful way of making friends from all over the world, and you may have the opportunity of exchanging small projects if you so wish. It's often helpful to discuss your stitching projects -- you can motivate each other to finish those tricky pieces you've been putting off.

The internet has many penpal sites too, although in my view, it's worthwhile taking time to ensure that the site you're engaging with is a good one. Never add your postal address or telephone number to their database. Your email address will suffice for the first exchanges with a new friend, and you can give her or him more contact details when you are sure that the person is genuine. You may prefer to have an e-pal, as opposed to a snail mail friend.

Communicating by email is useful where you want to have spontaneous, informal exchanges. Letter-writing can be more formal, and the friendship travels more slowly, but you also have the opportunity to send the occasional gift, and receiving a letter has that special magic that an email can never replace.

There are a number of e-groups on the internet that combine email and snail mail to promote friendship and cross stitch worldwide. One such group is run by Yahoo, called XStitchpals. Members exchange cross stitched cards every month, with a different theme for each month. They also chat on a forum, support each other with stitching and non-stitching issues and may email each other individually if they wish. The friendships developed are very real, despite the fact that the members live so far from each other. This may well be the way forward for stitching friendship.

So what are you waiting for? There are lots of new friends out there if you spend a little time looking for them... and hey! Why not look a little closer to where you are right HERE, right NOW -- www.PatternsPatch.com  

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