Give in to Aida

On 11/6/03 2:47 PM,"animaux" posted:

Well, I said this in another post, but I have decided not to stitch the Safari
Series on the black evenweave. I switched to Aida. If the LNS didn't cut the
sizes wrong, I would go 2 over 2 on the evenweave, but alas the fabric was cut
so small all I could use was 1 over 1 and, well, torture.

So, now I'm doing my 3 over 1 on Aida and I am happy and having fun stitching.

I suppose the whole reason for my post is that if it's not fun, why bother. I
think in a nice frame with good stitching, Aida looks as good as anything
else,
especially black.

Glad you're happy, but did you look at Black Congress Cloth - either 22 or
24 Ct? You might consider it the next time, I think it looks a bit nicer in
the open places than Aida, but of course, it's all personal taste. And no
doubt, well framed your piece will be lovely.

Enjoy. I'm just happy I finally stitched on my Betsy Stinner Berries sampler
last night. Wow - it's been a while since I stitched on linen, and I thought
that I started this on 32 ct, but am thinking, hmmmm, maybe it's 36. Took a
while to get my eyes adjusted - since I was up on the couch with dog, and my
Ott light, but not using any magnifier (besides my very weak reading
glasses).

Happy stitchin'
ellice

animaux wrote:

I think in a nice frame with good stitching, Aida looks as good as
anything else, especially black.
The one thing I did when framing Fire & Ice (stitched on black linen)
was to cover the foamcore with black cotton fabric so the foamcore
wouldn't show through. Might be an idea you'd want to keep in mind when
framing with aida and it's bigger holes.
FWIW.
--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

I have seen black foam core.....

--
Bonnie

WIPs:
EGA's English Band Sampler ICC
Stitch-n-Zip Patchwork Checkbook Cover
Knitted Cardigan
Knitted Amish Throw


"Joan Erickson" wrote in message
...
animaux wrote:
snipped
The one thing I did when framing Fire & Ice (stitched on black linen)
was to cover the foamcore with black cotton fabric so the foamcore
wouldn't show through

Bonnie wrote:

I have seen black foam core.....
IIRC, I think my framer did mention that it's available, she just
didn't have any and didn't want to order any since she was planning on
closing her shop. She did an excellent job, was wonderful to work
with and I really miss her!

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

http://home.att.net/~hkcompany/
http://www.matcutter.com/catalog.php?catid=2&styleid=1
These sites both list black foamcore. I haven't done business with
either one and the first one appears to require a purchase of at least
25 sheets (mix-and-match).

I get my frames from http://www.picturesframes.com and they don't
specifically list it on their website but may have it available. Oooh,
I see you can enter online every month for a $50 gift certificate! Any
good framer can probably order it for you since they would be likely to
do a bulk order. A local shop might be better since shipping and
handling on one piece would be higher than the cost of the foamcore, and
if you are like me you have no need for a whole carton unless everyone
on here would like to form a casual buyer's club. :-)


Bonnie wrote:

I have seen black foam core.....

Joan Erickson wrote:
IIRC, I think my framer did mention that it's available, she just
didn't have any and didn't want to order any since she was planning on
closing her shop. She did an excellent job, was wonderful to work
with and I really miss her!

--
Brenda Lewis
WIP: "Big Bird", Janlynn -- *DONE!*

On 11/6/03 6:18 PM,"Joan Erickson" posted:

animaux wrote:

I think in a nice frame with good stitching, Aida looks as good as
anything else, especially black.
The one thing I did when framing Fire & Ice (stitched on black linen)
was to cover the foamcore with black cotton fabric so the foamcore
wouldn't show through. Might be an idea you'd want to keep in mind when
framing with aida and it's bigger holes.
FWIW.
Or get black foam-core ;^) The fabric is a good idea, Joan.

ellice

Pearl Art & Craft has it (need to google to find their website) in
sveral thicknesses--Irene

Brenda Lewis wrote in message ...
http://home.att.net/~hkcompany/
http://www.matcutter.com/catalog.php?catid=2&styleid=1
These sites both list black foamcore. I haven't done business with
either one and the first one appears to require a purchase of at least
25 sheets (mix-and-match).

I get my frames from http://www.picturesframes.com and they don't
specifically list it on their website but may have it available. Oooh,
I see you can enter online every month for a $50 gift certificate! Any
good framer can probably order it for you since they would be likely to
do a bulk order. A local shop might be better since shipping and
handling on one piece would be higher than the cost of the foamcore, and
if you are like me you have no need for a whole carton unless everyone
on here would like to form a casual buyer's club. :-)


Bonnie wrote:

I have seen black foam core.....

Joan Erickson wrote:
IIRC, I think my framer did mention that it's available, she just
didn't have any and didn't want to order any since she was planning on
closing her shop. She did an excellent job, was wonderful to work
with and I really miss her!

If the LNS didn't cut the
sizes wrong,


I've had that happen...ONCE...so I always figure the size of the fabric before
I go to the LNS. If their figures don't match mine, before they cut it, I
suggest that they re-figure. In case you don't know how to figure fabric, it
is easy. Take the number of stitches per side wide, say 157 and divide by the
stitch count of your fabric, say 16 per inch and you get 9.8 which is the
number of inches wide the cx is. Then do the other side the same way. Now add
the number of inches, generally 3 per side for the edge. Remember that 9.8
width had two edges so add 6 inches and the width of the fabric would be 15.8
or 16 inches.

I also count the stitches on the pattern to make sure that it is correct. I
found one chart that wasn't, and if I remember correctly Celtic Banner was off
in count. Boo

I've had that happen...ONCE...so I always figure the size of the fabric before
I go to the LNS. If their figures don't match mine, before they cut it, I
suggest that they re-figure. In case you don't know how to figure fabric, it
is easy. Take the number of stitches per side wide, say 157 and divide by the
stitch count of your fabric, say 16 per inch and you get 9.8 which is the
number of inches wide the cx is. Then do the other side the same way. Now
add
the number of inches, generally 3 per side for the edge. Remember that 9.8
width had two edges so add 6 inches and the width of the fabric would be 15.8
or 16 inches.

I also count the stitches on the pattern to make sure that it is correct. I
found one chart that wasn't, and if I remember correctly Celtic Banner was off
in count. Boo

I just go to Kathy Dyer's site and let her fabric calculator do it for me.
There's a reason I work in a library and not an accountant's office. :-))
Liz from Humbug

"animaux" wrote
Yes, well, that was my learning experience. I have other smaller things I
can
stitch on the sizes I have. They are all the same size, so I can stitch a
small
collection of things. Maybe it would be nice to stitch 4 little things
for my
MIL for Xmas. She loved the other things I'd stitched for her,
fortunately.
She's crafty too...tangent, sorry!

V

I always allow plenty of extra fabric - and fill up the extra space with a
few bookmarks or something like that. They`re always handy for a little
extra gift, and at the same time give you a break from the major work
without actually putting it " Out of sight, out of mind!"

I have a book of Native American subjects, and many of the borders
representing "beadwork" make beautiful, colourful bookmarks. I just found a
nice little stock of these in my cupboard, all backed and packed ready to
pop in with special Christmas cards! It surprising how they mount up.

I think Aida`s best for those, anyway, and I always use Aida for sheer ease
and speed when stitching out my own design models. I use evenweaves for
preference when stitching someone else`s designs, though.

Pat P.